Jay Gatsby/James Gatz
ROLE
Jay Gatsby is an example of the American Dream he is also leads Nick into the world of wealth and the rich lifestyle. He is a rich man that looks for something more than money can buy. Which may foreshadow he is in need of constant excitement. Gatsby's role at the moment seems to be using others to gain any sort of closer relationship with Daisy, no matter the cost.
Jay Gatsby is an example of the American Dream he is also leads Nick into the world of wealth and the rich lifestyle. He is a rich man that looks for something more than money can buy. Which may foreshadow he is in need of constant excitement. Gatsby's role at the moment seems to be using others to gain any sort of closer relationship with Daisy, no matter the cost.
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"The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 98)
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In this chapter, the readers learn about Jay Gatsby's past, where he was previously known as James Gatz. This quote itself tells the readers how James Gatz's persona of Jay Gatsby was created by himself, modelling himself of his own ideal version of 'Jay Gatsby'. Jay Gatsby is an illusion that young James Gatz created for himself, and represents everything that James Gatz wanted to be - wealthy, successful, and powerful.
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Finest Qualities
Determined and Persistent - never veers from what he set his mind to (ex. chase Daisy and attain the American Dream). His ability to turn his hopes and dreams into realization is what makes him so "great". "So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 98) - Optimistic - believes that life is full of hope and goodness and is optimistic about the future. He had always held on to the hope that he and Daisy can get back together again, and believes that Daisy truly loves him. - Ambitious - has a clear goal and mindset towards his future ""I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before," he said, nodding determinedly." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 110) - Devoted - even though Daisy "dumped" him and married Tom, Gatsby still loves Daisy and wants to rekindle the relationship between them. 
Role in the Novel
Jay Gatsby himself is the main example of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. The young James Gatz created an alternate identity of himself, striving to fulfill his dreams. Jay Gatsby represents everything that young Gatz wanted to be, who strived to become the man that he envisioned. After much work and time, he achieved the American Dream, going from a person of little wealth to one of great presence in the upper class, earning his money and status through his own efforts: a classic rags-to-riches concept of the American Dream. 
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Worst Qualities
Dwells on the past between him and Daisy too much - cannot let it go "He talked a lot about the past..he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then" (F. Scott Fitzgerald) - Dishonest - a compulsive liar; lies about his past, saying that he is the son of some wealthy people in the mid-west who are now all dead, even though he is actually the son of a poor farmer in North Dakota. - Possessive - loves Daisy too much to the extent that he wants her to tell Tom that she doesn't love him. He doesn't say this aloud, but it is implied in through his behavior and Nick's quote as the narrator. "He was profoundly affected by the fact that Tom was there." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 101) "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 109) - Naïve - sometimes too optimistic that he is naïve - believing that he and Daisy can get back together and that she loves him. Which part of Gatsby does Daisy love about him, though: his status and wealth, or his personality? Gatsby also thinks of the 'old money' insincere politeness that Tom and the Sloanes display towards him as actual politeness. This is where his naïvety is a weakness and can be used against him. "Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 110) "Doesn't he know she doesn't want him?" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 103) "Come on, we're late. We've got to go. Tell him we couldn't wait, will you?" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 103) - Sentimental - lets his nostalgic feelings of the memories between him and Daisy take over his persona/identity as the "Great Gatsby" "Though all he said, even through his appalling sentimentality" (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 111) 
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Important Quotes
"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!"
Context: Gatsby is talking to Nick about how his life was much better back when he was with Daisy, and how he wants her back. Nick, in turn, tells him that he should move on and let go of her, because the past cannot be repeated.
Significance: Gatsby, the man that is depicted as all-glamorous, rich, successful, and has everything - the perfect bachelor. However, the thing, or more so the girl he wants the most (Daisy) is not available to him. This is seen as his weakness, in a way. Gatsby has material goods, but is always lonely and loves a girl whom he cannot call his own. This is an example of the typical saying "money cannot buy love". It is a point for character revelation, as Gatsby is naive in thinking that he can recreate the past, and also in thinking that Daisy would be willing to leave her social class (of old money) and wealth to be with him, who is of new money. This quote also demonstrates the inner conflict that Gatsby has within himself - he knows that the past cannot be recreated, but is still holding onto it, not being able to let go and wanting to recreate it again.
“Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that green light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (100).
Context: Gatsby is talking to Nick about how his life was much better back when he was with Daisy, and how he wants her back. Nick, in turn, tells him that he should move on and let go of her, because the past cannot be repeated.
Significance: Gatsby, the man that is depicted as all-glamorous, rich, successful, and has everything - the perfect bachelor. However, the thing, or more so the girl he wants the most (Daisy) is not available to him. This is seen as his weakness, in a way. Gatsby has material goods, but is always lonely and loves a girl whom he cannot call his own. This is an example of the typical saying "money cannot buy love". It is a point for character revelation, as Gatsby is naive in thinking that he can recreate the past, and also in thinking that Daisy would be willing to leave her social class (of old money) and wealth to be with him, who is of new money. This quote also demonstrates the inner conflict that Gatsby has within himself - he knows that the past cannot be recreated, but is still holding onto it, not being able to let go and wanting to recreate it again.
“Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that green light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (100).
- The green light represented as a start to a new life with Daisy, it was his hope and dream, but now that significance of the light has vanished as he feels so close to her, after hes finally reunited
- This green light represents Gatsby's ultimate aspiration: to win Daisy's love. After Daisy and Gatsby's successful reunion, a mist conceals the green light, visibly affecting Gatsby. Nick observes, "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one" (100). This image suggests Gatsby realizes he must face the reality of Daisy, rather than the ideal he created for her.
Gatsby's Symbols
Gatsby's Room
The Weather
The Green Light at the end of Daisy's Dock
Gatsby's Shirts
- "His bedroom was the simplest of all" (91)
- Gatsby's room is much simpler than the rest of the house
- This is the part of the house that no one really gets so see
- The rest of his house represents his external image, and what other people see when they see him. But his room represents what kind of person he truly is, internally.
The Weather
- the weather represents Gatsby's mood
- When Gatsby first goes to Nicks house to meet Daisy, it is very rainy which may reflect Gatsby's mood as being down, nervous, anxious, etc;
- But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room. ‘Oh, hello, old sport,’ he said, as if he hadn’t seen me for years. I thought for a moment he was going to shake hands. ‘It’s stopped raining.’
‘Has it?’ When he realized what I was talking about, that there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room, he smiled like a weather man, like an ecstatic patron of recurrent light, and repeated the news to Daisy. ‘What do you think of that? It’s stopped raining.’ ‘I’m glad, Jay.’ Her throat, full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy.
The Green Light at the end of Daisy's Dock
- It represents Daisy, the light thats been guiding him and giving him hope
- Green represents a spring or a new beginning as hope or promise for a relationship with Daisy. Light represents dreams and hopes.
Gatsby's Shirts
- While Gatsby is showing Daisy his mansion, they stop in Gatsby's room and he starts throwing piles and piles of expensive shirts to show them to Daisy
- This represents his wealth.
- "He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray."
