Dan Cody

Dan Cody was an enormously wealthy old man, a millionaire many times over, who had earned his fortune mining silver. Gatsby met him when Gatsby was seventeen--a runaway with no money and no prospects. When he saw Dan Cody's yacht drop anchor at a dangerous point in Lake Superior, Gatsby saw an opportunity to leave his old life behind and took it:

It was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon in a torn green jersey and a pair of canvas pants, but it was already Jay Gatsby who borrowed a row-boat, pulled out to the Tuolomee and informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour.

(Picture of Jay Gatsby(Movie Version) that Dan Cody hired via http://literatiworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/gatsby.jpg)

Cody found Gatsby to be smart and ambitious and hired him. Cody fitted him out with a nautical wardrobe, and the Tuolomee set sail for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast with Gatsby aboard. For five years, Gatsby worked as Cody's personal assistant, of sorts, as a "steward, mate, skipper, secretary and even jailor." Gatsby "jailed" Cody when he was drunk and needed to be restrained. Together they sailed around the continent three times.

(Jay Gatsby was Bootleggers who sell alcohol illegally in public via http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/bootleggers.jpg)

During the time he travelled with Cody, Gatsby experienced a glamorous life far removed from his North Dakota upbringing. He attended parties with the wealthy where women were known to "rub champagne into his hair." He acquired a certain amount of polish and sophistication. Most of all, during his time with Cody, Jay Gatsby left Jimmy Gatz behind: "The vague contour of Jay Gatsby had filled out to the substantiality of a man."

(Dan Cody was gambler via http://media.counton2.com/wcbd/gfx.php?max_width=300&imgfile=images/uploads/gambling.JPG)

Sources: http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby