Summary

• as the rumours about Gatsby grow continually, Nick recounts Gatsby‘s true story
• Jay Gatsby was born as James Gatz in North Dakota, his parents were farmers
• in order to pay for his tuition, James took on a janitorial job, for which he was to embarrassed, so he dropped out of college again
• when James Gatz worked on Lake Superior, he saw the yacht of Dan Cody, a wealthy copper mogul and warned him about an upcoming storm
• Dan Cody took James Gatz - who introduced himself as Jay Gatsby - as his personal assistant and travelled with him to various destinations
• Gatsby had to look out for Dan Cody when he was drunk which is why Gatsby learned about the effects of alcohol and which is why Gatsby does not drink during his own parties
• Dan Cody died and left Gatsby $25,000 - money that Gatsby never claimed because Cody‘s mistress prevented him to do so
• due to that, Gatsby dedicated his whole life to becoming wealthy and successful
• one day, Nick goes to Gatsby‘s mansion after not having seen him or Daisy for several weeks and finds Tom there
• Tom states that he has come for a drink with the Sloanes
• Gatsby is nervous and tells Tom that he knows Daisy from 5 years earlier
• he also invites all of them to dinner, but the Sloanes refuse, instead inviting Gatsby to dinner one day
• Gatsby takes their words seriously and Tom is gloating over the fact that Gatsby lacks the social graces
• Tom is suspicious over the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy and is critical about her visiting Gatsby alone
• Tom and Daisy visit one of Gatsby‘s parties and it is quite clear that Tom is jealous of Gatsby‘s connectedness to Daisy
• Nick also attends the party and is this time even more repelled by it, he also dislikes the revelry between Gatsby and Tom
• Daisy is upset by the fact that Gatsby made his fortune through bootlegging and replies to Tom that Gatsby‘s wealth comes from the drugstores he owns - refusing to believe that Gatsby engaged in illegal affairs
• Daisy and Tom leave and Gatsby is sad that Daisy did not have a great time
• Nick reminds Gatsby that he will not be able to recreate what he had with Daisy because Daisy will not be likely to leave Tom for Gatsby
• Gatsby disagrees, believing that his money will get Daisy back
• Nick walks through the leftovers of the party and wonders about the fact that now that Gatsby has kissed Daisy, his dream came true and that it is, in fact, over now

Function

• further explanation of social class
  
  • by recounting Gatsby‘s early life, Gatsby‘s motivation becomes more clear (Gatsby being embarrassed about his job as a janitor in comparison to him meeting Dan Cody who opens up a world of luxury to Gatsby)
  • Gatsby‘s "christening" (his rowing to Dan Cody‘s yacht and introducing himself as Jay Gatsby) symbolizes his abandoning the lower-class identity
  • members of the aristocratic upper class mock and despise Gatsby due to his lack of social grace
• Daisy is the epitome of everything that Gatsby has ever wanted to achieve which is why he is blinded by her wealth
• Gatsby‘s talent is his ability to make his dream become reality
• his talent is also his downfall: he envisions Daisy as his dream and imagines her as the girl she used to be five years ago
• Gatsby and Daisy are never seen alone acting out their affair
  
  • it might be that Nick does not want to cause Gatsby harm which is why he does not depict their affair
  • it is Tom who mistrusts and suspects Daisy and Gatsby