Gatsby's fatal flaw was his inability to distinguish between romantic illusion and reality. He lived for his dreams from the time he was a poor farm boy in North Dakota until he was shot to death in his pool in West Egg. When he was a boy, Jimmy Gatz longed for beauty and glamour, for an exciting life of infinite possibilities. He wanted not only to succeed in material terms (for money was always just a means to the end), but also to create a new version of himself that fit his dreams. "Jay Gatsby" existed in his mind and heart long before he met Dan Cody and assumed the name.