Already, Fitzgerald has established an air of intrigue that writhes around him; concealing the truth, fabricating illusions. In the first sections of this book, the reader is forced to gather information concerning Gatsby through secondary sources. Stories and rumors revolve like insects hovering around precious light about this man, who holds extravagant parties each week, and yet fails to actually introduce himself to his hundreds of guests. He is a fraud; he is a bootlegger; he is an adventurer; he is royalty. Thus, a vision of a fantastical man begins to take form before we are even directly introduced to him. It is implied that Gatsby posses some sort of sixth sense; a sense of determined, persistent hope. Hope is a staple point to success; it is hope that drives the will to continue on even when the situation may seem pointless. Indeed, it is a society's hope or lack thereof that will ultimately determine its own outcome. In the roaring twenties, people had gratuitous amounts of hope. However, this hope was as hollow as the extravagance it was born of. Gatsby was a remarkable exception to this pattern. His hope was not forged as a result of possessions and luxuries. His hope was shaped by love; aspirations of achieving his desires of earning one girl's affection. Through each day, it was this that kept Gatsby trying gallantly, although nonetheless futilely, to reach his goal; it was this that dictated who Gatsby was.
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us" (page 171). This quote was taken from the second to last page of the novel. In the course of the book, we were introduced to the real Gatsby. We learned of his real past, and the real means by which he had attainted his impressive wealth. In the end, it turned out that the rumors were partially true: he had obtained his money through illegal activity; the bootlegging of materials.
