Essay --

In chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby, a reporter comes to Gatsby’s door to interview him about his personal life. Jay Gatsby’s original name was James Gatz and he was born on a North Dakota farm but went to college in St. Olaf, Minnesota. He dropped out of college and later met the wealthy Dan Cody who hired him as a personal assistant. When Dan Cody died he left Gatsby $25,000, but his mistress prevented Gatsby from claiming it. After that, Gatsby was determined to become rich and successful. Later on, Nick visits Gatsby and is shocked to find Tom Buchanan there, and the next Saturday Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. After the party Gatsby is worried that Daisy did not enjoy it and Nick tells him to give up on Daisy, however, Gatsby refuses and instead tells Nick about he and Daisy’s past. The quote that best describes Jay Gatsby is, â€Å"He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy† (110). The good qualities of Jay Gatsby are he is a loyal person and he has a good heart. The bad qualities of Gatsby are he is amoral, dishonest, and throws his money away. Fitzgerald developed this character to show how people use their wealth to get love only to discover the love is not real. Additionally, he is developed throughout the novel to be an example of how living extravagantly can be an empty life. A meaningful quote in the chapter is, â€Å"The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself† (98). This quote is meaningful to the story because it reveals the truth of Gatsby changing his identity. Also, it focuses on the fact that Gatsby wasn’t going to let any obstacle stop him from fu... ..., to Nick, â€Å"It was a photograph of the house cracked in the corners and dirty with many hands† (172), and again by Nick, â€Å"On the last night†¦I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more† (179). This symbol is important to the story because it symbolizes the emptiness of Gatsby’s life and shows how his quest for Daisy was a failure. The East and West were mentioned by Nick, â€Å"Even when the East excited me most, even when I was most keenly aware of it superiority to the bored, sprawling, swollen towns beyond the Ohio†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (176). It was mentioned again by Nick soon after, â€Å"After Gatsby’s death the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction† (176). The symbol is important to the story because they represented the different social classes and how they made a barrier between the people from the East and West.