Re: Meaning of the name Gatsby
in reply to a message by Alice
In the novel, James Gatz reinvents himself as Jay Gatsby. One suggestion that I recall from my remote student days is that if spoken in a particular American accent (with a particularly large mouthful of mashed potato, I might add), Gatsby could sound like God's Boy. This would make thematic sense - since he effectively creates a new self, and then dies sacrificially for a thoroughly unworthy and indeed misunderstood cause.