According to Cynthia Wu, no matter how many critical opinions there are on the Great Gatsby, the book is fundamentally about Gatsby's dream and his illusions (39). We find out from the novel that Jay Gatsby is not even a real person but someone that James Gatz made up. Wu also tells us that Gatsby has illusions involving romance, love, beauty, and ideals (39). Wu also points out that Gatsby's illusions can be divided into four related categories: he came from a wealthy upper-middle-class family, an endless love between him and Daisy, money as the answer to every problem, and reversible time. Through Nick's narratives we can truly see who this Jay Gatsby is and the reality of his illusions, and from this we can make our own decision about who we think Jay Gatsby really is. The first memory the narrator ponders is the story behind The True Identity of Jay Gatsby: James Gatz: This was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at a specific moment that had marked the beginning of his career: when he had seen Dan Cody's yacht drop anchor on the most treacherous flat of Lake Superior. It was James Gatz who was lounging along the beach that afternoon in a torn green shirt and a pair of canvas pants, but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a rowboat, pulled alongside the Tuolomee, and informed Cody that the wind might blow. him and tear him to pieces in half an hour. (qtd. in Dillon 53) I agree with Nick when he tells us that Jay probably had the name ready for a long time. Jay couldn't accept himself for who he really was and he couldn't accept his story for what it really was. Then it is obvious that Nick is right on page 104 when he states: Jay's imagination never accepted h...... middle of paper ...... according to Dillon, even though Gatsby lacked so many things that he had greatness and that only greatness was his illusions (61). Works Cited Dillon, Andrew. “The Great Gatsby: The Vitality of Illusion.” The Arizona Quarterly 44 spr. 1988: 49-61. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992. Irwin, John T. “Compensatory Visions: The Great Gatsby.” Southwest Review 77 Fall 1992: 536-545.Mitchell, Giles. “Gatsby is a pathological narcissist.” Readings on the Great Gatsby. Ed. Bruno Leone, et al. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 61-67. Pauly, Thomas H. "Gatsby Is a Sinister Gangster." Readings on the Great Gatsby. Ed. Bruno Leone, et al. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 41-51.Wu, Cynthia The Great Gatsby: Illusion and Reality for Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. 17 (1984): 39-68