Looks
“I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality or speech just missed being absurd.” (48)
Here Nick describes Gatsby as a tough and rowdy yet high-class person. Nick also says that Gatsby's speech is so complex that it is ridiculous. Gatsby is from west egg, which means he is part of the “new money” group. Since he has recently acquired his fortune he is not sure how to act “rich”. So instead of making a fool of himself he is confident in how he dresses and looks, along with how he talks.
“Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat packets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.” (86)
This takes place after Daisy arrives for tea at Nick's house, Gatsby ran out the back door and around to the front. It describes Gatsby as almost looking sick. He is very nervous, with his hands in his pockets and his face turning pale. This shows that even Gatsby, who is rich and powerful, has fears.
“He (Gatsby) smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” (48)
This took place after Nick found out that the man he was talking to was Gatsby. Gatsby is a very understanding and forgiving person. He didn't mind that Nick had no idea who he was, since they had never formally met before. Things like this probably happen a lot to Gatsby, mostly because he doesn't know most of the people who come to his parties.
Direct
“Some time before he introduced himself I'd got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care” (48)
Here Nick says that Gatsby is choosing his words wi...
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... anyone, and that Gatsby is more traditional and old-fashioned, which is opposite of “The Immortality of the Jazz Age”. It also says that Nick is surprised by how graceful Gatsby dances. This reveals that even though Gatsby is involved with organized crime, he also has a caring side.
“'I hear you fired all your servants.' 'I wanted somebody who wouldn't gossip. Daisy comes over quite often—in the afternoons.'” (114)
This quote is from the beginning of chapter 7. Nick goes over to Gatsby's house to see if he is sick. Gatsby replaced all of his servants with new people that he felt he could trust better. He is afraid that word might get out about him and Daisy. Knowing how there are so many rumors about him, he does not want Daisy's affair to become one of the rumors. All of the new servants are Wolfsheim's people, which shows Gatsby's trust in Wolfsheim.
In Nick’s meeting with Gatsby and Wolfsheim, it is revealed that Gatsby is involved with shady business (bootlegging) and that the reason Wolfsheim likes Gatsby so much is that he appears to be the perfect gentleman, a person who would never even look at his friend’s wife. Gatsby has the face of a handsome gentleman but is willing to become covertly involved with gangsters in order to become rich. Gatsby aids the cruelty of the underground organization, which rigs sports games and does other illicit things, but, on the surface, Gatsby appears to be upper-class, almost like an East Egger. The public seems to find it strange that Gatsby, who appears to be a gentleman, lives on West Egg, and thus constantly speculates often ridiculous stories about Gatsby’s origins. Fitzgerald does this to show that, even though people may not be able to see past the disguise of beauty, they may unsuccessfully speculate the
His opinions were never spoken, and no one asked for them. This characteristic about him never changed throughout the story. Nick changed in a different way, mostly involving his emotions towards Gatsby’s actions when he attempting to get Daisy back. He started partying more which then led to him drinking more in his life than he ever has before. As he got more involved with Gatsby’s situation he became more annoyed and frustrated with it. Gatsby always talked to him about it and would never leave him alone. He got pushed into awkward positions like the argument in the hotel (page 133,134,135). Nick was emotionally drained towards the end of the book, and could not deal with the drama he had became involved
“The Great Gatsby” is one of these stories with its amazing characters and its exaggeration. This book has a major drawback. Gatsby and Nick’s relationship was too close. Gatsby was so cautious that he fired all his servants, but he allowed Nick to stay with him to peek on Daisy and Tom and to make sure Daisy was not hurt. Nick accepted his request to stay outside. This is where Nick contradicts himself again, “I disliked him so much by this time that I didn’t find it necessary to tell him he was wrong.” (Fitzgerald,136). He disliked Gatsby but he still stayed to help. But why should Gatsby, such a cautious person, allow Nick to stay beside him? And why would Nick be willing to stay even if he dislikes Gatsby so much? This part of the story is illogical, and that is why I don’t like this
“The Great Gatsby” was a extremely sophisticated novel; it expressed love, money, and social class. The novel is told by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor. Nick had just moved to West Egg, Longs Island to pursue his dream as a bond salesman. Nick goes across the bay to visit his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan in East Egg. Nick goes home later that day where he saw Gatsby standing on his dock with his arms out reaching toward the green light. Tom invites Nick to go with him to visit his mistress Mrs. Myrtle Wilson, a mid class woman from New York. When Nick returned from his adventure of meeting Myrtle he chooses to turn his attention to his mysterious neighbor, Gatsby. Gatsby is a very wealthy man that host weekly parties for the
Jay Gatsby is an enormously rich man, and in the flashy years of the jazz age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby has endless wealth, power and influence but never uses material objects selfishly. Everything he owns exists only to attain his vision. Nick feels "inclined to reserve all judgements" (1), but despite his disapproval of Gatsby's vulgarity, Nick respects him for the strength and unselfishness of his idealism. Gatsby is a romantic dreamer who wishes to fulfill his ideal by gaining wealth in hopes of impressing and eventually winning the heart of the materialistic, superficial Daisy. She is, however, completely undeserving of his worship. "Then it had been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor" (79). Nick realizes Gatsby's estate, parties, shirts and other seemingly "purposeless" possessions are not purposeless. Everything Gatsby does, every move he makes and every decision he conceives is for a reason. He wants to achieve his ideal, Daisy. Gatsby's "purposeless splendor" is all for the woman he loves and wishes to represent his ideal. Furthermore, Gatsby believes he can win his woman with riches, and that his woman can achieve the ideal she sta...
Nick says "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was
As the narrator of the novel, every event and piece of knowledge presented in the The Great Gatsby is filtered through Nick, although he credits himself as “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” the reader can deduce his inclination to lie, since his hypocritical comment that in spite of his “[inclination] to reserve all judgements” he has become “the victim of not a few veteran bores” (Fitzgerald 59, 1). Nick desires to be part of the upper class shown through his move to West Egg and his values held in luxury over truth causing him to highly regard tactfully convincing liars and mock amateurs. He admires a woman whose bold lies show a “surprising amount of character”, yet claims “dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply” (Fitzgerald 163, 58). On the other hand, Gatsby’s vibrant, “threadbare” yarns are worthy of mocking along with his supposed ruby collection and overly excited display of his Oxford photograph to prove he went there. While Nick is quick to point out deceit in the ways of others, he is oblivious to his own bias, hypocrisy, and lies, creating a delusion of self-righteousness. After starting to go out with Jordan, he reveals a “vague understanding” with a girl back in Minnesota, Nick’s home, that should be
Ultimately, Nick is an unreliable narrator who overlooks Gatsby’s lies because of his biased judgment of him. Nick portrays Gatsby as a generous and charismatic figure while in reality, he is a duplicative and obsessed man entangled in illegal business who is determined on an unattainable goal. It is highly ironic that Nick judges others for their lack of morality and honesty; his own character is plagued by lies as he abets Gatsby in many of his schemes.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of excitement for the American people, with cities bustling with activity and a large community that appreciated Jazz, thus creating the title the “Jazz Age.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in this magnificent age characterized by Jazz and the popular new dance, the “Charleston.” Through the midst of all this new activity, we follow a character named Jay Gatsby through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s themes of friendship and The American Dream is seen in The Great Gatsby through Nick and Jay’s companionship and Gatsby’s growth from being a simple farm boy to becoming a wealthy man.
Throughout Nick’s narration he makes the point that Gatsby was “worth the whole damn bunch” of them and was very great (154). The first description of Gatsby stated that “there was something gorgeous about him” (2). A lot of his characterization is comparing him to “a rotten crowd”, which could be taken to mean all the rich. Nick’s comparisons all say that Gatsby is the best rich person out there, better than all of them “put together” (154).
One of the traits of Gatsby that makes him truly great is his remarkable capacity for hope. He has faith that what he desires will come to him if he works hard enough. He does not comprehend the cruelty and danger that is the rest of the world. Gatsby, while a man of questionable morals, is as wide-eyed and innocent as a small child in his views of the world. These ideals are evident in Nick’s narration and in the words spoken by the other characters, including Gatsby himself.
Nick is our narrator and the voice of reason in a time and place where parties are the goals and having a good time is all that matters. Parties at Gatsby’s mansion are the rule not the exception and all who attend pay homage to their false prophet Gatsby. He is their leader the charming man living in a mansion and driving and awesome care. Too bad he has no sense of real worth. Yet nick seems to be loyal to him the whole time “They're a rotten crowd, “I shouted across the lawn. “You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.”I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end. First he nodded politely, and then his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we’d been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time” (Pg 162). Nick appears on the sidelines more than in the mix with all the drinkers and boasters and unfaithful spouses. “I forgot to ask you something,...
At the beginning of the book, Nick's dependability is demonstrated as he recounts various information about himself. He is “inclined to reserve all judgments”(1), a trait that implies objectivity and therefore reliability as a narrator. However, he continues to say that this reservation of judgment has certain limits, especially recently in his life. These limits, apparently, do not apply to Gatsby, as evidenced in the next line. Nick says that only Gatsby “was exempt from [his] reaction”, even though Gatsby “represented everything for which [he has] an unaffected scorn”. He then continues to praise Gatsby's “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life”, and his “extraordinary gift of hope”(2). This beginning excerpt from the book in the first two pages sets the tone for the rest of the book and foreshadows the events that are going to happen. It is one of the most important sections of the book, as it lays out ...
At the beginning of the book Nick sees Gatsby as a mysterious shady man. In the beginning of the chapter Nick somewhat resents Gatsby. In Nick’s opinion Gatsby was the representation of “…everything for which I have unaffected scorn.” (Fitzgerald 2). Nick sees Gatsby as what he hates the most in life, rich folk. Since the start of the novel it was obvious that had “Disapproved of him from beginning to end.” (Fitzgerald 154). As time passes, Nick realizes his neighbor has quite a mysterious past. Some think he’s a bootlegger, and a different person wa...
During one of Gatsby’s dazzling parties, a group of guests were gossiping about Gatsby, sharing claims such as “he was a German spy during the war” or “I think he killed a man.” While many other guests believed Gatsby was a bootlegger. All these questions about Gatsby added to his mysteriousness. Nervousness is also seen though Gatsby when he was about to see Daisy again after five years. He waits for anxiously for her to arrive, and two minutes before she arrives, Gatsby says “nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late!” And he gets upset and leaves in the pouring rain. Gatsby gained his wealth through illegal bootlegging, which makes him seem like a shady and questionable man. Gatsby’s involvement in bootlegging to become rich also leads to his failed attempt at achieving The American Dream because people who try to achieve The Dream in corrupt ways will never succeed. And Gatsby never did because he lost the girl he became wealthy for and ended up