The Great Gatsby

      In the novel, The Great Gatsby,  Jay Gatsby did not fit into the lifestyle of  Daisy and her friends.  Because of  his background, his dreams were destined to be shattered even before he tried to achieve them.  Jay Gatsby's nouveau riche lifestyle was not of the ways of the old rich.

      Jay Gatsby killed James Gatz at the age of seventeen as he boarded Dan Cody's yacht.  It was "...James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon...but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a rowboat...and informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break him up..." (ch. 4, pp. 98-9).  When he got on the yacht he was forever known as Jay Gatsby.  Gatsby thought he left his past behind him. 

      James Gatz came from North Dakota.  His parents "...were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people..." (ch. 4, p. 99).  Gatsby made his money very mysteriously, while the rest of the group inherited their money.  This background put Jay Gatsby on a different level than the group he was trying to become a part of.  Therefore he was never really accepted as one of the group. 

      In an effort to be accepted by the group,  Gatsby tried to show off his valuables and gave elaborate parties.  He tried to make an impression on these people.  Many to these people went to these parties "...without having met Gatsby at all" (ch. 3,p. 41).

      Gatsby did not have a formal education. His background did not support the background of the old wealth. He lived in West Egg, "...the less fashionable of the two..." (ch. 1, p. 5).  The old rich would not live there.

Jay Gatsby could have never in his life been a part of the old rich.  Even with changing his names and and lifestyle, he could have never changed his interior.  He would always been James Gatz.