Meeting Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

"He's just a man named Gatsby" (Fitzgerald, 48). 

The quote above seems to describe simply who Gatsby is. However, this overly simplistic description maintains Gatsby's mysterious persona and therefore allows much room for a complicated personality. Gatsby stands apart from the people with whom he surrounds himself.  Most of his companions are rich people who thoroughly enjoy drinking and partaking in wild events. Unlike his party guests, Gatsby does not drink alcohol. This sets him apart from them, because when his guests became intoxicated and somewhat wild, Gatsby remained refined and polite. Gatsby avoided the consumption of alcohol, so I do not understand why he hosted parties where alcohol was available. Gatsby doesn't quite seem at home during his parties and perhaps that is because he might not have been raised in wealthy surroundings where grand parties were normal events. Jordan Baker told Carraway that Gatsby claimed to be an Oxford man, but that she did not believe he was. Carraway's thoughts in response to this were, "But young men didn't - at least in my provincial inexperience I believed they didn't- drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound" (Fitzgerald, 49). Herein lies the mystery of Gatsby's past. Where is Gatsby from? How did he gain his wealth? And why does he live in Long Island Sound? I am curious to see if Fitzgerald will answer my questions in the coming chapters.