Lies

Gatsby lied about himself because he was embarrassed. He was ashamed of being a nobody. When he worked for a millionaire, he got a taste of the rich life and he couldn’t have enough of it. From then on, Jay Gatsby had longed for great wealth and achievement, but he made all of his money in organized crime. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy and he knew that she surrounded herself with luxuries. Gatsby lied about his own background and hid the true source of his wealth so he could convince her that he was good and rich enough for her.
I think that Nick waited to tell the readers the truth about Gatsby because he wanted us to make our own judgments about him. He explains his “morals” in the very first paragraph of the book, and how he never judges people even though he does silently. I believe that Nick also kept all of this secret because he wanted Gatsby to be a mysterious character. Gatsby created himself. He even changed his name to suit the new him. If we had known his background in the first chapter of the book, we would have had a much different perspective of him that might not have changed at all throughout the book.