Gatsby blog 2

     The epigraph applies to Gatsby in the way he presents himself. Gatsby’s name is well known throughout the area, however, many do not know what he does and how he got his money. Many see his nice house and expensive belongings and assume that he comes from a rich family and assume that there is a crazy backstory to this man. This is his “gold hat” as seen in the epigraph. Gatsby has all these things and told people some things about his past. Most of these stories, however, were false. Jay Gatsby’s legal name was James Gatz and he had changed it around the time his career took off. Instead of having rich relatives like he made others perceive. James Gatz had farmer parents who were “shiftless and unsuccessful”. He eventually built up his façade by cruising along the continent on Dan Cody’s boat being the steward, mate, skipper, secretary, and jailor on the boat. With these experiences, Jay had “filled out to the substantiality of a man”, and was ready to become successful. 

Another “gold hat” that Gatsby “wears” are his belongings. He owns a massive home which he throws parties in, he has a fancy Rolls Royce, and even gets his clothes shipped in from another country. However, these are all things he has to impress people. He has all of these things to try and impress Daisy. Quite literally Gatsby is the man with the “gold hat” which are his belongings. The girl in return would be Daisy. Jordan told Nick, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay”, this means that Gatsby had bought a whole house just to live across from Daisy and for her to see it. Gatsby bought this house in order to impress Daisy. Even after inspecting it Gatsby was still unsure of how she would perceive it. He wanted her to think that he was an important wealthy man when in reality, “he’s a touch underneath it all.” Gatsby’s efforts to impress Daisy don't stop there however, when he met Daisy at Nick’s house he wore a white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold colored tie. This is Gatsby's desperate attempt at trying to look more wealthy to impress Daisy. The silver shirt and gold tie most certainly do not look good together but they do hint at wealth. Gatsby also sends flowers for Daisy at Nick’s and made sure that not only his but Nick’s lawn was also cut to make his look nicer. Another example of Gatsby trying to impress Daisy happens when they are looking at Gatsby’s closet. Gatsby explained to Daisy and Nick that he got his clothes shipped in from a man in England and then, “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel…”. Gatsby is trying to show Daisy that even though his clothes may be expensive, he has enough money to buy them so he can just throw them around.

To conclude, Gatsby relates to the epigraph through the way he presents himself and his pursuit to get Daisy. The epigraph talks about a man impressing a women with a “gold hat” and Gatsby tries to impress almost everyone. People had the understanding that Gatsby came from a rich family however this was false and almost everything that the public understood about Gatsby was false. Gatsby wears this “gold hat” again when trying to impress Daisy by getting the house across the lake and also by showing her all of his lavish items.