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Jay Gatsby () (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
''. The character is an enigmatic ''
nouveau riche ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...
''
millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...
who lives in a
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
mansion where he often hosts extravagant parties and who allegedly gained his fortune by illicit bootlegging during
prohibition in the United States The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...
. Fitzgerald based many details about the fictional character on Max Gerlach, a mysterious neighbor and
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
veteran whom the author met in New York during the raucous
Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
. Like Gatsby, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, and fostered myths about himself, including that he was a relative of
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
. The character of Jay Gatsby has been analyzed by scholars for many decades and has given rise to a number of critical interpretations. Scholars posit that Gatsby functions as a
cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
because of his obscure origins, his unclear religio-ethnic identity and his indeterminate class status. Accordingly, Gatsby's socio-economic ascent is deemed a threat by other characters in the novel not only due to his status as ''nouveau riche'', but because he is perceived as a societal outsider. The character's biographical details indicate his family are recent immigrants which precludes Gatsby from the status of an Old Stock American. As the embodiment of "latest America", Gatsby's rise triggers status anxieties typical of the 1920s era, involving
xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
and
anti-immigrant sentiment Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
. A century after the novel's publication in April 1925, Gatsby has become a touchstone in American culture and is often evoked in popular media in the context of the
American dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...
—the belief that every individual, regardless of their origins, may seek and achieve their desired goals, "be they political, monetary, or social. It is the literary expression of the concept of America: The land of opportunity". Gatsby has been described by scholars as a
false prophet In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some peop ...
of the American dream as pursuing the dream often results in dissatisfaction for those who chase it, owing to its unattainability. The character has appeared in various media adaptations of the novel, including stage plays, radio shows, video games, and feature films. Canadian-American actor James Rennie originated the role of Gatsby on the stage when he headlined the 1926 Broadway adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City. He repeated the role for 112 performances. That same year, screen actor Warner Baxter played the role in the lost 1926 silent film adaptation. During the subsequent decades, the role has been played by many actors including
Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...
,
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
, Robert Ryan,
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...
,
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
, Jeremy Jordan, Ryan McCartan, Jamie Muscato, and others.


Inspiration for the character

After the publication and success of his debut novel '' This Side of Paradise'' in 1920, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda Sayre relocated to a wealthy enclave on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
near
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Despite enjoying the exclusive Long Island milieu, Fitzgerald disapproved of the extravagant parties, and the wealthy persons he encountered often disappointed him. While striving to emulate the rich, he found their privileged lifestyle to be morally disquieting, and he felt repulsed by their careless indifference to less wealthy persons.: Although Fitzgerald strove "to become member of the community of the rich, to live from day to day as they did, to share their interests and tastes", he found such a privileged lifestyle to be morally disquieting. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald admired the rich, but he nonetheless harbored a deep resentment towards them.: Fitzgerald "admired deeply the rich" and yet his wealthy friends often disappointed or repulsed him. Consequently, he harbored "the smouldering hatred of a peasant" towards the wealthy and their milieu. This recurrent theme is ascribable to Fitzgerald's life experiences in which he was "a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton." He "sensed a corruption in the rich and mistrusted their might." Consequently, he became a vocal critic of America's leisure class and his works satirized their lives. While living in New York, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's enigmatic neighbor was Max Gerlach. Gerlach claimed to be born in America to a German immigrant family, and he served as an officer in the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
s during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He later became a gentleman bootlegger who lived like a millionaire in New York. Flaunting his new wealth, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
, and fostered myths about himself, including that he was a relative of
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
. These details about Gerlach inspired Fitzgerald in his creation of Jay Gatsby. With the end of
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
and the onset of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, Gerlach lost his immense wealth. Living in reduced circumstances, he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head in 1939.; ; Blinded after his suicide attempt, he lived as a helpless invalid for many years before dying on October 18, 1958, at Bellevue Hospital, New York City. He was buried in a pine casket at Long Island National Cemetery. Mirroring Gerlach's background, Fitzgerald's fictional creation of James Gatz has a Germanic surname, and the character's father adheres to
Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. These biographical details indicate Gatsby's family are recent German immigrants. Such origins preclude them from the status of Old Stock Americans. Fitzgerald based many aspects of the lower-middle-class character on himself. "The whole idea of Gatsby", he later explained, "is the unfairness of a poor young man not being able to marry a girl with money. This theme comes up again and again because I lived it." In particular, Gatsby's obsession with Daisy Buchanan was based on Fitzgerald's romantic obsession with Chicago heiress Ginevra King. After ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
''s publication in April 1925, Fitzgerald was dismayed that many literary critics misunderstood the novel, and he resented the fact that they failed to perceive the many parallels between his own life and his fictional character of Jay Gatsby; in particular, that both created a mythical version of themselves and attempted to live up to this legend. In June 2025, Clare Hopkins, archivist at Trinity College, and Roger Michel, a fellow of the College, announced after searching historical records that the model for young Gatsby was “almost certainly” Robert P. T. Coffin, a poet.


Fictional biography

Born circa 1890 to impoverished
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
farmers in rural
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
,: "Just why these inventions were a source of satisfaction to James Gatz of North Dakota, isn't easy to say.... His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people". James Gatz was a poor Midwesterner who briefly attended St. Olaf College, a small Lutheran institution in southern
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. He dropped out after two weeks as he disliked working as a lowly
janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...
. In 1907, a 17-year-old Gatz traveled to
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
, where he met copper tycoon Dan Cody whose
yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...
'' Tuolomee'' was anchored in Little Girl Bay. Introducing himself as Jay Gatsby, the ragged young man saved Cody's yacht from destruction by warning him of weather hazards. In gratitude, Cody invited him to join his yachting trip. Now known as Gatsby, he served as Cody's protégé over the next five years and voyaged around the world. When Cody died in 1912, he left Gatsby $25,000 in his will (), but Cody's mistress Ella Kaye cheated Gatsby out of the inheritance. In 1917, after the United States' entrance into
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Gatsby enlisted as a
doughboy "Doughboy" was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s, when it was gradually replaced by " G.I." as the following ge ...
in the
American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
. During infantry training at Camp Taylor near
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, 27-year-old Gatsby met and fell deeply in love with 18-year-old
debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Origin ...
Daisy Fay. Dispatched to Europe, Gatsby attained the rank of
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in the U.S. 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division and garnered decorations for extraordinary valor during the
Meuse–Argonne offensive The Meuse–Argonne offensive (also known as the Meuse River–Argonne Forest offensive, the Battles of the Meuse–Argonne, and the Meuse–Argonne campaign) was a major part of the final Allies of World War I, Allied Offensive (military), offe ...
in 1918 from every Allied government, including the one of
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, which King Nicholas I gave him the Order of Danilo, to "Major Jay Gatsby For Valour Extraordinary". After the Allied Powers signed an armistice with Imperial Germany, Gatsby resided in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 1919 where he briefly attended
Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
, for five months. While there, he received a letter from Daisy, informing him that she had married Thomas "Tom" Buchanan, a wealthy Chicago businessman. Gatsby departed the United Kingdom and traveled across the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
to Louisville, but Daisy had already departed the city on her
honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...
. Undaunted by Daisy's marriage to Tom, Gatsby decided to become a man of wealth and influence in order to win Daisy's affection. With dreams of amassing immense wealth, a penniless Gatsby settled in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
as it underwent the birth pangs of the
Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
. It is speculated—but never confirmed—that Gatsby took advantage of the newly enacted National Prohibition Act by making a fortune via bootlegging and built connections with
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
figures such as Meyer Wolfsheim, a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
gambler who purportedly fixed the World Series in 1919. In 1922, Gatsby purchased a
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
estate in the ''
nouveau riche ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...
'' area of West Egg, a town on the opposite side of
Manhasset Bay Manhasset Bay, New York, is an embayment in western Long Island off Long Island Sound. Description Manhasset Bay forms the northeastern boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula and the southwestern boundary of the Cow Neck Peninsula ( Port Was ...
from " old money" East Egg, where Daisy, Tom, and their three-year-old daughter Pammy lived. At his mansion, Gatsby hosted elaborate soirées with hot jazz music in an attempt to attract Daisy as a guest. With the help of Daisy's cousin and bond salesman Nick Carraway, Gatsby seduces her. Soon after, Gatsby accompanied Daisy and her husband to
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
in New York City in the company of Carraway and Daisy's friend Jordan Baker. Tom borrowed Gatsby's yellow
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
to drive into the city. He detoured to a
filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
in the " valley of ashes", a refuse dump on Long Island. The impoverished proprietor, George Wilson, voiced his concern that his wife Myrtle was having an affair with another man—unaware that Tom was the individual in question. At a hotel suite in the twenty-story Plaza Hotel, Tom confronted Gatsby over his ongoing affair with his wife in the presence of Daisy, Nick, and Jordan. Gatsby urged Daisy to disavow her love for Tom and to declare that she married Tom for his money. Daisy asserted that she loved both Tom and Gatsby. Leaving the hotel, Daisy departed with Gatsby in his yellow Rolls-Royce while Tom departed in his car with Jordan and Nick. While driving Gatsby's car on the return trip to East Egg, Daisy struck and killed—either intentionally or unintentionally—her husband's mistress Myrtle standing in the highway. At Daisy's house in East Egg, Gatsby assured Daisy he would take the blame if they were caught. The next day, Tom informed George that it was Gatsby's car that killed Myrtle. Visiting Gatsby's mansion, George killed Gatsby with a
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
while he was relaxing in his swimming pool and then committed suicide by shooting himself with the revolver. Despite the many
flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...
s and sheiks who frequented Gatsby's lavish parties on a weekly basis, only one reveler referred to as "Owl-Eyes" attended Gatsby's funeral. Also present at the funeral were bond salesman Nick Carraway and Gatsby's father Henry C. Gatz, who stated his pride in his son's achievement as a self-made millionaire.


Critical analysis


American dream

The character of Jay Gatsby has become a cultural touchstone in American culture and is often invoked in popular discourse in the context of rags-to-riches grandeur. Commentator
Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
views the character as personifying the eternal American striver, albeit one is keenly aware that his ''nouveau riche'' status is a detriment: "Gatsby needed more than money: he needed to be someone who had ''always'' had it.... this blind faith that he can retrofit his very existence to Daisy's specifications is the heart and soul of ''The Great Gatsby''. It's the classic story of the fresh start, the second chance". However, in contrast to Gatsby as "the eternal American striver", folklorist Richard Dorson sees Gatsby as a radically different American archetype who rejects the traditional approach to earning wealth via hard work in favor of quick riches via bootlegging. In Dorson's view, Gatsby "rejected the Protestant ethic in favor of a much more extravagant form of ambition". The character is often evoked as an indicator of
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
; in particular, the likelihood of the average American amassing wealth and achieving the
American dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...
. In 1951, biographer Arthur Mizener first interpreted the final pages of the novel in the context of the American dream. "The last two pages of the book," Mizener wrote in his biography '' The Far Side of Paradise'', "make overt Gatsby's embodiment of the American dream as a whole by identifying his attitude with the awe of the Dutch sailors" when first glimpsing the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. Mizener noted the dream's enchantment is qualified by Fitzgerald via his emphasis on its unreality. Mizener argued that Fitzgerald viewed the American dream itself as "ridiculous.": Fitzgerald's "main point is that the American dream of rising from newsboy to President is ridiculous". Following the publication of his 1951 biography, Mizener popularized his interpretation of the novel as an explicit criticism of the American dream in a series of talks titled "''The Great Gatsby'' and the American Dream." Expanding upon Mizener's thesis, scholar Roger L. Pearson traced in 1970 the literary origins of this dream to
Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...
. The dream is the belief that every individual, regardless of their origins, may seek and achieve their desired goals, "be they political, monetary, or social. It is the literary expression of the concept of America: The land of opportunity". Echoing Mizener's earlier interpretation, Pearson suggests Gatsby serves as a
false prophet In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some peop ...
of the American dream, and pursuing the dream only results in dissatisfaction for those who chase it, owing to its unattainability. In this context, the green light emanating across the
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
from Gatsby's house is interpreted as a symbol of Gatsby's unrealizable goal to win Daisy and, consequently, to achieve the American dream.


Societal outsider

Scholars posit that Gatsby's socio-economic ascent is deemed a threat not only due to his status as ''nouveau riche'', but because he is perceived as an ethnic and societal outsider. Many of Fitzgerald's characters like Gatsby are defined by their sense of " otherness".: "John Unger is an outsider to the wealth and power elite as well as to the truth of his intended fate." Much of Fitzgerald's fiction is informed by his life experiences as a societal outsider. As a young boy growing up in the Midwest, he strained "to meet the standard of the rich people of St. Paul and Chicago among whom he had to grow up without ever having the money to compete with them". His wealthier neighbors viewed the young author's family to be lower-class, and his classmates at affluent institutions such as Newman and Princeton regarded him as a
parvenu A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Origin ...
. His life as an expatriate in Europe and as a writer in Hollywood reinforced this lifelong sense of being an outsider. Gatsby, whom other characters belittle as "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere", functions as a cipher because of his obscure origins, his unclear ethno-religious identity and his indeterminate class status. Much like Fitzgerald, Gatsby's ancestry precludes him from the coveted status of Old Stock Americans. His ascent is deemed a threat not only due to his status as ''nouveau riche'', but because he is perceived as an outsider. Tom Buchanan's hostility towards Gatsby, who is the embodiment of "latest America", has been interpreted as partly embodying status anxieties typical of the 1920s era, involving anti-immigrant sentiment. Accordingly, Gatsby—whom Tom belittles as "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere"—functions as a cipher because of his obscure origins, his unclear religio-ethnic identity and his indeterminate class status. Because of such themes, scholars assert that Fitzgerald's fiction captures the perennial American experience, since it is a story about outsiders and those who resent them—whether such outsiders are newly-arrived immigrants, the ''nouveau riche'', or successful minorities. Since Americans living in the 1920s to the present must navigate a society with entrenched prejudices, Fitzgerald's depiction of resultant status anxieties and social conflict in his fiction has been highlighted by scholars as still enduringly relevant nearly a hundred years later. Due to Gatsby's ''
nouveau riche ; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...
'' background and indeterminate class status, Fitzgerald viewed the character to be a contemporary Trimalchio, the crude upstart in
Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Britannica.com.
(; ; ; s ...
's ''
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius in the late 1st century AD, though the manuscript tradition identifi ...
'', and even refers to Gatsby as Trimalchio once in the novel. Unlike Gatsby's spectacular parties, Trimalchio participated in the orgies he hosted, although the characters are otherwise similar. Intent on emphasizing the connection to Trimalchio, Fitzgerald entitled an earlier draft of the novel as ''Trimalchio in West Egg''. Fitzgerald's editor, Maxwell Perkins, convinced the author to abandon his original title of ''Trimalchio in West Egg'' in favor of ''The Great Gatsby''.


Self-mythologizing

The term "Gatsby" is also often used in the United States to refer to real-life figures who have reinvented themselves; in particular, wealthy individuals whose rise to prominence involved an element of deception or self-mythologizing. In a 1986 exposé on disgraced journalist R. Foster Winans who engaged in
insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...
with
stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...
Peter N. Brant, the '' Seattle Post Intelligencer'' described Brant as "Winan's Gatsby". Brant had changed his name from Bornstein and said he was "a man who turned his back on his heritage and his family because he felt that being recognized as Jewish would be a detriment to his career".


Success at any cost

In more recent years, Gatsby's pursuit of success at any cost has been referenced as exemplifying the perils of
environmental destruction Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
in pursuit of self-interest. According to Kyle Keeler, Gatsby's quest for greater status manifests as self-centered,
anthropocentric Anthropocentrism ( ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. From a ...
resource acquisition. Inspired by the predatory mining practices of his fictional mentor Dan Cody, Gatsby participates in extensive
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
amid World War I and then undertakes bootlegging activities reliant upon exploiting South American agriculture. Gatsby conveniently ignores the wasteful devastation of the valley of ashes to pursue a consumerist lifestyle and exacerbates the
wealth gap The distribution of wealth is a comparison of the wealth of various members or groups in a society. It shows one aspect of economic inequality or heterogeneity in economics, economic heterogeneity. The distribution of wealth differs from the i ...
that became increasingly salient in 1920s America. For these reasons, Keeler argues that—while Gatsby's socioeconomic ascent and self-transformation depend upon these very factors—each one is nonetheless partially responsible for the ongoing ecological crisis.


Musical leitmotif

Both the character of Jay Gatsby and Fitzgerald's novel have been linked to
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
's 1924 composition '' Rhapsody in Blue''.; ; ; ; Scholars assert that the fictional piece of music in Fitzgerald's novel titled ''Jazz History of the World,'' played by an orchestra when Nick first meets Gatsby, alludes to Gershwin's rhapsody, and the orchestra alludes to
Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...
's band which first performed the work at Aeolian Hall in a February 1924 jazz concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music". Whiteman repeated the concert at Carnegie Hall.: "Viadmir Tostoff's ''Jazz History of the World'', which is played at Gatsby's party, asserts that jazz is an authoritative and authentic voice of the period... The bandleader Paul Whiteman... was encouraged in 1924 to put on a jazz concert in a symphony hall which he called 'An Experiment in Modern Music', the major composition being Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue''. It was later repeated at Carnegie Hall". In the novel, Fitzgerald's description of the orchestra's unique instrumentation is nearly identical to Whiteman's iconic band. "We can be fairly certain that he is referring to Whiteman's band," wrote Gerald Early in his 1993 work ''The Lives of Jazz'', "The orchestra is described as 'a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos, and low and high drums', a nearly exact description of the instrumentation of the Whiteman band". In an earlier draft, Fitzgerald added and then deleted a passage in which Nick describes in detail the jazz music played by this symphonic orchestra as embodying "the very essence of change". Stuart Mitchner highlights Nick's reaction to the opening
glissando In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...
of Gershwin's rhapsody in this draft: Fitzgerald admired Gershwin's composition and opined that ''Rhapsody in Blue'' idealized jazz much as the youth-obsessed zeitgeist of the
Jazz Age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
idealized youth. In subsequent decades, critics and scholars linked both the Jazz Age and Fitzgerald's works with Gershwin's rhapsody. In 1941, historian Peter Quennell opined that Fitzgerald's novel embodied "the sadness and the remote jauntiness of a Gershwin tune". Various writers such as the American playwright and critic Terry Teachout have likened George Gershwin himself to the character of Jay Gatsby due to his attempt to transcend his lower-class background, his abrupt meteoric success, and his early death while in his thirties. Playing upon the connection between Jay Gatsby and Gershwin's rhapsody, the 2013 film ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
'' used ''Rhapsody in Blue'' as a dramatic
leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
for the character.


Portrayals


Stage

The first individual to portray the role of Jay Gatsby was 37-year-old James Rennie, a stage actor who headlined the 1926 Broadway adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel at the Ambassador Theatre in New York City. As "a handsome Canadian with a good voice", Rennie's portrayal met with rave reviews from theater critics. He repeated the role for 112 performances and then paused when he had to voyage to England due to an ailing family member. After returning from England, Rennie continued to appear as Gatsby when the stage play embarked upon a successful nationwide tour. As Fitzgerald was vacationing in Europe at the time, he never saw the 1926 Broadway play, but his agent Harold Ober sent him telegrams which quoted the many positive reviews of the production. In later stage adaptations, many actors have played Jay Gatsby. The Yale Dramatic Association performed a musical production of ''The Great Gatsby'' in May–June 1956. This was its first musical adaptation. In 1999, Jerry Hadley portrayed the character in John Harbison's operatic adaptation of the work performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera, and Lorenzo Pisoni portrayed Gatsby in Simon Levy's 2006 stage adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel. In the fall of 2023, Jeremy Jordan played Gatsby in '' The Great Gatsby: A New Musical'' at Paper Mill Playhouse. The same production later transferred to Broadway in March 2024 where Jordan reprised the role. In the summer of 2024, Isaac Cole Powell played the role of Gatsby in Florence Welch's musical '' Gatsby: An American Myth'' at the
American Repertory Theatre The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...
. In January 2025, Ryan McCartan took over the role of Gatsby from Jordan in the Broadway production of ''The Great Gatsby'' and in April 2025, Jamie Muscato began starring as Gatsby in the West End production.Frances Mayli McCann and Jamie Muscato Will Lead London's The Great Gatsby
/ref>


Film

A number of actors portrayed Jay Gatsby in cinematic adaptations of Fitzgerald's novel. Warner Baxter played the role in the lost 1926 silent film. Although the film received mixed reviews, Warner Baxter's portrayal of Gatsby was praised by several critics, although other critics found his acting to be overshadowed by Lois Wilson as Daisy. Purportedly, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda Sayre loathed the 1926 film adaptation of his novel and stormed out midway through a viewing of the film at a cinema. "We saw ''The Great Gatsby'' at the movies," Zelda wrote to an acquaintance in 1926, "It's and awful and terrible and we left." Nearly a decade after Fitzgerald's death by a heart attack in 1940, Gatsby was portrayed by
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
actor
Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...
in the 1949 film adaptation. Ladd's Gatsby was criticized by Bosley Crowther of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' who felt that Ladd was overly solemn in the title role and gave the impression of "a patient and saturnine fellow who is plagued by a desperate love". The film's producer
Richard Maibaum Richard Maibaum (May 26, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American screenwriter, film producer, and playwright, best known for his work on the James Bond films. He wrote 13 of the 16 Eon Productions Bond films produced between 1962 and 1989, be ...
claimed that he cast Ladd as Gatsby based on the actor's rags-to-riches similarity to the character: In 1974,
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...
portrayed Gatsby in a film adaptation that year.; Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' believed that Redford was "too substantial, too assured, even too handsome" as Gatsby and would have been better suited in the role of antagonist Tom Buchanan. Likewise, film critic Gene Siskel of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' criticized Redford's interpretation of Gatsby as merely a "shallow pretty boy". Siskel declared there was little resemblance between Redford's suave portrayal and the ambitious
parvenu A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Origin ...
in the novel. In more recent decades,
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
played the role in director Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film adaptation. In a 2011 interview with ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine prior to the film's production, DiCaprio explained he was attracted to the role of Gatsby due to the idea of portraying "a man who came from absolutely nothing, who created himself solely from his own imagination. Gatsby's one of those iconic characters because he can be interpreted in so many ways: a hopeless romantic, a completely obsessed wacko or a dangerous gangster intent on clinging to wealth".


Television

The character of Jay Gatsby has appeared many times in television adaptations. The first was in May 1955 as an NBC episode for '' Robert Montgomery Presents'' starring Robert Montgomery as Gatsby. In May 1958, CBS filmed the novel as an episode of ''
Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
'', also titled ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
,'' which starred 50-year-old Robert Ryan as the 32-year-old Jay Gatsby. Toby Stephens later portrayed the character in a 2000 television film adaptation. In a 2001 review of the television film, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' criticized Stephens' performance as "so rough around the edges, so patently an up-from-the-street poseur that no one could fall for his stories for a second" and his "blunt performance turns Gatsby's entrancing smile into a suspicious smirk". In ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode " The Great Phatsby", Mr. Burns assumes Jay Gatsby's role, with the storyline spoofing the 2013 film adaptation. In the ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode " High School English",
Brian Griffin Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is one of the main characters of the series and a member of the Griffin family. Created, designed, and voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is an anthrop ...
is portrayed as Gatsby.


Radio

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...
starred as Gatsby in an adaptation broadcast on CBS '' Family Hour of Stars'' on January 1, 1950, and Andrew Scott played Gatsby in the 2012 two-part
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
'' Classic Serial'' production.


List


See also

*
Gatsby (sandwich) A Gatsby is a South African submarine sandwich consisting of a bread roll filled with chips (French fries) and a choice of fillings and sauces. It originated in Cape Town and is popular throughout the Western Cape province. The sandwich is typ ...
, a South African
submarine sandwich A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Although "subma ...
named after the character * Great Gatsby curve, a measure of economic inequality and
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
* Adaptations and portrayals of F. Scott Fitzgerald


References


Notes


Citations


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatsby, Jay Characters in American novels of the 20th century Male characters in literature Drama film characters Fictional businesspeople Fictional characters based on real people Fictional characters from New York (state) Fictional characters from North Dakota Fictional majors Fictional murdered people Fictional socialites Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional white-collar criminals Fictional World War I veterans Literary characters introduced in 1925 The Great Gatsby Male characters in film Fictional characters from the 19th century Fictional characters from the 20th century Meuse–Argonne offensive Fictional German people