Final answer:
Dan Cody is a character from 'The Great Gatsby' who represents wealth and success, serving as a mentor and a significant influence on the novel's protagonist, Jay Gatsby. Cody's luxurious lifestyle and impact on Gatsby's ambitions symbolize the American Dream, but also highlight the personal tragedies that wealth cannot prevent.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dan Cody is a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. He is a wealthy copper magnate who becomes a mentor to the young James Gatz, who later changes his name to Jay Gatsby. Cody's lifestyle of wealth and power deeply influences Gatsby, representing the possibility of success and the transformation one can undergo through wealth.
Gatsby is enamored by Cody's wealth and lifestyle, which plants the seed for Gatsby's ambitions to rise above his humble beginnings. Dan Cody's impact on Gatsby's life illustrates the theme of the American Dream and its allure. However, Fitzgerald also uses Cody's character to show that wealth does not prevent personal tragedy; Cody's success ultimately does not shield him from his downfalls.
Fitzgerald portrays his characters as unique individuals rather than symbols, emphasizing that while Gatsby's story is singular, it also has universal elements that reflect the complexities of success and identity in the 1920s. This approach is reflected in Fitzgerald's sophisticated social satire of the era.