What Impressions are Created of Gatsby in Chapters III, IV and V?

The long-running theme of illusion versus reality is centralised through the character of Jay Gatsby. Throughout chapters III, IV and V in ‘The Great Gatsby’ the reader first learns of the rumours that surround his character which as a consequence means that when he appears one must constantly compare him to the preconceptions of him. Gatsby is portrayed as false and pretentious, but at the same time charming and intriguing. This is achieved partly through the narrator, Nick, who is ‘simultaneously enchanted and repelled’ and therefore has a changeable view of Gatsby, however it as also achieved through the complexity of Gatsby as a character and his overwhelming devotion to the realisation of his dream. When analysing Gatsby and our first impressions of him it is also important to take into consideration the biased and changeable view of the narrator, Nick.
Chapter III introduces the reader to one of the numerous parties that Gatsby throws over the course of the summer. A...