Chapter Six: On a vague hunch, a reporter comes to Gatsby's home
asking him if he had a statement to give out. At this point Nick relates the
actual story of Gatsby. He tells the reader that Gatsby was born James Gatz
in North Dakota and changed his name legally at the age of seventeen. His
parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people, and the young man was
consumed by fancies of what he might achieve. His life changed when he rowed
out to Dan Cody's yacht on Lake Superior. Cody was a middle-aged man, a product
of the Nevada silver fields and of the Yukon gold rush. Cody took a liking
to Gatsby and gave him a job as his personal assistant. He traveled with him
to the West Indies and the Barbary Coast. When Cody died, Gatsby inherited
$25,000, but didn't get it because Cody's mistress, Ella Kaye, claimed all
of it. Gatsby told Nick this much later.
Nick had not seen Gatsby for several weeks when he went over to his house.
Tom Buchanan arrived there. He had been horseback riding with a woman and
a Mr. Sloane. Gatsby invites the group to supper, but the lady counters with
an offer of supper at her home. Mr. Sloane seems quite opposed to the idea,
so Nick turns down the offer, but Gatsby accepts.
Tom is bothered by the fact that Daisy knows Gatsby, but agrees to go with
Daisy to one of the famous parties. Tom is unpleasant and rude during the
evening. Tom suspects that Gatsby is a bootlegger, since he is one of the
new rich.
After the Buchanans leave, Gatsby is disappointed, thinking that Daisy did
not enjoy herself. Nick realizes that Gatsby wanted nothing less of Daisy
than that she should tell Tom that she never loved him. Nick tells Gatsby
that he can't expect that of Daisy and that "you can't repeat the past," to
which Gatsby replies: "Of course you can!"
Review:
The incident with the reporter is another indication that Gatsby is involved
with some dealings with far-reaching consequences. Whenever there is even
the slightest hint that something shady has occurred, Gatsby is automatically
presumed involved.
The story of Jay Gatsby is the quintessential tale of the self-made man.
Gatsby even 'invented' himself, creating the persona of 'Jay Gatsby' from
the actual person 'James Gatz.' The full realization of the Gatsby persona
and all that it entails is the character's grandiose dream and motivating
force. The experience with Dan Cody did not give Gatsby any tangible assets,
but did provide him with a concrete idea of what Gatsby wanted to be.
This actual history of Gatsby explains some of the suspicion directed towards
him. Unlike Tom or Nick, he does not come from an established family. He is,
as Tom Buchanan says, one of the 'new rich.'
Tom Buchanan serves two major purposes in the novel. He is a source of danger, with his violent bearing and blunt manner. Tom has no sense of restraint, and is quite suspicious, particularly when Daisy is involved. But Tom is also the prime exemplar of 'old money' as compared to Gatsby's status as one of the 'new rich.' Tom's status endows him with a sense of crude condescension towards all others. He automatically assumes that Gatsby must be a bootlegger, for it seems the only explanation for his newfound wealth. He considers Gatsby an obvious social inferior, automatically unacceptable to members of his social circle.
Fitzgerald makes it clear in this chapter that Gatsby expects far too much
from Daisy. He expects that Daisy will give order to his life and set right
any confusion. It is not enough that she might leave her husband for him;
Gatsby expects her to totally renounce any feelings she may have for Tom and
to return to how her life was five years before. This indicates a great arrogance
within Gatsby. He sincerely believes that he can fix everything to be how
it was before. Included in this arrogance is some hostility directed toward
Daisy. Part of Gatsby's goal is to prove Daisy wrong for marrying Tom.
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