<P> James Gatz hailed from rural North Dakota, and was born into a poor farmer family . He attended St. Olaf College but dropped out a few weeks into his first semester because he hated supporting himself by working as a janitor . </P> <P> After dropping out, he went to Lake Superior, where he met copper tycoon Dan Cody in Little Girl Bay . Cody became Gatz's mentor and invited him to join his ten - year yacht trek . At seventeen, Gatz changed his name to Jay Gatsby and, over the next five years, learned the ways of the wealthy . Cody left Gatsby $25,000 in his will, but after his death, Cody's mistress cheated Gatsby out of the inheritance . </P> <P> In 1917, during his training for the infantry in World War I, 27 - year - old Gatsby met and fell in love with 18 - year - old debutante Daisy Fay, who was everything Gatsby was not: rich and from a patrician Louisville family . </P> <P> During the war, Gatsby reached the rank of Major in the U.S. 16th Infantry Regiment, and was decorated for valor for his participation in the Marne and the Argonne . After the war (as he also tells Nick Carraway years later), he briefly attended Trinity College, Oxford . While there, he received a letter from Daisy, telling him that she had married the wealthy Tom Buchanan . Gatsby then decided to commit his life to becoming a man of the kind of wealth and stature he believed would win Daisy's love . </P>

When does james gats change his name and why