At a young age, Gatsby separates himself from his family and dedicates his life towards becoming wealthy and gaining social status. To erase his history as the poor son of farmers, seventeen-year-old Gatsby changes his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. Following the changing of his name, Gatsby disassociates himself from every aspect of his past and later attempts to convince other people that he inherited his money and went to a prestigious school, and “to this conception he was faithful to the end” (98). In reality, Gatsby attends “a small Lutheran college of St. Olaf in southern Minnesota,” where he has to work as a janitor to pay his tuition. He begins doing various jobs for a millionaire man named Dan Cody, who becomes Gatsby’s mentor. Seeing Dan Cody on his yacht inspires Gatsby to consider the possibility of becoming a member of high …show more content…
Determined to acquire money another way, Gatsby takes part in illegal business. His natural ambition allows him to quickly become successful. With his money, Gatsby buys a house in West Egg and hosts extravagant parties in an attempt to gain popularity. Gatsby also adopts “an elaborate formality of speech that just missed being absurd” (48) in an attempt to seem like an educated and classy person. Gatsby hopes that adopting unnatural language, such as the phrase “old sport,” will improve his image, but his awkward speech only leads others to become annoyed and suspicious. Gatsby accidentally tells Nick that he spent three years earning the money for the house, and when Nick asks him about his inheritance, Gatsby quickly claims that he lost it “in the big panic...of the war” (90). Gatsby’s ability to cover up so much of his childhood emphasizes his determination to be a member of the upper class. Towards the beginning of the novel, it seems as if Gatsby has achieved the American Dream: he appears to be a wealthy and generally well-liked