Conflict

In Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby faces many sources of conflict, both internal and external. One of the largest and most influential was Gatsby's conflict with his past. Although he was raised by poor and simple parents, Jimmy Gatz always desired to live a grander lifestyle. But instead of accepting his past and using it to grow forward, Gatsby attempts to conceal his past and create an entirely new persona for himself. Hiding behind lies and false stories, Gatsby tries to build himself up and reach his goal of belonging to the same class as his lover Daisy. He often found himself falling back into old habits and speech patterns, such as calling Nick "old sport". Because this identity was built on lies instead of the truth, it was very fragile, and Gatsby often feared one of his lies would fall through. One day while driving with Nick, Gatsby divulges, "'I'll tell you God's truth." His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by [...] He looked at me sideways--and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase "educated at Oxford," or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn't something a little sinister about him, after all" (Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby faced a man vs. self conflict, attempting to hide his past and pretend to be someone who he truly wasn't.