Gatsby is a very interesting character when it comes down to identity. He is a mysterious man yet is wealthy and well know around his area. Yet, he lives his life the premises of living in the past and running from the past. Gatsby was not born wealthy as we know he was born poor. It wasn’t until he got his big break till, he broke the cycle of being poor. Before that break he meets Daisy, who is wealthy and has lived in wealth all of her life. He falls in love with her and then gets shipped out to the military but comes back as James Gatsby the self-made man who is wealthy for who knows what. So, we ask why live chasing and running from the past? Is his love and hatred strong opposite polarizations? I say that he isn’t even trying to run or chase the past. Instead, he is chasing the hope he built for himself as a child. The hope to one day become a somebody in a world filled with lots of nobody’s and few somebody’s. He runs this marathon that seems to be running from him, yet he doesn’t give in. He proves his self-efficacy but due to the harsh nature of the world we can’t always get what we want and soon our past shall catch up to us and every word, lie, or story we ever told can either benefit us or haunt us for the rest of our lives.