What does gatsby tell nick about his past is it true

Detailed answer:

While on the road to New York, Gatsby tells Nick about his past; he comes from a Midwestern wealthy family from San Francisco in which he inherited ‘a good deal of money’ after his family died. He adds that he attended Oxford University as a family tradition and with his fortune, he traveled throughout “capitals of Europe — Paris, Venice, Rome — collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little, things for myself only,” trying to escape a sad, sad memory. Gatsby’s speech about himself arose doubt and curiosity in Nick as his story was quite far-fetched. He questions Gatsby’s credibility seeing that he wasn’t comfortable talking about his past and seemed to hide an important aspect of it. Afterwards, he introduces Nick to Mr. Wolfshiem, which rises suspensions about his fortune and his shady business dealings handled under tables. While conversing with Nick and Wolfsheim, Gatsby begins to become hesitant during his recollection of the past. This can be seen when Nick says “He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him, after all”. While speaking of his made-up past, Nick begins to find flaws in his story which begin to raise his suspicions about Gatsby. This foreshadows Nick discovering the truth about Gatsby’s past before he became the infamous Mr.Gatsby.

Finally, Gatsby shows his true metal and reveals the truth about his background after he gains Nick’s trust. James Gatz changed his name to Jay Gatsby when he was about 17 years old introducing this young lad into a bright, glorious career. On this day, he was at the beach and came to see a yacht named “TUOLOMEE” drop anchor on Lake Superior. He borrowed a rowboat and went out to warn the owner of the yacht that “a wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour.” The owner was Dan Cody, a millionaire who took Gatz’s warning for granted by making him his “steward, mate, skipper, secretary, and even jailor”. From there he began his journey of wealth and luxury and it was all part of his American dream to break the boundaries of reality.

Nick lists all of the people who attended Gatsby’s parties that summer, a roll call of the nation’s most wealthy and powerful people. He then describes a trip that he took to New York with Gatsby to eat lunch. As they drive to the city, Gatsby tells Nick about his past, but his story seems highly improbable. He claims, for instance, to be the son of wealthy, deceased parents from the Midwest. When Nick asks which Midwestern city he is from, Gatsby replies, “San Francisco.” Gatsby then lists a long and preposterously detailed set of accomplishments: he claims to have been educated at Oxford, to have collected jewels in the capitals of Europe, to have hunted big game, and to have been awarded medals in World War I by multiple European countries. Seeing Nick’s skepticism, Gatsby produces a medal from Montenegro and a picture of himself playing cricket at Oxford.

Gatsby’s car speeds through the valley of ashes and enters the city. When a policeman pulls Gatsby over for speeding, Gatsby shows him a white card, and the policeman apologizes for bothering him. In the city, Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and introduces him to Meyer Wolfsheim, who, he claims, was responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. Wolfsheim is a shady character with underground business connections. He gives Nick the impression that the source of Gatsby’s wealth might be unsavory, and that Gatsby may even have ties to the sort of organized crime with which Wolfsheim is associated.

After the lunch in New York, Nick sees Jordan Baker, who finally tells him the details of her mysterious conversation with Gatsby at the party. She relates that Gatsby told her that he is in love with Daisy Buchanan. According to Jordan, during the war, before Daisy married Tom, she was a beautiful young girl in Louisville, Kentucky, and all the military officers in town were in love with her. Daisy fell in love with Lieutenant Jay Gatsby, who was stationed at the base near her home. Though she chose to marry Tom after Gatsby left for the war, Daisy drank herself into numbness the night before her wedding, after she received a letter from Gatsby. Daisy has apparently remained faithful to her husband throughout their marriage, but Tom has not. Jordan adds that Gatsby bought his mansion in West Egg solely to be near Daisy.

Nick remembers the night he saw Gatsby stretching his arms out to the water and realizes that the green light he saw was the light at the end of Daisy’s dock. According to Jordan, Gatsby has asked her to convince Nick to arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy. Because he is terrified that Daisy will refuse to see him, Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea. Without Daisy’s knowledge, Gatsby intends to come to the tea at Nick’s house as well, surprising her and forcing her to see him.

Analysis

Though Nick’s first impression of Gatsby is of his boundless hope for the future, Chapter 4 concerns itself largely with the mysterious question of Gatsby’s past. Gatsby’s description of his background to Nick is a daunting puzzle—though he rattles off a seemingly far-fetched account of his grand upbringing and heroic exploits, he produces what appears to be proof of his story. Nick finds Gatsby’s story “threadbare” at first, but he eventually accepts at least part of it when he sees the photograph and the medal. He realizes Gatsby’s peculiarity, however. In calling him a “character,” he highlights Gatsby’s strange role as an actor.

Read more about Gatsby’s role as the novel’s protagonist.

The luncheon with Wolfsheim gives Nick his first unpleasant impression that Gatsby’s fortune may not have been obtained honestly. Nick perceives that if Gatsby has connections with such shady characters as Wolfsheim, he might be involved in organized crime or bootlegging. It is important to remember the setting of The Great Gatsby, in terms of both the symbolic role of the novel’s physical locations and the book’s larger attempt to capture the essence of America in the mid-1920s. The pervasiveness of bootlegging and organized crime, combined with the burgeoning stock market and vast increase in the wealth of the general public during this era, contributed largely to the heedless, excessive pleasure-seeking and sense of abandon that permeate The Great Gatsby. For Gatsby, who throws the most sumptuous parties of all and who seems richer than anyone else, to have ties to the world of bootleg alcohol would only make him a more perfect symbol of the strange combination of moral decadence and vibrant optimism that Fitzgerald portrays as the spirit of 1920s America.

Read an essay on Gatsby and the Jazz Age.

On the other hand, Jordan’s story paints Gatsby as a lovesick, innocent young soldier, desperately trying to win the woman of his dreams. Now that Gatsby is a full-fledged character in the novel, the bizarre inner conflict that enables Nick to feel such contradictory admiration and repulsion for him becomes fully apparent—whereas Gatsby the lovesick soldier is an attractive figure, representative of hope and authenticity, Gatsby the crooked businessman, representative of greed and moral corruption, is not.

Read more about how Gatsby makes his money.

As well as shedding light on Gatsby’s past, Chapter 4 illuminates a matter of great personal meaning for Gatsby: the object of his hope, the green light toward which he reaches. Gatsby’s love for Daisy is the source of his romantic hopefulness and the meaning of his yearning for the green light in Chapter 1. That light, so mysterious in the first chapter, becomes the symbol of Gatsby’s dream, his love for Daisy, and his attempt to make that love real.

Read explanations of quotes about the green light.

The green light is one of the most important symbols in The Great Gatsby. Like the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, the green light can be interpreted in many ways, and Fitzgerald leaves the precise meaning of the symbol to the reader’s interpretation. Many critics have suggested that, in addition to representing Gatsby’s love for Daisy, the green light represents the American dream itself. Gatsby’s irresistible longing to achieve his dream, the connection of his dream to the pursuit of money and material success, the boundless optimism with which he goes about achieving his dream, and the sense of his having created a new identity in a new place all reflect the coarse combination of pioneer individualism and uninhibited materialism that Fitzgerald perceived as dominating 1920s American life.

Read explanations of quotes about the American Dream.

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Gatsby provides Nick and the readers with the story of his extraordinary life. The man’s past is filled with a luxurious experience and incredible feats, many of which seem improbable. He admits that he was born into wealth, attended a prestigious university, and traveled the world. Nick is doubtful about these stories’ truth, but cannot argue with the proof Gatsby provides.

Detailed answer:

Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous work, The Great Gatsby, is a notable American literature piece. The story is rich in details and comments on modern society and its elites’ flaws. The novel, told from the perspective of one of the characters, shows the rich decadent life. The focus is on the life of Jay Gatsby. So, the reader sees an image of a determined, but an immoral and unfortunate young man. While chasing for the love of his life, Gatsby has built himself up rags-to-riches. He gained a place in the upper echelon of society. Throw the most extravagant parties, live a rich and lavish life is all he does. But the man only desires to win the love of a woman named Daisy Buchanan. The audience first meets Gatsby through the eyes of Nick, the narrator.

Nick is also a wealthy individual, with many connections and friends in the upper circles. He is reserved in his judgment and connects with people with ease. During their trip to New York City, Gatsby talks to Nick about his past. It appears that he comes from a wealthy family, born into luxury in the Midwest. He also had been “educated at Oxford.” Gatsby says that after his family members’ death, he inherited their wealth and traveled across Europe. During his travels, the man has hunted animals, collected various jewels, and did a lot of amazing things.

After that, Gatsby says, he was enlisted in the military and served during World War 1. He even earned a medal there. On his part, Nick finds Gatsby’s story hard to believe and has trouble keeping a straight face while Jay tells it. Being sure that Gatsby’s whole backstory is untrue, he is shocked to see the proof. Jay shows the narrator a photo of his time in Oxford and a war medal he earned. The evidence seems to be authentic, which surprises the narrator even further. Such a turn of events leaves Nick completely astounded. He has no choice but to believe Gatsby.

There are a few reasons why Gatsby has presented such a story to Nick. Firstly, he wanted to appear more dignified in his new friend’s eyes and impress him with his status. It is established throughout the story that Jay Gatsby craves the validation and attention of others. His need to flaunt, show off his accomplishments and wealth dominates his persona. Another reason he might have had is the desire to make himself believe in the truth of his words. Jay is obsessed with becoming wealthy and successful. To do so, he chooses to disregard his upbringing and convince himself of his new origin. He creates a unique personality with a worthy background from scratch. This attitude helps Gatsby cover his insecurities and believe his own lies.

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