Great Gatsby Epigraph

    

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is set on Long Island during the 1920s. Throughout the novel, the characters are used to explore the central theme of materialism and the “American Dream.” On the opening page, the novel is provided with a four-line poem, “Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry ‘“Lover gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you!”’ In chapters 4 through 6, the main character that the book focuses on, Gatsby, applies greatly to the central idea of what the poem is talking about. 

In the epigraph, I interpreted the message as a piece of advice from one person to another for how to impress a girl. It mentions “Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her,” which can be implicated as going out of your way to impress a girl with your wealth and high status. Also, in the line “Lover gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you!” It says to keep on doing this until she eventually becomes obsessed with you, and falls in love with you. Throughout the following chapters, the epigraph will be compared to what Gatsby does in the following events and his history.

Gatsby discusses briefly with Nick Carraway, in chapter 4, about his background and past education.“I am the son of many wealthy people in the middle-east… I was brought up in America but educated in Oxford, (page 65).” Gatsby often describes himself as educated at “Oxford” and brags about his extreme money and wealth. Meanwhile, his past is the quite opposite and was more sad and gloomy in war. Gatsby left behind his past reputation and lives under a false persona as a sophisticated “Oxford-Man” to feel better about himself. This fits under the idea of “wear the gold hat” since how Gatsby has to lie and tell false information to seem superior over everyone else. He wants to seem like a young educated man who strung out lucky. 

In chapter 5, Nick invites Daisy over to his house for tea in order to help set her up with Gatsby. Throughout, Gatsby attempts multiple times at winning over Daisy. He is desperate and will do anything he can to win her attention. He brings over a large abundant amount of flowers, shows off his mansion next door, and gets a pianist to play music for her. “The flowers were unnecessary… a greenhouse arrived from Gatsby’s, (page 85).” Gatsby bringing a large number of flowers is a great example of how he will do anything he can to impress her with his great power and wealth. This fits the exact message of “Lover gold-hatted, high bouncing lover.” Since it shows the obsession he has for Daisy and he tries to capture her with his wealth. 

In chapter 6, Gatsby’s real identity is revealed to be James Gatz, the novel goes into depth about his past and his family. It also mentions how he made money when he was working on Dan Cody's Yacht. Gatsby got all of Dan’s riches and money when he passed. Later on, Gatsby throws another party, completely similar to the first one, However, Nick describes it as if it’s weird and strange.“ I felt an unpleasantness in the air… that hadn't been there before, (page 104).” Which helps add more context to the party. Daisy was very impressed with the party and all the different famous guests. Daisy at the party can be described as the end of the poem “I must have you,” since her feelings for Gatsby grow stronger and intensify.