Gatsby Identity Quotes

In The Great Gatsby, a man named James Gatz creates an identity for himself based on wealth. He changes his identity not only upon the pursuit of wealth but also to win the girl of his dreams, Daisy. The book starts off with a quote from the narrator's father, “Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry ‘Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!” (Thomas Parke D’Invilliers). Gatsby did indeed wear the hat of gold, but he did many corrupted things to gain that hat. Throughout the story, we see the different ways that wealth corrupts the western characters living in the east. The narrator of the story describes himself to be an honest man, but when introduced to wealthy …show more content…
What made Gatsby great in the eyes of Nick was his ability to self-invent and the way he was able to make his hopes and dreams into a reality. Ironically this can be described as Gatsby’s ability to make his American Dream real. In the novel, Gatsby imagines an identity for himself and is actually able to create that identity and becomes exactly what he wanted to be, a wealthy man. But his pursuit of wealth is the very thing that corrupted him. Gatsby was willing to do anything to gain the wealth and social position that was needed to win Daisy back. He participated in organized crime and “bootlegged” or illegally sold liquor. But Nick said, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” (The Great Gatsby, 4). When Nick refers to the “foul dust” that preyed on him, he was referring to dust as a symbol of moral decay. And moral decay and corruption are what ruined Gatsby’s dreams. Nick defines Gatsby as having a “gorgeous” personality, and arguably he did. But he became corrupted, and the foul dust- the moral decay that preyed on him ultimately consumed …show more content…
Such as when he exhibits sincere feelings of care, and concern for Daisy’s wellbeing on the night of the car accident. He stays in the bushes watching Daisy’s house until four in the morning to make sure that Tom did not harm her. And he inevitably sacrificed himself for Daisy by taking the blame for Myrtle’s murder. He could have easily told the truth and let Daisy take the blame for her own actions, but yet he didn’t. This is a subtle example of how the foul dust preyed on him. His love for Daisy is what lead him to lie for her wellbeing, and lying is morally corrupt, and that lie led to his