Who Is James Gatz?

The first time I ever heard the name Jay Gatsby I was a junior at Pace High School. I cannot recall the teacher’s name that assigned Fitzgerald’s literary masterpiece to us, nor can I recall whether the course was considered English or Literature, but how I handled the assignment I can recall vividly. I waited until the day of the quiz that was designed to test our comprehension of the literary work, to read it, and by read it I mean skim Spark Notes on the computer in the library during my lunch period. I am willing to admit this scandalous act, because while I also cannot recall what I made on the quiz, I do remember my grade mirrored that of my interest in the assignment, which was very little.

I began longing to revisit the infamous work as I began to live it. I dived in and let the eloquent words of Fitzgerald consume me. I came to realize that I could easily identify with both Gatsby and Carraway. To my friends and family back in Florida I had become Gatsby, mysterious, reclusive, and oddly successful. To the New Yorkers I am Carraway, shy, observant, and eager to learn. I also realized that New York has not changed much since the 1920’s. The businesses come and go, the buildings undergo extensive renovations, but the way society behaves is forever changeless. Which is why Fitzgerald’s classic novel still captivates audiences today.

Aside from those revelations, I became enamored with the story of Gatsby’s life prior to his mysterious success. Gatsby was born James Gatz in a limited vision farm town to parents who had very little aspiration. At a very early age, James Gatz knew his dreams and aspirations stretched farther and wider than the farm life would permit. James ran away at the ripe age of seventeen to fulfill his unknown destiny and along the way changed his name to match his new life and mentality. Where he went wrong was denying his past as James Gatz. He crafted a story that he peddled around to anyone who asked which was filled with lies and half-truths that he came from a wealthy family, went to Oxford, owned a line of drugstore, etc. all things that are easy to do when you are born into prominent society life. But, what Gatsby really did with his life was far more impressive than the story he fabricated.

When I was in college I decided to change my name. I changed the spelling from Jamie to Jayme because I thought it was “cooler”, but that is not a legitimate reason for a name change. I found the legitimate reason while I was sitting across the desk from an acting consultant two years later. We were discussing stage names and she told me that the sole purpose of a stage name is to spark a conversation with casting directors. She began asking me what I could come up with that would be both unique and personal and would give a casting director something to remember me by. I sat and pondered for a moment, then it hit me. I am named after my grandfather, who was raised in Jay, Florida. Jay D. Ramsey it was. Obviously, Jay is an odd name for a girl, so that prompts casting directors and the common person alike to inquire about it and when they do, I am able to share both the origin of my name and the origin of my lineage with them. While I am striving to keep Pensacola in my rearview mirror, I would never deny it as my hometown. I have broken my family’s cycle and there’s something to be said for that, but to forsake them would enable my expansive vision to become a weapon against me.

This is why we must not lose site of our James Gatz past once we become Jay Gatsby.

James Gatz was a boy from a limited vision farm town, Jay Gatsby was a young man who overcame the odds set against him and fulfilled his vision to it’s most expansive capacity in the big city. The same will be said of Jay D. Ramsey.