Nick is a narrator expertly tailored to match the story he tells, recounting a world in which everyone he has ever known trades truth and transparency for the shining ideals of cultured living and wealth. He is a dishonest man in a dishonest world. Although he is convinced of this own veracity, Nick’s actions and lack of action suggest something else. He is dishonest with those around
Nick oftentimes evaluates the happenings of the story, helping the readers understand to a greater detail of what happened. He also acts as someone to keep Gatsby in check, yet also support his ambitions. As many people confided in Nick, he had a larger perspective of what exactly was happening. Using this, he was able to offer an overarching view and opinion, and using this he conveyed a sort of “insider 's view” at everything that was taking place during the story.
Nick is the only one who begins to experience true love towards Gatsby. As their bond grew so did his respect and admiration. He was intrigued by his journey from his poor past to his current extravagant lifestyle. As a whole, the majority of the characters in the book do not know or understand the true meaning of
He never started fights with anyone, and preferred pleasing others. Nick analyzed that once Gatsby was gone, all the problems in West Egg has ceased. Nick reminisced by saying, “I spent my Saturday nights in New York, because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter, faint and incessant, from his garden, and the cars going up and down his drive” (179). Gatsby’s character as an extravagant and divine man had now become a keen memory for Nick. Gatsby’s willingness to protect Daisy and his affection for her had him killed, ending the life of a loving and passionate man at four o’clock in the
Therefore, he surrounds himself with important people and tries to fit in with these people. Though when in reality he is a very awkward person. In the book, when Nick first goes to Gatsby’s party, he just shifts from one group
Gatsby’s troubled past contradicts with his present personality. After Gatsby dies, Nick is torn between believing that Gatsby is a great friend and that Gatsby is a corrupt bootlegger. In order to believe that Gatsby is a good friend, Nick must forget about Gatsby’s criminal past. By erasing the obscene word on Gatsby’s steps, Nick is choosing to erase Gatsby’s corrupt past and remember Gatsby as a good friend. Barbara also mentions how frequently Fitzgerald mentions eyesight and Gatsby’s vanishings.
Within a short period of time Nick finds himself essentially pledging his allegiance to Gatsby showing the start of one of the only unwavering loyalties in the novel. The exceptional part about Gatsby and Nick’s relationship is that all of the major relationships, with the exception of theirs and Myrtle and Wilson’s, were built on the opulent glamour seen throughout the book. Gatsby further proves the nature of this loyalty by offering Nick money for his help and being swiftly turned down. The foundation of loyalty was built on a mutual respect Nick himself even stated "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." speaking in essence of everyone else in the novel.
He stopped caring about his strong abhor of the wealthy East Egg crowd considering Gatsby was West Egg and New Money. He did not hold the general arrogance that those of Old Money did. At this point, Nick is devout to Gatsby and determined to protect his legacy. The once seemingly impartial narrator has now seen Gatsby in a brighter light than he has others, through rose tinted
Many of the characters express lust for others, however, they lack the true feeling of love. Nick proves his compassion and care for others in his loyalty to Jay Gatsby. Without truly meeting him, Nick is willing to carry out a favor for Gatsby, no questions asked, as he recognizes the importance of helping others. He is often there for Gatsby, not only physically, but also emotionally, when he needs it most. It is due to Nick’s genuine empathy, humanity, and kindness that readers are able to better identify with him, and use him as a moral
The Great Gatsby: Analysis The Great Gatsby is a novel about a man named Nick Carraway. Nick is the narrator and is the neighbor of a very wealthy man who goes by the name, Gatsby. Throughout the novel, it is made clear that all of the men are womanizers, including Nick.
Because of that surprise, Nick develops a quick admiration of Gatsby. An example of this in the novel is, “He smiled understandingly--much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” Nick said this about Gatsby and it is obvious of his liking of him. However after a few chapters it is obvious to the readers that Nick’s perception of Gatsby has changed.
Throughout the course of the book, Nick starts off open-minded, but gradually becomes disgusted with everyone he meets. Nick saw mostly everyone only thinking of themselves and trying to pursue "The American Dream", a staple of the 1920s. The one person Nick liked was Gatsby, because
In the story "The Great Gatsby" Nick has a favorable opinion of Jay Gatsby. In the first chapter of the book Nick states "When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. " The book gives many examples of Nick thinking of Gatsby as the "Great" such as Gatsby 's smile, what Gatsby was willing to do for Daisy, and what Gatsby did for himself.
His difference in upbringing and lifestyle is evident from his acute moral compass that is showcased time and time again. He begins the novel by narrating the advice given to him by his father: "'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.'" Whether or not he actually was able to follow this advice fully is not of importance, such level headed upbringing and origins sets him apart from everyone else and he becomes a man of “fundamental decencies" . An early indication of that is when Nick “had been actually invited” to Gatsby's party instead of just showing up without invitation as the others did. At the actual party, upon arrival Nick “made an attempt to find [his] host” whereas the others “conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks, sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all” .
As Nick as the narrator, we see his internal thoughts and emotions being shown on the paper. Nick reflects how Gatsby spent so much time on one goal, and Nick had spent so much time with Gatsby, and it all just seems sad at the end. Throughout the book you can see several emotions flow through Nick. When Gatsby is showing off his home for Daisy, the reader might think Nick is a little envious of Gatsby, treating his home like it's nothing, brushing it off his shoulder. At the end of the novel, Nick says that he was never a fan of Gatsby, but he definitely pitied him after the hotel event, but before Gatsby's demise.