The Costume

Jay Gatsby’s clothing is a huge indicator of the character he created for himself at the age of seventeen. He would wear formal attire (suit and tie, hats, watches, bowties) to show his amount of wealth , he used his costume to present himself to the upper class who would wear these items alongside. As this was the only people who mattered to him in his eyes. Fashion is one of the many materialistic items that can showcase your wealth, and Gatsby used this idea to his advantage with the persona he displayed for himself. The first impressions that you usually take off a person is their physical presentation, Gatsby seemed very focused on first impressions. ‘look here old sport, what’s your opinion on me, anyhow?’ and ‘well i’m going to tell you something about my life, I don’t want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear’ are two quotes that Jay said to Nick which clearly show that Gatsby was very focused on peoples impressions of him. In chapter 5 Gatsby meets Daisy after waiting all those years ‘In a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-coloured tie, hurried in.’ The white represents the immaculate and pure beauty as it is Daisy’s colour. Gold and Silver are constantly used by Gatsby to represent wealth, this is important because he wants to show Daisy how wealthy he is now compared to the poor man she saw many years ago.

The Props

Gatsby uses many props to sell his persona that he created for himself. When he is driving with Nick into the city he pulls out a white card that then makes the police offer back off and let him be this is being uses to show the manipulation that the upper class has on lower class people. White is also the character Daisys colour which represents nobleness and purity. When Daisy and Gatsby meet for the first time Gatsby breaks a clock that was on Nicks mantle, this is a prop to signify that time has come together at last in Gatsby’s eyes. While in a room that Jay filled with white flowers again hinting at the symbol of hope and purity. Jay Gatsby also shows Nick a photo from Jays ‘Oxford Days’ that he readily has in his pocket to back up his story anytime alongside a medal he won in the war.

The Setting of the ‘Stage’

Gatsby brought an extravagant mansion exactly across the bay from Daisy and Tom Buchanans home, which he hosts extreme parties full of every kind people. His mansions is seen as elegant and fancy from the outside but in the inside it is empty when not full of people partying. The mansion can be a metaphor of Gatsby himself as he is empty on the inside without many people actually caring about him. Owl eyes that Nick and Jordan meet in Gatsby’s library during one of his parties and he comments that Jay is a ‘regular Belasco’. David Belasco was a famous theatre producer known for his lavish sets. Owl eyes is saying that Gatsby is just all for show with is mansion and parties. Gatsby lives in West Egg which is the ‘least fashionable’ of the two bays, this shows us that he will always be lower than Daisy who is part of the East Egg ‘rotten crowd’

The Speech and Dialogue

When Gatsby was a young boy he knew he wanted to be in the upper class of society, he would practise his poise and manners throughout the day. As a adult tho his speech gives him away as it is ‘too posh’ he commonly forces the phrase ‘old sport’ which makes it clear that he has trained himself to sound educated and wealthy. Nick along with everyone else isn’t fooled and can tell that he isn’t from around this area as he is trying too hard, much like his ‘backstory’

The Backstory

Gatsby was originally named James Gatz and have from a poor family in North Dakota. From a young age he was determined to be a successful man, at the age of seventeen he crafted his persona that he carried with him to the end. He met a rich sailor who when passed left his inheritance to but the ex-wife fought for it instead and won. This backstory involved him being an ‘Oxford Man’ when he only attended Oxford for five months in an officers program from his legacy he got in the war, he received a medal in it. He then got into business with Meyer Wolfshiem which got him involved with bootlegging and other shady deals. He met Daisy when he was penniless and poor while he was still in the army, that’s where he fell in love with her and his whole idea to get her back started.