GATSBY’S PAST Chapter 6-7 By Elizabeth, Remi, Serena, Alex, Tyler, Chris and Aditya.

‘HE KNEW WOMEN EARLY, AND SINCE THEY SPOILT HIM, HE BECAME CONTEMPTUOUS OF THEM.  When he was young he had not sorted out his aspirations, therefore just wanted to make himself happy. He used to have all sorts of women, but now he only notices one women, and ignores the rest. This shows how much he has changed, how much Daisy has changed him. When he grew older, he met Daisy, the ‘love’ of his life, and his aspiration became her. In some ways Gatsby is still a boy at heart who is naïve about the world and the only thing he is Daisy.

‘BY THE WAY MR. GATSBY, I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE AN OXFORD MAN. ‘NOT EXACTLY” “OH YES, I UNDERSTAND YOU WENT TO OXFORD” “YES- I WENT THERE”’ Gatsby’s past is uncertain even to those who think they are close to him. He is hiding his past, because he doesn’t want anybody to find out that he a ‘Nobody from Nowhere’, as Tom succinctly put it. He admits to going to Oxford, because he wants to make himself seem more important. His main desire is to impress Daisy, and this means keeping the bad sides of his past a secret (which is most of it) and talking about the good sides

‘HE AND THIS WOLFSHEIM BOUGHT UP A LOT OF SIDE-STREET DRUG-STORES HERE AND IN CHICAGO AND SOLD GRAIN ALCOHOL OVER- THE –COUNTER’  This is a part of his past being revealed. He made his money off lies, manipulation and illegal activities during the prohibition. His money is what makes him a person, without it, Gatsby is nothing.

‪ "CAN'T REPEAT THE PAST?" HE CRIED INCREDULOUSLY. "WHY OF COURSE YOU CAN!" ‬ ‪ This shows that he wants everything to be like it was in the past again, when everything was simpler. Before, she was in love with him even though he was not rich, but now he has to be flashy and make lots of money to get her attention. ‬

‘…HAD LED HIM …TO THE SMALL LUTHERAN COLLEGE.’  Here we find out that Gatsby was a Lutheran, which means that he had a strict religious upbringing, which we know that he has left behind, because he is engaged in illegal and corrupt activities to earn money.

‘IT WAS INDIRECTLY DUE TO CODY THAT GATSBY DRANK SO LITTLE.’  Gatsby doesn’t drink because he watched Cody spill all his secrets when he was drunk and he cannot reveal his secrets because they will ruin his life. This also foreshadows that no matter how hard Gtabsy tries, he will never be on the inside, which is shown later, at his parties, when everybody around Gatsby is drunk, but he isn’t.

‘IT WAS FROM CODY THAT HE INHERITED MONEY….HE DIDN’T GET IT.”  Gatsby was promised money at a young age, but it was taken away form. This combined with his meeting with Daisy is what heralds the changes in his personality that are to arrive. He becomes determined to get money, regardless of the cost.