Extra Credit Blog: Gatsby's backstory

 Gatsby goes out to war, and fights in WWI, a reason why the modernist era started. During the war, Gatsby witnesses things that he has never seen before in his life, and completely changes his viewpoint on life. In the war, Gatsby witnessed a lot of disturbing events. He saw soldiers who were clearly afraid but still gave their lives for the nation. There was constant noise from weapons, tanks, and explosions which made the battlefield a place of nightmare. Gatsby also had to cope with the loss of his friends, and a fellow soldier who died made him realize just how fragile life can be. After the war is over he goes back to NYC hoping to reunite with the love of his life, Daisy. But she is nowhere to be found. He heard from her parents that she was already married, which leaves Gatsby heartbroken. Daisy waited a long time for Gatsby to return from war. But her dreams in life were being held back because of Gatsby, so she didn’t have any choice but to marry Tom. Trying to move on he gets a job, where he meets a man named Dan Cody. The love and attention that Gatsby received from Cody really made Gatsby happy. Cody was intrigued by Gatsby’s service and his stories from the military. He also famously encouraged him to change his name to Jay Gatsby. Cody gave Gatsby important positions in his business and treated him like his right-hand man, even though Gatsby wasn’t rich and came from a poor family.  This was also the first time Gatsby was exposed to wealth other than Daisy. After Daisy, Gatsby's love for money and wealth grew. After Cody's death, Gatsby was determined and persevered to get as much money as possible and that was his primary goal in life. He tried educating himself and getting jobs and tried to get promotions to further increase his salary and increase the rate at which money flowed in. Gatsby researched a lot about the economy and ways to make money. Gatsby spent a long time trying to earn riches but he only got enough money for necessities like food. Gatsby found that none of this worked, and eventually resorted to involving himself in illegal work and started bootlegging. Using the experience he gained from Cody’s business, he was able to complete a lot of deals and contracts and earned a lot of money. After doing this business for years and earning as much wealth as he could, Gatsby bought a house and many things that were considered to be things that only rich people had. He established himself at the top of the hierarchy. When Gatsby discovers that Daisy lives near where he lives, his mindset completely changes. He forgot all about money and started to remember all the good times he had with Daisy, and wanted a chance to relive those moments again. His plan was to try to get her attention so he hosted these giant, loud, and famous parties that spread far in hopes of eventually reuniting with Daisy again. He could see a green light at Daisy’s house across the lake, and he often looked at it as his goal. His parties were described as being fireworks and being very bright, and they caught the attention of a lot of people. During the parties Gatsby would look around everywhere, hoping Daisy showed up, but nothing like that happened. His life completely changed when Nick Carraway moved into being his neighbor, who also happened to know Daisy and her husband.