DAN CODY :

He is first introduced in Chapter 6 of "The Great Gatsby", where he meets Jake Gaz, or Jay Gatsby, the name Cody gives him. Dan Cody is Gatsby's first look into how the rich life could be and this is where he first realizes that his dream is to become a rich man. Mister Cody takes Gatsby as a personal assistant, which is basically Gatsby taking care of mister Cody while he is rip roaring drunk. After Dan Cody passes he leaves 25,000 dollars to Jay, however he is unable to touch this money due to Cody's mistress. Dan Cody represents a fatherly figure when the book flashes back to Mr. Gatsby's life and is his source of inspiration before he was a rich man.

Character Analysis : Jay Gatsby's legal name is James Gatz. The specific moment when he decided to change it, when he was 17, was also the moment that began his career. Dan Cody had a very big part in this moment of Gatsby's life. James Gatz had been walking along the beach in a "torn green jersey and a pair of canvas pants," but it was in fact, Jay Gatsby that interacted with Cody on that momentous day. Dan Cody's yacht dropped anchor over the most "insidious flat" on Lake Superior. When Gatsby saw this, he borrowed a rowboat, and pulled out to where Cody was on the water and warned him that the "wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour." Cody a product of the Nevada silver fields, of the Yukon, of every rush. The transactions in Montana copper made Cody a great millionaire. Cody was softminded, and naive, and many young women took advantage of this. One woman in particular, Ella Kaye, a newspaper woman, took advantage of his weakness. Over the next few years, Gatsby was steward, mate, skipper, secretary and even jailer for Dan Cody, and was very trusted by him. Through all of this, Dan Cody had an insatiable thirst for alcohol and drank continuously. Upon the return of Ella Kaye one night in Boston, Dan Cody "inhospitably died." Dan Cody did influence Gatsby in many ways; most importantly, watching Cody's excessive drinking, made Gatsby drink very little. A portrait of Cody hangs on Gatsby's wall.

info provided by: http://www.fcps.edu/westspringfieldhs/academic/english/1project/99gg/99gg2/charlis2.htm