No Fear The Great Gatsby Chapter 6
So Nick finally decides to tell us who Gatsby is. Remember, Nick is telling us a story that happened two years
ago, so he’s known who Gatsby was this entire time, but it’s not until past the middle of his own story that he divulges the
truth of this man to us.
As it turns out, Gatsby, is not Gatsby at all. Rather, his birth name is James Gatz, and he’s the son of a couple
unsuccessful, poor farmers from North Dakota. As Gatsby grew up, he had a dream to do extraordinarily well for himself,
and so he drummed up the image of his ideal self- Jay Gatsby- when he was a teenager. This dream of his was not easy to
attain, and it’s mostly out of sheer luck that he became the man he always felt he was. At first, he attempted to go to a
college in Minnesota, but was so poor that he had to be a janitor in order to pay for school, and he became dismayed at the
“ferocious indifference” he felt towards him. This decision to leave reveals Gatsby's extreme sensitivity to social class,
and to the fact of his own poverty; from his childhood onward, he longs for wealth and for the sophistication and elegance
which he imagines that wealth will lend him. He feels humiliated as a janitor because he feels himself above this, and so
instead of just swallowing his pride, he damages his actual circumstances and leaves college. He then worked as a clam
digger and a salmon fisher, trying to find anything here and there that would make him money.
And then, he met Dan Cody. Dan Cody was a man who had struck millions from dealing with Montana copper
mining. He was also a drunk and a bit of a fool, and on the day he met Gatz, he had anchored himself in a dangerous part
of the waters. Gatz rowed out to him to tell Cody he might get broken up in half an hour if he didn’t move. Thankful for
his advice, Cody asked who he was, and for the first time in his life, James Gatz was able to share with Cody the name he
had dreamt up for himself, and introduced himself as Jay Gatsby.
This began his friendship with Dan Cody, and he sailed around the world with him for 5 years. He worked as a
personal assistant- always making sure Cody had what he needed. Because Cody was such a drinker, Gatsby learned to
“let liquor alone,” as he saw what a danger it could be. Cody gave him the background he needed in breeding and
manners to be able to pull off appearing rich. Cody put all of his trust into Gatsby, and Gatsby took care of Cody for all
those years. Because of this, Dan Cody left him $25,000 in his will… but that sneaky Ella Kaye found a way to get her
claws into it, so Gatsby never saw any of the money. Though he now had the clothing and the manners to act rich, he was
again penniless.
He met Dan Cody when he was 17, so this whole adventure of his takes us a little past Gatsby’s 22nd birthday.
Chapter 6 starts with a young reporter coming to the door trying to verify some of those rumors we’ve heard
about this Jay Gatsby, and the James Gatz that still exists inside of him is pleased.
Nick reminds us that he didn’t get to see Gatsby for a few weeks because Gatsby was spending all his time with
Daisy. So Nick finally decided to knock on Gatsby’s door because Nick missed him. Something strange happens that day;
Gatsby’s girlfriend’s husband (Tom “Jerk-Face” Buchanan) comes over with two strangers. They’re all on horseback,
which is apparently something that people do. As they walk up to the front door, Gatsby says how glad he is they dropped
by. It should be noted that this is pretty much the only time Nick-the-wallflower interjects into his own story- apparently
telling this part gets him all riled up. After Gatsby says this, Nick interrupts his story to write: “as though they cared!”
