--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: His parents were shiftless and…" description: "\"His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people - his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_long-island_his-parents-were-shiftless-and-unsuccess_2262353.jpg" --- # His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people… ![“His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people - his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God...and he must be about His Father's business…” quote by F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_long-island_his-parents-were-shiftless-and-unsuccess_2262353.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_long-island_his-parents-were-shiftless-and-unsuccess_2262353.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_long-island_his-parents-were-shiftless-and-unsuccess_2262353.jpg) > “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people - his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God...and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented...Jay Gatsby...and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jay Gatsby creates an idealized self‑image, a divine mission, to escape his humble origins and pursue an extravagant, false beauty. **In simple terms:** Gatsby invents a grand identity to rise above his past. Key Takeaway Recognize the danger of self‑mythologizing. Themes identity illusion ambition American Dream self‑creation Mood reflective melancholic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal branding - career advancement - political image crafting - artistic persona development Key Concepts existentialism mythmaking social class Questions to Reflect On - What parts of your self‑story are constructed? - How does myth‑making affect real relationships? A Different Perspective Overidealizing oneself can lead to disillusionment and loss of authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conception Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception-son-1074571/) [Gatsby Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gatsby-conception-5211531/) [Gatsby West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gatsby-west-1074570/) [Invented Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-jay-5211532/) [Jay Gatsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jay-gatsby/) [Long island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-island/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Parents Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents-truth-5211533/) [Son of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son-of-god/) ## Related quotes > [The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-truth-was-that-jay-gatsby-of-west-egg-long-island-sprang-from-his/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-truth-was-that-jay-gatsby-of-west-egg-long-island-sprang-from-his-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“This is what we need from our parents, more than the truth about how small we are. We will have more than enough people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-walker/this-is-what-we-need-from-our-parents-more-than-the-truth-about-how/) [Wendy Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-walker/) > [“Meeting Enzo changed everything. It was Mark Twain getting on a bus and sitting down next to Huck Finn. Or F. Scott Fitzgerald running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-sedoti/meeting-enzo-changed-everything-it-was-mark-twain-getting-on-a-bus/) [Chelsea Sedoti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-sedoti/) > [“I am drawn to Tom Sawyer Island because a tribute to Mark Twain would not be out of place in a theme park of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-am-drawn-to-tom-sawyer-island-because-a-tribute-to-mark-twain-would/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“They knew the difference between thoroughness and overkill. It was like Jay Gatsby's library: the books were real, but the pages were uncut.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/they-knew-the-difference-between-thoroughness-and-overkill-it-was/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Rich girls don't marry poor boys, Jay Gatsby”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/rich-girls-don-t-marry-poor-boys-jay-gatsby/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I realized that these people who ran the country were all from these very dark backgrounds, which they had hidden, and that the self-transforming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-realized-that-these-people-who-ran-the-country-were-all-from-these/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Where the road sloped upwards beyond the trees, I sat and looked towards the building where Naoko lived. It was easy to tell her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/where-the-road-sloped-upwards-beyond-the-trees-i-sat-and-looked/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Like so many of the other books I read, it never seemed to me like a book, but like a place I had lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/like-so-many-of-the-other-books-i-read-it-never-seemed-to-me-like-a/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“It starts so young, and I'm angry about that. The garbage we're taught. About love, about what's "romantic." Look at so many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/it-starts-so-young-and-i-m-angry-about-that-the-garbage-we-re-taught/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“I was flattered that she wanted to speak to me, because of all the older girls I admired her most. She asked me if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-flattered-that-she-wanted-to-speak-to-me-because-of-all-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“But he knew that he was in Daisy's house by a colossal accident. However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-he-knew-that-he-was-in-daisy-s-house-by-a-colossal-accident/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm like Jay Gatsby. I like to throw the party and then stand back, looking gorgeous. Stand back and watch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lynch/i-m-like-jay-gatsby-i-like-to-throw-the-party-and-then-stand-back/) [Jane Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lynch/) > [“And in it's magical pattern there was now a new element, a new glow, a cast of a golden colour which suffused everything, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/and-in-it-s-magical-pattern-there-was-now-a-new-element-a-new-glow-a/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) ## More by F Scott Fitzgerald > [“I had a woman up here last week to look at my feet, and when she gave me the bill you'd of thought she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-had-a-woman-up-here-last-week-to-look-at-my-feet-and-when-she-gave/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Whenever you feel like criticising any one, just remember that all of the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/whenever-you-feel-like-criticising-any-one-just-remember-that-all-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Writers aren't exactly people...they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/writers-aren-t-exactly-people-they-re-a-whole-lot-of-people-trying-to/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“I'm paralyzed with happiness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-m-paralyzed-with-happiness/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that´s the beginning of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“He was wondering at the unreality of ideas, at the fading radiance of existence, and at the little absorptions that were creeping avidly into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/he-was-wondering-at-the-unreality-of-ideas-at-the-fading-radiance-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.An author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/an-author-ought-to-write-for-the-youth-of-his-own-generation-the/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“the room had grown smothery. He wanted to be out in some cool and bitter breeze, miles above the cities, and to live serene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-room-had-grown-smothery-he-wanted-to-be-out-in-some-cool-and/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Man kan inte återskapa sitt förflutna (s. 117).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/man-kan-inte-terskapa-sitt-f-rflutna-s-117/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that's the beginning of everything. - F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything-f-scott-fitzgerald/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“this midnight my desire will see, shadowed among the embers, furled in flame, the splendor and the sadness of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-midnight-my-desire-will-see-shadowed-among-the-embers-furled-in/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-don-t-go-by-any-rules-they-re/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [And in the end, we're all just humans, drunk on the idea that love - only love - could heal our brokenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/and-in-the-end-we-re-all-just-humans-drunk-on-the-idea-that-love-only/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament”—it was an extraordinary gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-responsiveness-had-nothing-to-do-with-that-flabby/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“The soft rush of taxis by him, and laughter, laughters hoarse as a crow's, incessant and loud, with the rumble of the subways underneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-soft-rush-of-taxis-by-him-and-laughter-laughters-hoarse-as-a-crow/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) [Explore all 45 F Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## More Long island quotes > [Even after my family moved West, I would come back to Long Island as a teenager, stay with aunts and go to the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/even-after-my-family-moved-west-i-would-come-back-to-long-island-as-a/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [I grew up in New York City. We used to diss Long Island and Jersey. Every big city has its own suburb like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-joseph/i-grew-up-in-new-york-city-we-used-to-diss-long-island-and-jersey/) [Max Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-joseph/) > [“Soon you catch your first glimpse of a vineyard basking in the sun, its broad leaves silently turning sunlight into sugar, ripening vitis vinifera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-taylor-starwood/soon-you-catch-your-first-glimpse-of-a-vineyard-basking-in-the-sun/) [Jane Taylor Starwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-taylor-starwood/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [“The Hell's Angels are very definitely a lower-class phenomenon, but their backgrounds are not necessarily poverty-stricken. Despite some grim moments, their parents seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-hell-s-angels-are-very-definitely-a-lower-class-phenomenon-but/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“I had traveled eight thousand miles around the American continent and I was back on Times Square; and right in the middle of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-had-traveled-eight-thousand-miles-around-the-american-continent-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [My hair journey involved a lot of trying to figure out how to deal with my hair as a bi-racial girl in a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/my-hair-journey-involved-a-lot-of-trying-to-figure-out-how-to-deal/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [I'm from New York. I was born in Long Island.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-storch/i-m-from-new-york-i-was-born-in-long-island/) [Scott Storch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-storch/) > [As a teenager, I spent my days at the beach and nights cooking in Long Island restaurants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/as-a-teenager-i-spent-my-days-at-the-beach-and-nights-cooking-in-long/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [When I was in high school, I worked at a theatre on Long Island, where I grew up, in the box office and parking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-schwartz/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-worked-at-a-theatre-on-long-island-where/) [Stephen Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-schwartz/) > [I'm from Long Island, which is a very cookie-cutter place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-beer/i-m-from-long-island-which-is-a-very-cookie-cutter-place/) [Madison Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-beer/) > [My mother was not a country girl. She was a Brooklyn girl, born and raised in Flatbush, and then a Long Island girl, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/my-mother-was-not-a-country-girl-she-was-a-brooklyn-girl-born-and/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) > [The three greatest people in my life were white, OK. My high school coach, my high school superintendent and my mentor in Manhasset, Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brown/the-three-greatest-people-in-my-life-were-white-ok-my-high-school/) [Jim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-brown/) > [I had come from a middle-class family in Port Washington, Long Island, and I was really clueless about Wall Street. My first job there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-had-come-from-a-middle-class-family-in-port-washington-long-island/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [“After that, Simon swam naked every night. By the third skinnydipping session, I secretly peeled off my bikini top while I was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-howells/after-that-simon-swam-naked-every-night-by-the-third-skinnydipping/) [Amanda Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-howells/) [Browse all 219 Long island quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-island/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people - his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God...and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. 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