In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato discusses one’s perception of reality and truth through life in a cave. In Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby undergoes a change in his perception and understanding of reality. There are six parts to Plato’s Allegory of the cave: the initial captivity, the release, the first reaction to the sun, the acclimation, the return to the cave, and the death of the person. Each of these six parts of Plato’s Allegory is representative of a phase in the life of James Gatz through death of Jay Gatsby.

            In the first stage, the captivity, Gatsby is confined within the limits of James Gatz’s reality. James Gatz is the son of “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” (98), and is thus destined to follow suit, as he grows older. This destiny is the only reality James knows at this point; similar to how the shadows on the wall are the only reality for the cave person as well. The only possibility for James’ future is to become a farmer like his father, which is a mere shadow of what he thinks he can do. “His imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (98), which is what allowed the opportunity for another option for James future. This new option is the separation of James from his parents and creation of his own destiny, by pursuing the American Dream, being a self-made man, and becoming Jay Gatsby.

            The transformation from James Gatz into Jay Gatsby represents the second stage of Plato’s cave allegory, the release from captivity. Previously held within the confinement of James Gatz’s limited future, Jay Gatsby, as soon as he was created, was already searching for a better life. “It was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach” (98), doing nothing to better his life as the only future he knew was that of a farmer, “but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a rowboat, pulled out to the Tuolomee, and informed Cody that a wind might catch him” (98). The actions of the brand new Jay Gatsby demonstrate his pursuit of success as he is establishing connections with successful people, like Cody who owns a yacht, and also, metaphorically, chasing wealth, as he rows out to the “Tuolomee” which also happens to be the name of a large gold field. This pursuit of a new reality parallels the freed caveman who pursues a greater reality for himself by exploring the world outside of the cave. However, as he first enters his new world, the sunlight burns his eyes, and he need to acclimate.

            Similar to the blinded cave dweller, Gatsby was also affected by the discovery of a new reality, in that he couldn’t handle the innumerable possibilities for a new identity. As Gatsby comes into conception, “his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot. The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out” (99). Having separated himself from his shadow of a life, Gatsby’s imagination runs wild with the possibilities for his future. He is haunted by the vast amount of options for which he could establish himself in society, but hesitates to choose one in order to prevent the sensation of “buyers remorse”, and rather enjoys toying with and “add[ing] to the pattern of his fancies” (99). This stage in Gatsby’s life relates to the pain of looking upon the sunlight, as he is blinded by the multiple opportunities presented to himself, and is in a state of stalemate with his new reality. However, eventually Gatsby is able to acclimate to the sudden light of reality, choose a path for his future, and establish a definite identity for himself.

            The acclimation process for Gatsby takes place aboard Dan Cody’s boat, where Gatsby solidifies his new persona, and fills the skin of Jay Gatsby with an identity. Dan Cody was like Gatsby’s father, having separated himself from his previous farmer parents, Gatsby was alone in the world until Cody took him under his wing. Cody relies on Gatsby to take care of him when he is drunk, as he “repos[es] more and more trust in Gatsby” (100). This experience with Dan Cody, which lasted 5 years, not only caused Gatsby to mature, but also allowed Gatsby to understand what kind of character to associate himself with. In the end, when Cody dies, although Ella Kaye takes all the money, Gatsby leaves the experience with an identity, as “the vague contour of Jay Gatsby had filled out to the substantiality of a man” (101). Just as the free caveperson acclimates to the sunlight and can now see and understand his world, so does Gatsby acclimate to his numerous options and decide on one to live his new life as. The next step for this newly enlightened person is to return to the cave and facilitate the comprehension of reality of the other cave folk. 

            The cave person that Gatsby is particularly concerned about is Daisy, and he moves to West Egg to have easy access to the cave of East Egg, in which she resides. As mentioned earlier, Gatz is in a cave because he is still attached to his roots, and only escapes the cave when he separates himself from his parents. In this sense, the town of East Egg is a cave as well, as it is considered the town for old money, and tradition, family, properties, and so everybody living there is living in a cave similar to that of James Gatz. Although Daisy has no roots in East Egg, she is kept in the cave by Tom, symbolized as “Tom Buchanan shut[s] the wind rear windows and the caught wind died out…and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor” (8). However, through his courtship of Daisy, Gatsby manages to pry her from Tom’s grip, shown when “she moved out from the circle of his (Tom’s) arm” and said “You take Nick and Jordan. We’ll (Gatsby and Daisy) follow you in the coupé” (121). Daisy actually escaping the cave and entering the new world outside is represented by her telling Tom, “I never loved [you]” (132) and that she’s leaving him for Gatsby. But Daisy was affected by the sunlight just as Gatsby was, and this is represented by the car crash. However, Daisy doesn’t acclimate to the car crash, and instead retreats to the cave, with Tom, as they are “sitting opposite each other…his hand had fallen upon and covered her own…they weren’t happy…they weren’t unhappy…there was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy” (145). Prior to this, the cave folk, primarily Tom, are angered by Gatsby’s attempt at removing Daisy from the cave, and just like in the Allegory of the Cave, the cave dwellers kill the enlightened one, Gatsby.

            The death of Gatsby comes about through the actions of the “well-dressed negro” (139), Tom, and Wilson, who are all inhabitants of the cave. First, the negro tells the policeman that “it was a yellow car, big yellow car. New” (139), and as “this conversation must have reached Wilson” (140) Wilson learns of what kind of car killed his beloved wife. Wilson remembers seeing Tom in that yellow car earlier today, however Tom assures his innocence by telling Wilson that “that yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine…I haven’t seen it all afternoon” (140). Although Tom doesn’t directly accuse Gatsby of the murder in front of Wilson, he later expresses his anger towards him as he calls him a “God damned coward… he didn’t even stop his car” (141). While Tom stays uninvolved in the murder and accusation, as he doesn’t even give the officer his name, he makes sure that Wilson knows that the yellow car killed his wife, because Wilson “had a way of finding out” (160) who did it, and was sure to take revenge. It was “supposed that he spent that time going from garage to garage thereabout, inquiring for a yellow car” and “by half-past two he was in West Egg…by that time he knew Gatsby’s name” (160).  After the car crash, which had really been caused with “Daisy driving” (143), Gatsby offers a last ditch attempt to keep Daisy in the true reality of the outside world, as he offers to “say [he] was [driving]” (143), to protect Daisy from any prosecution that may ensue, and, in relation to the Allegory, shield her from the sun. Gatsby effectively shields Daisy from Wilson’s wrath, but at the cost of his life, as “the chauffeur…heard shots” (161) and there was a “thin red circle in the water”. This murder is representative to that of the enlightened cave person, who tried to return to the cave and help his fellow cave people, but is turned on and killed.

            As he is murdered by the cave dwellers, Gatsby completes his life living in the Allegory of the Cave. He started off a restricted man, as James Gatz, but then was freed from these limitations, as he becomes Jay Gatsby. He then was struck by an initial reaction to his new reality, as he can’t decide what path to take in his new life, but acclimates to this and establishes his identity through his experience with Dan Cody. Finally, as Gatsby tries to return to the cave and show others this new world, he is turned on and killed by the cave folk, and the knowledge of this deeper reality is lost until another prisoner is freed.