Jay Gatsby

Introduction

I am, well now, Jay Gatsby. I was at born and raised as James Gats, on a

farm in North Dakota, from a poor farm family. But that is beside the point. I

will explain my change of my name as I go on in this scrapbook. But the thing

is, my name is not the only thing that changed in my life, nor others. I will be

telling you about my extraordinary life as the pages go on. I am a wealthy man

that lives alone, besides all my workers, in my mansion on West Egg, New

York. I throw parties every Saturday, but no one knows me by my face. But

there is a secret behind my party throwing. I am now friends with my next-

door neighbor, Nick Carraway. He helps me out in many scenarios, which I

greatly appreciate, even if I don’t show it. But now begins the way of my life

that people know me for. Enjoy

My glorious, oh so beautiful mansion. How can many not see it. It represents all my hard

work and dedication in my new life I have put into it. This place is my true pride and joy. It

stands on a 40-acre estate on West Egg, New York (Fitzgerald 5). People say, “It was a factual

imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, and spanking new

under a thin beard or raw ivy[…]”(Fitzgerald 9). I find that very true. But the truth of this place

was to catch my lover’s eye. I wanted her to notice me, so then she may make the decision to

come visit. That was my greatest wish for this place, and also a place for spectacular parties, but

overall, for my love. But also, not to forget my amazing gardens that surrounds it. They are filled

with amazing, oh such gorgeous plants, I can not contain my excitement for such nature it

holds. It is said about them, “[…] in is blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths

among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars”(Fitzgerald 43). I also have a pool, I

rarely swim in. I always have my workers tending to my belongings, keeping the leaves out of my

pool, my plants looking well and alive, and my house always clean and ready for the next party. I

love my house and my land there is not much more that I can say, other than it gives me a perfect

view of my lover’s house across the bay.

My greatest prize and possession is my car, a yellow 1928 Rolls Royce Phantom.

Anywhere I traveled was with this car. When Nick Carraway and I would go to lunch, it would

be in my Rolls Royce. This car went through a lot. When I built my relationship up with my

love, we would travel in it at times. One day there was a group of us meeting at one’s house for

lunch. But it was unbearably hot out, so we decided to go out for lunch. But everyone had a feud

when we went, including me and my lover’s husband, that is a story for another time. But on the

way back, I allowed her to drive, because I was too angered to drive at the time. Then the next

day, my car was in the newspaper. It said “the ‘death car’, as the newspaper called it, didn’t stop;

it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment and then disappeared

around the next bend” (Fitzgerald 144). But then on, that is what my car was known for, killing

my lover’s husband’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson. But my car and I have been through a lot. Taking

Nick to lunch one day, I whipped everywhere, speeding so significantly, to the point a police

officer attempted to pull me over, but I whipped out my white card, and I got out of it. I love my

car, it is one thing that hasn’t failed me much, except identifying me being apart of a hit and run

murder.
Parties

Many know of me for my parties. I hold parties every Saturday night. I get known as the

big rich man who throws wild parties. I have so many attendees to my parties, but none know

me by my face. I hear people speak to one another “You must know Gatsby” (Fitzgerald 11). But

none still do. Till one day I do reveal myself to my next-door neighbor Nick Carraway. It was his

first encounter with me and one of my parties. I sent him a special invitation directly to him, to

make sure he attends. I do not do this normally for my guests, because my parties are an open

invite. For my parties, I get catering, “every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from

a fruitier in New York”(Fitzgerald 39). To many it showed how much alcohol is made for my

parties and how much is consumed by the time one of them is over. But with majority of my

guests getting drunk, there safety is my priority after the parties. I make sure all my guests make

it home safely. Whether it be my workers driving or I call taxis back to back for my guests. Then

on Mondays, it is clean day for my house and land. On “Mondays eight servants, including an

extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-

shears. Repairing he ravages of the night before” (Fitzgerald 39). It takes a lot of work cleaning

up around here, but I have to make my parties one of a kind to make sure everyone enjoys their

time! But still I try to attract my lover, hoping she would notice the extravagance across the bay.
Green Light

Every night I spot a green light. It comes from across the bay, more specifically my lover’s

dock. “I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far

away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 26). I believed that the green light was

the future. As time goes on year by year, that I will be with my love, which is my destiny. It gives

me a sense of closure. This is because I know that just on the other side of that light, my love is

there. The light feels so close to me, that I could reach out and touch it, yet it is so far, there

across the bay. But it will continue to give me hope for the future, and I will never fail to believe

that. It is like the saying people say it’s the green grass on the other side, but for me it is literally

the green light on the other side of the bay that I want to get to so badly. I “believed in the green

light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us as it eluded us then, that’s no

matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms father […]” (Fitzgerald 189). I will not

stop looking and reaching out to that green light, nightly, because for now that is the only

connection, I can make with her.

I am greatly proud of my military medal. It is “[…] a piece of metal, slung on a ribbon… the

thing had an authentic look Orderi de Danilo, rant the circle legend, Montenegro, Nicolas Rex”

(Fitzgerald 71). The metal reveals my endurance I contained in the war. To also show how

bravely I fought from begging to end, without hesitation. It took me great courage to enlist in

during World War I. I am very proud of carrying it with me and as well showing it to all. I was

given it form Montenegro for valor. This is what led me to be commissioned a Lieutenant in the

Army during the Great War (Fitzgerald 66). But most significantly, I met my love there, in

Louisville. It was just before I got shipped to Europe. But once the war ended and I did my duty,

I left. This is when I went to attend Oxford University. I am quite glad I have military in my

past, it makes me feel I did something good for my country, all for my love to enjoy. But also, I

didn’t know at the time, but I know now, I fought side by side with Nick Carraway, my next-

door neighbor. This is how I began to talk to him at one of my parties, we started with talking

about war. I knew the man was familiar to me in some way.

After I left the military, I attended Oxford University to extend my education. So, I can

say, I tried to receive an advanced education. I went for a program for officers. But that was short

lived for me, because I only attended five months, then I left. I only have one thing to prove I

attended Oxford was a picture. “It was a photographer of half a dozen young men in blazers…

there was Gatsby, looking a little, not much, younger – with cricket in his hands” (Fitzgerald

71). But I feel top of class with my attendance there. Maybe this would help me catch my love’s

attention more! I then joined a “shady” business, as some say. I worked with Meyer Wolfsheim.

People say I was bootlegging and gambling to become rich, but the world may never know the

truth. But I did become rich within three years. That is when I moved to West Egg and bought

the mansion I own now. As well got a Rolls Royce under my name. That is when I found it to be

a good time to throw lavish parties and build up my reputation, just hoping I would catch my

love’s attention.
Relationships

Someone that I grow one of my strongest relationships with is my neighbor Nick

Carraway. The night I met him, at my party, and said “I’m Gatsby” (Fitzgerald 48), is when I

invited him the next day to join me on my plane. Ever since that time, we have become such

good of friends. To the point he helps me with my love for the woman across the bay. One day

him and I made a plan for him to invite her over for tea to his house. It would be better for him,

because they are relatives to each other, more specifically cousins. So, he invites her over and I

came to join “unexpectedly”. But it all worked out so well for us. It ended the day with me giving

a tour of my house, more specifically my bedroom. Nick said my bedroom was “the simplest

room of all – except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold”

(Fitzgerald 97). But I thought this showed how I am a simple human being on the inside. But

from this on, it started to build my relationship with my love, because little did, she know, her

husband had a mistress of his own. But for the rest of my life, I always talked with Nick and my

love. Our relationships grew. I always helped Nick as he helped me.

For this whole time, I keep talking about a woman who is my lover. This extraordinary

woman is Daisy Buchanan. She is a beautiful human being. But sadly, married to a man, name of

Tom Buchanan. I “Fell in love with Daisy before he left for the war, and never stopped loving

her” (Fitzgerald 110). I will never ever stop loving her, and that is for sure. She was my first true

love, and I was her first “experience” (Fitzgerald 110). But I would have never expected that

when I left for war is when she would go and get married. It is when I returned, I found out by

reading news headlines that she was married to Tom Buchanan. So, when I found this out, I

wrote her a letter:

It feels like forever since I’ve seen you. I wish you could travel with me everywhere I go. You

never leave my mind darling. I wish I could just speak to you and hear your voice. How have you been?

Anything new? I miss you so significantly. Being able to kiss you, or hug you, feel your presence, or

heck just dance with you like we were in Louisville again. I’ll be right back; I’m getting called to supper.

Why wasn’t I informed with your marriage to Tom Buchanan? At supper we get newspapers,

and the headline is you getting married. I’m shocked, not of you getting married, because you are a

stunning gal, but at the fact that man is not me. I know I can’t just make you put your life on hold for me,

but I’m just astonished. Out love for each other was amazing, everyone wanted it. Remember that one

night, I was in uniform, you had a beyond stunning dress on and we danced the WHOLE night away,

I truly believed that night was one to always remember for us, That is the night I truly felt love for you. I

will for always love you, as I did when we were together. I wish the best for you. I love you Daisy.

- Jay Gatsby”
Dan Cody

Dan Cody helped me build, well started as well, of who I am today. I was born James

“Jimmy” Gatz (Fitzgerald 98). He is who helped me begin my new life as Jay Gatsby. Our

encounter drastically changed my life. One day it was the new me, Jay Gatsby, “who borrowed a

rowboat, pulled out to the Tuolomee and informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break

him up in half an hour” (Fitzgerald 104). I wanted to warn him, because his yacht caught my eye.

He was a wealthy copper mogul. He gave me the ability to acquire wealth and fortune, by first

hiring me as his personal assistant. He was a role model for me when I was younger and

beginning my new life. With him I traveled the continent three times (Fitzgerald 100). This is

what gave me the ability to fall in love with the life of wealth and luxury. But during our travel

together, I found myself looking after Cody while he was drunk. I cared after him a lot. This is

when I learned the dangers of alcohol and convinced myself to not become a drinker. Then one

day, Dan Cody died. He left me $25,000, but his mistress stopped that coming to me. She

stopped me from claiming his inheritance. So, this just pushed me more to become the wealthy

man I am today.
The End of Jay Gatsby’s Life

This is now Nick Carraway. My dear Friend, Jay Gatsby, was killed. He was just trying

to take a swim in his pool, since he had not all season, and Mr. Wilson came up and shot him.

None of us were completely expecting us. But today is the day of Gatsby’s burial. Not many

attended Gatsby’s funeral, nor where some allowed. The people who did attend was I, Nick

Carraway, the minister, Henry Gatz, being Jay’s father, four or five of his servants, West Egg

postman, and Owl Eyes, even though he only attended one of Gatsby’s parties. His funeral was

hard for me. He was taken far to soon, and for a reason that was not his. Mr. Wilson saw the

death of his wife, Myrtle Wilson, was Gatsby’s fault. But in reality, it was Daisy Buchanan’s

guilt, just in Gatsby’s car. It is so sad it has to be this way. But overall, I made sure he had a

proper burial. On that day “About five o’clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery

and stopped in a thick drizzle beside he gate […]” (Fitzgerald 174). I never thought I would

attend Jay Gatsby’s funeral, but I did. Attached is my Eulogy I gave Gatsby before he was buried.

“We all are here for one reason, the celebration of Jay Gatsby’s, or when some have

seen him last James Gatz’s, life. He has been taken far too soon. Never would have thought

you would be at Jay Gatsby’s funeral on a Saturday. You would have thought more of

being at one of his parties on a Saturday. Jay was all around a well-known guy. Living next

to him for a good amount of time, I would have never thought I’d be one of his greatest, or

he be of mine, friends. We did a lot together in the past few months. Went to the city, and

started to get pulled over, but Jay got out of that one, as he did a lot of things. (Rubbing

his index and middle finger against his thumb, making the money sign.) But Jay Gatsby was

a very caring person. There is not much about Gatsby that I would say to be bad, in my

opinion of course. He did things for my benefit, but I as well did for him. He took me on
adventures I would have never thought of to go on. But one thing I know about Gatsby is

his love. For the ones he loves, he cares the most deeply about. To the point of protecting

them as much as he can, from afar or close. He was such a caring person and doesn’t

deserve to end this soon. (Turns towards the casket of Gatsby) We will never forget you,

old sport. Love ya bud.”