The Great Gatsby Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Page # 97-111

Chapter Summary

In this chapter we begin to learn a little about Gatsby’s past. Gatsby past is very different than what he told Nick earlier, his parents were poor farmers, he changed his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, and he did not come from a rich fortune from the West. We learn that he worked as an assistant for Dan Cody on his yacht and that Gatsby. Also as Cody’s friend, he did not rightful get his share of Dan Cody’s will. Nick goes to see Gatsby at his house after a couple weeks of absence and he is surprised to see Tom there with the Sloans, Gatsby seemed very nervous around Tom. The next Saturday Daisy and Tom finally come to one of Gatsby’s weekend parties and Daisy and Gatsby dance and have some private time together. We find out that Gatsby is an emotional lover and Daisy is a physical lover. Tom also begins to suspect Gatsby as a fraud. In the last part of the chapter Nick and Gatsby have a strong talk about Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship and Gatsby tells Nick that emotions are what important to him in the their love and all he wants Daisy to do is forget her last 5 years and leave Tom, but Nick argues that it will be hard for her to do that.

Character Analysis:

James Gatz

Quote:

“I suppose he had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg Long island sprang from his Platonic conception of himself.” (Nick 98)

Description:  Jay Gatz is Gatsby true self and past. It is almost like he is alter ego, and the Gatsby side has fully taken over his true self Jay Gatz. Jay is a normal boy who came from a poor farming family, who felt like he was a nobody, so he decided to change his whole life and start new with a new name James Gatsby. Jay Gatz best quality is the probably the truth and caring for others like his family, unlike James Gatsby who lies throughout his whole life and only cares for Daisy, but instead sees her more as property for a sense of status than as an equal. Usually when people change their whole outlook on life it is usually for the better, but not in this case where when Jay changes he becomes more lonely, greedy, and sad than before.

Character Role in Novel

The Jay Gatz ego in Gatsby is a good dichotomy to help the reader understand how Gatsby has changed over the past 5 years. He is not the same simple young boy he used to be, now he is a cheating, lying, and conniving rich young man, who presents himself as a quiet innocent lover and also that he completely deleted his past including his true self Jay Gatz. The role of Jay Gatz is to strongly show through change the differences on how Gatsby has transformed his whole lifestyle and outlook on life. Gatsby has deleted his whole past, but it is important to see later on in the plot if that was the right decision or not for Gatsby to make.

Meaningful Quote:

“It is variably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expanded your own powers of adjustment.” (Nick 104)

Significance:

This quote is significant because it is always hard to look at something through another person eyes and not feel new emotions. It is similar to the old saying “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.” The importance of this quote is to show that is vital for a person to look at different perspectives in life and not only their own. In this passage Nick began to become accustomed to Gatsby parties and the West Egg lifestyle, but once he looked through Daisy’s eyes he got a whole new perspective. I need to learn to look through others perspectives and it help me to understand situations a lot more like Nick. It could even help me to stop being judgmental and also help me to make better decisions under hard circumstances.