Often times, past events in a person’s life can influence the course of his or her future life. Many people tend to hold on to certain aspects of their lives in the past as remarkable memories, however, some can let the negative memories influence the present. In Jay Gatsby’s life, he allows his past life to resurface throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Consequently, Gatsby dedicates virtually his whole life to recreating his idealized past with Daisy Buchanan. Jay Gatsby, originally named James Gatz, starts his life as a poor boy born in North Dakota to two poor, working-class farmers. Gatsby dreams of inventing a more glamorous life for himself, and he leaves to join the military, where he works his way through the ranks to become a high-ranking officer. In the novel, Nick states, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself...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.” He strives to make an idealized version of himself and give himself a life he could not obtain by residing on a North Dakota farm in the Midwest. When Gatsby encounters Daisy, a rich young girl from Kentucky, he falls deeply in love. Unfortunately, Gatsby soon has the realization that Daisy will not be able to marry him due their different economic backgrounds and social status. In his future, this causes Gatsby