1. ‘The Great Gatsby’
Chapter Six Notes

2. Summary
A reporter from New York appears at Gatsby’s door after hearing of his notoriety.
Nick breaks off from the main narrative to reveal more about Gatsby’s past.
Together with his friends the Sloanes, Tom makes an unannounced visit to Gatsby’s mansion.
Daisy attends one of Gatsby’s lavish parties.

3. Gatz the dreamer
Gatsby’s true identity is revealed as James Gatz, the son of impoverished farmers from North Dakota.
He adopted the name Jay Gatsby upon meeting Dan Cody (his mentor) at the age of seventeen.
Nick charts the three stage transformation of James Gatz:

4. Stage one- rejection of his humble origins
Born into a ‘shiftless and unsuccessful’ farming family, young Gatz quickly creates a vicarious reality for himself. We are informed that ‘his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.’ This mirrors the process of the New World rejecting the values and culture of their former coloniser Britain. While suggesting an unsavoury aspect of his character, it is also testament to the potency of his dream that he is willing to make any necessary sacrifice in order to achieve the life he idealises.

5. STAGE TWO- investing in the imagination
Gatsby increasingly becomes immersed in a fantasy world, which spurs him on: “his heart was in a constant turbulent riot” and “each night he added to the pattern of his fancies.” This devotion to an ideal and belief in the power of the imagination is Gatsby’s redeeming feature- it is what makes him ‘great.’ He is the antithesis of the idle, selfish, superficial and morally bankrupt elite he aspires to as the intensity of his dream means that he is driven by idealism.

6. Stage three- exploiting opportunity
Gatsby learns to identify and seize opportunities fro advancement. He uses his natural gifts (such as his warm smile) to ingratiate himself with Dan Cody. He can be considered a skilled and perceptive manipulator. He earns Cody’s full trust through dedication and loyalty but is denied his just rewards when cheated out of his inheritance. This is another example of immorality going unpunished while loyalty is left unrewarded.

7. A Distorted Dream
Prior to his meeting with Cody, Gatsby is described as having a ‘hard brown body’ and as being able to survive on wit and instinct. This can be contrasted unfavourably with his expensive suits and extravagant lifestyle which are the reward of his wealth accumulation. His previous self-improvement is closer to the ideals of the mid-Western pioneers who first chased the American Dream. Thus, Gatsby can be seen to have rejected the true spirit of the American Dream.

8. Foreshadowing
Gatsby displays loyalty and dedication to Cody. He becomes a valued and trusted employee.
Cody bequeaths Gatsby twenty-five thousand dollars as a reward for his service.
Gatsby is denied this fortune by the machinations of Ella Kaye and her lawyers.
This makes it clear that loyalty and devotion are not always rewarded. Conversely, cheating and deviance is not always punished (this is also evident from Jordan’s successful cheating and Tom’s open adultery).
By describing this incident, Nick prepares us for the ultimate fate of the characters he is describing.

9. The Sloane Incident
This incident serves to highlight the hierarchical snobbery of the East Egg set.
Tom and the Sloanes inexplicably arrive at Gatsby’s mansion. Although unnerved, Gatsby plays the role of the perfect host. He offers them drinks and even invites them to dinner.
‘Mr Sloane didn’t enter into the conversation, but lounged back haughtily in his chair..’
Mr Sloane also responds to an invite to one of Gatsby’s parties ‘without gratitude.’
A contrast between Gatsby and the East Eggers develops as his cordiality is opposed by their rudeness and ignorance.

10. Gatsby’s Blind SPOT
Mrs Sloane invites Gatsby and Nick to join her at a pre-arranged party. Nick detects the insincerity of the offer and declines. Gatsby, however, takes the offer at face value and leaves his guests in order to get changed. When he leaves, Tom makes disparaging remarks about him.
This episode reflects the basic nastiness and hypocrisy of the East Eggers – they believe that Gatsby's vast wealth is no remedy for the inferiority of his family tree.
Gatsby’s inability to recognise class prejudice is a fatal flaw. He is blind to a reality in which he can never be fully accepted by the established upper classes as he is excluded by his humble origins. Thus, dramatic irony is created as we are aware that his dream can never be fully fulfilled.

11. Another Lavish Party
Gatsby finally achieves his goal of getting Daisy to attend one of his parties. It is clear that he aims to amaze her at this gathering:
“You must see the faces of many people you’ve heard about”
Here, the true purpose of the parties becomes abundantly clear. Gatsby regards his guests as ornaments proclaiming his power, status and influence. His efforts in gaining notoriety for his gatherings have been made in order to ‘show-off’ to Daisy.
However, it becomes quickly apparent that Daisy is distinctly unimpressed by the party. She is disgusted by the lavishness and vulgarity on display.

12. Daisy’s reaction
Daisy does not enjoy the spectacle of the party. The orchestra, the mounds of food, the champagne, the dancing, the drunkenness all disgust her:
She was appalled by West Egg, the unprecedented ‘place’… appalled by its raw vigour that chafed under the old euphemisms… and by the fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand.
Gatsby detects her disapproval and has difficulty concealing his own disappointment. The theatre of spectacle and indulgence has been for nothing. The show will soon be over.
Gatsby and Daisy’s incompatibility is further highlighted. His ostentatious displays of wealth designed to impress Daisy underline the insurmountable differences between them. While Daisy inhabits her life of wealth effortlessly, Gatsby has to make conscious effort to draw attention to his position.

13. Time
“Can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”
A key quotation in revealing Gatsby’s motives.
He is deluded in his belief that he can halt the progression of time and return to a golden moment form his past.
At the same time, his conviction highlights the extent of his belief in the power of the imagination.
As noted in chapter five, the past he remembers has been falsified by his idealisation of Daisy. She cannot ever match his expectations. His dream of being a great man has been corrupted by his pursuit of the wealth and status symbolised by Daisy.
His desire to recapture a golden past mirrors the desire of settlers in the New World to restore the conditions of the Garden of Eden.