The Great Gatsby Chapter 6

Chapter 6 pgs 97-111

Summary: A reporter goes to Gatsby’s house hoping to interview him because so many rumors have been circulating around town. Nick then tells us about Gatsby’s real past and how his real name is James Gatz and was born on a North Dakota farm. James Gatz dropped out of college and worked fishing for salmon and digging for clams. James warned Dan Cody, a rich man who owned a yacht, about a storm. James introduced himself as Jay Gatsby and Dan Cody made him his personal assistant. Gatsby then falls in love with the wealth and dedicated his life to become wealthy when he was unable to get the money left to him from Dan Cody when he died. Tom and Mr. and Mrs. Sloane have a drink at Gatsby’s house and Tom gets suspicious when Gatsby says he knows Daisy. Tom and Daisy then go to one of Gatsby’s parties together. Gatsby is disappointed that Daisy does not have a good time, and he wants everything to be like it was in the past.

a. Dan Cody

b. “Cody was fifty years old then, a product of the Nevada silver fields… that made him many times a millionaire found him physically robust but on the verge of soft mindedness, and, suspecting this, an infinite number of women tried to separate him from his money” (99).

c. Dan Cody is a very wealthy and nice man because he helps Gatsby out and gives him 25,000 dollars when he dies. Gatsby also appreciates him because he has a large picture of him in his room. However, Nick describes the portrait in Gatsby’s bedroom as, “a grey, florid man with a hard, empty face” (100). Cody also had a drinking problem and Gatsby looked after him while he worked for Cody. Gatsby says that Cody was his best friend years ago.

d. Dan Cody’s role in the novel was to shape who Gatsby is today. He represented the wealth and life of luxury that Gatsby has been imagining his whole life. Meeting Cody made this possible and started James Gatz’s new life as Jay Gatsby. Cody also impacted Gatsby’s life in many other ways. He was a heavy drinker and while working for him, Gatsby took care of Cody when he was drunk. So Gatsby drinks so little from learning from all the bad from Cody. When Cody died, he left Gatsby 25,000 dollars that he never got because it went to Cody’s mistress. This made Gatsby more determined than ever to be really successful and wealthy.

Quote: “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand” (110).

This quote is important because it illustrates how Gatsby wants everything to be like the past. He wants Daisy to feel how she did five years ago, and Gatsby has tried to impress her since then. He has gained all his wealth, bought a house in West Egg, thrown parties every weekend to get her attention. He does all this so everything can be like the past again. Nick tries to tell Gatsby that he can’t repeat the past, but he is still persistent on achieving it and having those same feelings he had five years ago.