A reporter arrives at Gatsby’s and asks if he has any statement to give. Gatsby has no idea what he means. The reporter seems to be simply following up on vague rumors attached to Gatsby that even the reporter himself does not understand.

After recounting this “fishing expedition” by the reporter, Nick relates a story told to him by Gatsby about his origins. He says that Jay Gatsby’s real name is James Gatz. He took on the name Gatsby upon meeting Dan Cody on a yacht in Lake Superior.

Gatsby is originally from a good but unremarkable family in South Dakota. He always felt out of place there and left as soon as he could to seek a better future for himself. He wandered to Lake Superior and rowed his boat out on the pretense of giving boating advice to the captain of Cody’s magnificent yacht. He managed to ingratiate himself with Cody, even becoming a partial heir to the man’s fortune. As a self-made gold and silver magnate, Cody turned Gatsby into his unofficial assistant. Unfortunately, when Cody died, his mistress Ella Kaye prevents Gatsby from receiving his inheritance.

Several weeks after facilitating the meetings between Gatsby and Daisy, Nick walks to Gatsby’s on a whim.