The Great Gatsby 2

1. The purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim as a character is all about the characterization of Gatsby. It shows us that Gatsby has friends in the business world that are somewhat 'above' Nick and also the reader at this point in the story. It gives us a sense of his importance and his connections extend farther beyond than what Nick knows. This is shown, brilliantly, when Wolfsheim says to Nick, "I understand you're looking for a business gonnegtion," mistaking him for another of Gatsby's friends (70). Meyer Wolfsheim helps to add to the mysteriousness of Jay Gatsby.
2. Gatsby's and Daisy's history, told by Nick through the vantage point of Jordan, takes away from the mysteriousness added by Meyer Wolfsheim. Jordan tells that, "The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time," showing that Gatsby has a personality and curious affinity previously unseen by the audience. We also come to understand that Daisy did not totally want to marry Tom, and that she may prefer someone else (Gatsby).
3. The rest of the story has a large impact on our impression of Gatsby. When Nick plans to have Daisy and Gatsby together for tea, Gatsby reverts back to almost childlike behavior. He is nervous, rude, and overall embarrassing in the way he treats Nick and Daisy. However, we see him change again when he somehow makes up with Daisy, and the two are thick as thieves again. He has now regained the Gatsby swagger, that pompous but gentle air that we came to know in the first three chapters.
4. Overall, the focus of these three chapters is on Gatsby. He, along with our impression of him, go through much change in this segment of the book. However, my overall impression of Gatsby stayed the same. He goes through a state of immaturity and has arrogant moments, but the fact is, Jay Gatsby is interesting. We are fascinated at the fact that he can be sweating bullets over meeting a past flame, but then turn in to the same cool cat in half an hour. His business ventures and his past, which we still don't know the full details of, make Gatsby sometimes hard to like and sometimes easy to love, but all the same he is very intriguing.