Mystery of Gatsby

Gatsby has been a very mysterious character right from his original introduction which exclaimed him as a “gorgeous” person (Fitzgerald 2). Even after meeting Gatsby, we are still unsure whether what he tells Nick is the truth; if he truly comes from a wealthy family in the Middle West, then he should be living in East Egg, not West Egg. Analyzing from the fact that Gatsby does live in West Egg, this means he comes from new money. Not only did he become rich fairly recently, but people still do not know much about him or where he got his money from. In other words, Gatsby may be wealthy, but he does not wish to disclose much about his past or present self as it may damage his reputation.

This begs the question, what is Gatsby ashamed about? Is it about how he acquired his wealth? Is it about his family? Or maybe both?

We know he is affiliated with Wolfsheim, and Wolfsheim seems like a suspicious and shady character. Gatsby also did a “favor” for the commissioner once (Fitzgerald 68). So he quite possibly is involved in illegal business and bribery with men in charge of the law.

What about his family? Well Gatsby said he didn’t want Nick to think of him as “some nobody” (Fitzgerald 67). One only fears being a nobody if they believe they once were or are a nobody. So Gatsby believes he once was a nobody and does not want to repeat that part of his life. He clearly is no longer a nobody as he is immensely wealthy. And since he was given Valour Extraordinary for his war efforts, he must have been a nobody before the war. Combining this analysis with the obvious fact that he did not come from a wealthy family, the residing questions asks what type of family did Gatsby actually come from.

If Gatsby had have come from the middle class, it is very likely he would have said so – only increasing his popularity as someone who rose in American society. But he does not say this. Thus, I am led to believe Gatsby came from a poor family, who’s footsteps he decided not to follow, in an attempt to become a somebody.