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Secrecy In The Great Gatsby

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In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby, a man of high wealth in the 1920’s, is constantly questioned about his wealth and the means by which he attained it. Rumors are often spread regarding Gatsby and his wealth, however he never attempts to stop or correct them. This leads to the reader questioning if Gatsby is really telling the truth about his former life or if he is trying to hide something. Gatsby’s mysterious origins help to shape both his character and the relationships he has.
Gatsby’s origins are kept hidden from those who surround him and help shape the person who he has become. Gatsby claims that his “family all died and [he] came into a great deal of money” and they had lived in San Francisco (65). However, he was not, rather he was the son of poor farmers who were not able to contribute or help him with his …show more content…

Gatsby allows few people to truly know who he is and even few know his honest background. Gatsby not allowing many people to know who he really is affects the novel because it increases secrecy throughout. Nick did not even know who Gatsby was until he met him at a party. This element of secrecy affects the novel because the reader never truly knows what is real and what is a lie. Along with affecting the reader, the mystery behind Jay Gatsby intrigues other characters, like Tom, to unbury Gatsby’s past and understand the man himself. This leads to increased tensions between characters and drama, which in turn leads to the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom in the room in the city. Gatsby’s past also affects the novel because he does not know who he can trust. This is exhibited when Gatsby brought Nick to meet his friend Wolfsheim. When Wolfsheim brought up a business deal to Nick Gatsby quickly stepped in to make sure nothing was leaked to

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In Chapter 6, Fitzgerald reveals mysteries surrounding Gatsby and the readers learn about Gatsby’s past. But one of the greatest conundrums is the reason behind Fitzgerald revealing Gatsby’s past at this point in the novel, despite Nick claiming that he only learned about Gatby’s past much later. Chapter 6 allows Fitzgerald to permeate suspense and pique curiosity from the reader and at the same time, stain the immaculate image of Gatsby. The chapter finds itself embroiled in suspicion as accusations about Gatsby fly around. When rumors about Gatsby end as the summer draws to an end, an opening for Nick to tell the story about Gatsby is well, opened.

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Jay Gatsby is a man that has built himself from humble beginnings and reached immense wealth, a representation of “new money” living in West Egg but still yearning for

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This illustrate how cheap she is and liar. Another critical thing in the novel is Gatsby's betrayal to himself. Growing up Jay Gatsby constantly attempted his best to improve as a man. Gatsby had numerous deep desires and had arranged out ways so he could improve as a man. He spent his life on pursuing empty dreams.

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This all makes the life of Gatsby appear to be an entire facade. One way in which Jay Gatsby puts on a false front is when he is talking about his money and how he has come to gain all of his wealth. He tells Nick that he inherited all of his money from his family in the Midwest. In the novel, Gatsby says, “My family all died and I came into a great deal of money.” (Fitzgerald 70)

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Jay Gatsby’s name is a product of his enigmatic imagination. It is revealed that he was born as James Gatz in North Dakota, contradicting his claims of been raised in the European cities of Rome, Moscow, and Venice. As stated, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby despised poverty and longed for wealth. He was going to inherit $25,000 from Dan Cody, but “what remained of the millions went intact to Ella Kaye” (Fitzgerald 100).

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The Notorious Gatsby In the epic novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald pieces together one of the greatest works of the 19th century. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald purposely leaves ambiguity around the main character Jay Gatsby. One is forced to decide whether or not Gatsby is a heroic army commander or a conniving bootlegger. Although there seems to be genuine evidence defending both sides of Gatsby’s life, near the end of the book one can clearly see that Gatsby is an obsessive, narcissistic hedonist.

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Jay Gatsby was living the American dream high on life and loaded with money that is until he was killed. Jay Gatsby was Originally an incredibly secretive man was shrouded in mystery. For example, during Jay Gatsby’s summer party within his mansion in West Egg, an immeasurable amount of rumors about him were floating around such as “he killed a man once” (Fitzgerald 48). This is one rumor of many but this anonymity allowed Jay Gatsby to operate in secret and allow him to rapidly grow financially. Gatsby had originally set himself up good and had nothing to worry about to the fact that “he doesn’t want trouble with anybody” (Fitzgerald 48).

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Jay Gatsby, the business mogul himself, has his ways of bringing about his paycheck, “His methods of attaining his wealth are pretty shady” (Simpson The Problematic Gatsby). The unreliable state of Jay’s business brings to the demise of his wealth and his character around Nick and Daisy, “‘Young Parke’s in trouble... They picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter’” (Fitzgerald 166). Events happen in the world of every business, but Gatsby’s line of work puts people in danger.

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The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, has been one of the most widely read books for decades. Having inspired the production of two movies and merchandise, the novel features a young man by the name of Gatsby wielding his way through life, becoming rich through odd means for one main goal, a woman named Daisy. Gatsby was born to a farmer in North Dakota and ever since he was a child, he had always envisioned a better life for himself than farming. Along the path to his better life, he stumbled across Daisy, however, he was shipped to war and was unable to obtain her when he returned. Throughout time, there have been famous people who resemble Gatsby in all means of ways whether it be illegal activity, wealth, manipulation, or just one main goal and a man by the name of James Jerome Hill may just take the prize winner for leading a life most similar to Gatsby’s.

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This is big lie number one, Gatsby is really from a family of dirt-poor farmers. Gatsby got so wealthy through the business of bootlegging. Gatsby also tells Nick, “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all my ancestors

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Jay Gatsby is a mystery to those around him because of the way he presents himself. He stays hidden away in his house while telling people only the smallest details about himself, leaving them to guess the rest. Before Nick meets Gatsby at his party, he hears several different stories about him from other partygoers. One woman even says that, “Somebody told me they thought he’d killed a man once (44)”. Often these small details Gatsby tells people can seem to contradict, such as the time when Gatsby says he is “the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West (65)” but then later goes on to say that he is from San Francisco.

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The Illusion of Gatsby: A Study of Naivete and Corruption in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Although Jay Gatsby is understood to be “great” in the title of the novel, he ultimately represents this in an ironic sense, as he portrays a deceitful image and is tainted by his own naivete. Gatsby is a man who strives for the great American Dream, often associated with the notion that money equals happiness, however, to attain this wealth and image, he puts on a facade of greatness. There is an image surrounding Gatsby, as people claim that he has “killed a man,” or that he was “a German spy during the war” (Fitzgerald 44). Gatsby’s trail of deceit begins with these rumours, as he seems uninterested in resolving the rumours surrounding him.

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The Great Gatsby, a surrealist novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has been praised as an American classic. One of the main intrigues of this novel is the character of Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic and wealthy man who becomes the subject of the book. There are dissenting opinions on the mysterious character of Jay Gatsby and what he represents. While Jay Gatsby has been characterized as a sinister gangster and a classic romantic, it is more probable that he is a pathological narcissist with slightly sinister habits. Jay Gatsby exemplifies many characteristics of a pathological narcissist, as argued in “Gatsby is a Pathological Narcissist” by Giles Mitchell.

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The Life of the Party in The Great Gatsby Many people have read The Great Gatsby which is a tragic and dramatic story; but only a few have realized that F. Scott Fitzgerald wants to show the world how money does not fix a person’s problems; it only makes them worse. Fitzgerald’s story, The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man who was taught as a child to watch others but to never judge them. Nick starts his story by moving to West Egg in Long Island where he is seeking the excitement and adventure of the upper class. Then he buys a cottage next to a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby who is the talk of the city in every corner of the city he hears the name Gatsby.

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