In the 1920s in America, life was great. This was one of the best economic times in American history. No other novel describes this time any better than The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel describes the life of people in during this time. Also describes that the economy was booming tremendously and the prohibition on alcohol was destroyed which opened the door for many Americans to celebrate their wealth and good times with alcohol. These bad habits lead to a lot of events to happen at these gigantic parties that were thrown by the rich at the time. Some of these events were just people having a good old time, while others consists of people drinking too much and getting involved in activities with other people at the parties …show more content…
In the beginning, Nick moves into New York and his neighbor turns out to be a very famous person around the city. This mysterious person turns out to be Jay Gatsby who is very well known but no one really knows who he is; they just know him from his extravagant parties that he throws all the time. As a result of these parties, he gets to know Gatsby as this very important, popular and well looked up to figure. Later throughout the novel, he starts to get to know who the real Gatsby is after Gatsby refers to him as one of his greatest friends. As he gathers this information about him, he comes to the conclusion that Gatsby is a fake who is not from a rich family, and that he has lied about a big part of his life. His reason for doing so is to gain the love of Daisy again because she comes from a rich family and he comes from a poor family and her parents would not allow her to marry him. As a result of this, Nick’s opinion about him changes from him looking up to Gatsby to shaking his head at him. Nick also learns about the seriousness of the affair between Daisy’s husband Tom and Myrtle when he sees Tom’s reaction after Myrtle was hit by Daisy in the car and was killed. Nick then begins to think that there is no faith or loyalty between anyone anymore. It is evident that Nick is a dynamic character through the novel …show more content…
In this novel, Nick Carraway is seen as an “all knowing” character who tells the reader his insight of the events in the novel and how he succeeds about staying friends with everyone around him while being the middleman in many events throughout the book. He succeeds at being this because his efforts throughout the book to keep everyone together and just observing and using his own judgment, he is able to stay out of most of this trouble and helps when he can. Nick does many great things in this novel that impact a lot of different moments throughout the story. Unfortunately is the end, there is death which ultimately impacts his decision to move out back west and get away from the big city life. For him personally, this is probably the best decision. Although many horrific things happen, Nick still made a huge positive impact on the characters and their actions in the novel and he added some extra insight to the events that occurred to the readers. Nick is a very significant character and the novel would not be the same and have the same effect without
His duplicity continues, as he meets Tom’s mistress, and later arranges Daisy and Gatsby’s meeting, even going as far as to say “don’t bring Tom” (85). These are clear deceptions and violations of trust, which both reveal that Nick is not the honest and forthright man he wants the reader to believe he is; on the contrary, in many ways he is the opposite of honest and forthright. However, Nick’s most clearly professed lie is in protection of Daisy, when Tom insists that Gatsby had killed Myrtle, and Nick remains silent, forgoing telling Tom about the “one unutterable fact,” - that it had not been Gatsby who was driving the car when it had hit Myrtle, but Daisy - in favor of protecting Daisy (178). Once again, Nick mischaracterizes his traits and even fails to recognize his deceptions and violations of trust as being dishonest, failing to evaluate his own traits. By highlighting Nick’s opinions of and interactions with life amongst the rich, F. Scott Fitzgerald crafts Nick into a complex character whose contrasting thoughts and actions create a many leveled, multifaceted character who shows the reader that one’s appraisal of one’s own traits can often be incorrect.
Nick Carraway stayed out of the way when he sensed that there was going be drama coming. This kept him from losing his sanity and allowed him to witness the others as they went insane. Gatsby was one of the many that Nick had witnessed go through a mental phase. It all started when Gatsby met Daisy. That is where everything went wrong for Gatsby, is when he joined the wrong group of people. Everything could have been better if Gatsby would have just stayed away from Daisy. Daisy already had a husband, Tom Buchanan. Gatsby should have stayed away from a married woman and Daisy should have stayed away from having an affair with Gatsby. Mentally, this made Tom feel insecure and jealous but he knew that he could not do anything about it because he is doing the same thing. That would make Tom a hypocrite. G...
The Great Gatsby is centered around three main characters. F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the characters of Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Each of these characters is different in many ways. Daisy is in an unhappy marriage, but is content until she meets Gatsby again. Gatsby and Nick each love Daisy in different ways and want to see her happy. However, despite their best efforts, the three characters all part ways, and there is no happy ending for them.
As much as generous and honest Nick Carraway is, he still needs a few important improvements in himself. Nick went to Yale, fought in world war one and moved to East of New York to work in finance. After moving to New York, Nick faces tough dilemmas throughout the story such as revealing secrets, and witnessing betrayal. His innocence and malevolence toward others was beyond his control. He did not have the ability or knowledge to know what he should have done in the spots he was set in. He seemed lost and having no control of what went on- almost trapped- but indeed, he had more control than he could have ever known. Because of the situations he has experienced and the people he has met, such as Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy, his point of view on the world changed dramatically which is very depressing. Trusting the others and caring for them greatly has put him in a disheartening gloomy position.
Jay Gatsby is a man of great fortune and power, with only one unobtainable dream. The dream that Gatsby is chasing is Daisy, his love from before the war. Gatsby and Nick are two contrasting characters; this is because while Nick also has one goal his is obtainable in that he wishes to earn his own wealth (albeit on his influential father's dime). Gatsby and Nick contrast in another fashion, and that is that Gatsby believes that if he works hard enough he can relive the past, and erase the past five years of Daisy's life with Tom; Nick on the other hand has, for his infinite amount of hope, the voice of truth that the past is past and only the present and future can be lived in.
Many people in the 1920s lived very extravagant lives. The time of the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s” where girls were flappers and the men were bootleggers. People loved to have fun and be carefree. However, alcohol dependence was becoming a problem and many started realizing that. Taking action to stop this was the hard part. Alcohol was corrupting the 1920s even though some did not recognize it. In the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the corruption during the 1902s through his main character, Jay Gatsby, and his illustration of prohibition.
Even though he had some thought that the meeting would provoke harmful tensions between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, he went along with it anyways, further demonstrating his own innate lack of reservation. 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.
Nick Carraway has his epiphany at the end of the novel. When Gatsby passes away, Nick is the only by his side the whole time. When the police comes to investigate how Gatsby died Nick was the only “family member” that was there to answer questions. He says, “But all this part of it seemed remote and unessential. I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone.” (Fitzgerald 175) The whole process while Nick is trying to contact people for Gatsby’s funeral he starts to realize a couple things. He first notices how shallow his cousin Daisy is and the greed of the upper class. Daisy is truly the murderer of Myrtle Wilson but she lets Gatsby take the blame knowing it is not true and wrong. When Nick calls Daisy a half hour after they found Gatsby she was nowhere to be found. He says, “But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and take baggage with them.” (Fitzgerald 175)They both knew what was going happen so they left town to avoid the investigation and funeral in order to save themselves from being caught without thinking of the others they would hurt. Nick next realizes that although Gatsby has these luxurious parties that so many people attend but no one wants to attend his actual funeral. When Nick asks Gatsby’s father to attend the funeral, Gatsby’s father says, “Well the fact is-the truth of the matter is that
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...
Though the story is told from Nick’s point of view, the reader gets many perspectives of Gatsby from different characters. One can see from characters like Jordan Baker -Nick’s girlfriend through the majority of the novel, or Tom- the husband of Nick’s cousin Daisy; that Gatsby is not as good as everyone where to think. Based on how these characters act and feel about Mr. Gatsby it is evident that they dislike him to some extent, showing a bit more of a flawed human side of him. Tom is quoted saying “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong.” about Gatsby depicting Tom’s harsh feelings towards him and showing the reader Tom’s negative feelings about Gatsby. Because the story is told from Nick’s point of view, Gatsby is still painted as this mysterious man because Nick is a bit curious of him and does not know Gatsby in the beginning. ‘"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."’ Nick says to Gatsby, showing that he thinks he is worth more than Daisy, Tom, or the other characters. With this quote one can infer that Nick holds Gatsby on a bit of a high platform than the other characters, giving the reader Nick’s indirect characterization of
Several individuals mark Gatsby to be a man of great wealth, with a beautiful estate, and an abundance of friends. To illustrate, parties that are hosted at Gatsby’s house are magnificent, filled with professional entertainment, music and dancers, and guests varying from politicians to movie stars. Fitzgerald paints the picture of the parties at Gatsby’s house in great detail in this passage “The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.” (Fitzgerald 44). It can be seen that these were extravagant parties filled with lust and alcohol. The evidence shows that no ordinary man would be throwing parties of this form, only a man with great wealth and resources would pull of such a feat. Furthermore, this was the prohibition era, which meant that alcohol and the consumption of alcohol was illegal. After this brief look into Gatsby’s life, one can understand why he was considered “great”, but to truly understand Gatsby’s greatness, one must look into his
A soft breeze lifts off the Sound and brushes Nick Carraway’s face as he emerges from the shadows into the moonlight. His eyes first gaze across the bay to the house of Tom and Daisy where Nick sees past the walls to people who “...smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together...” (Fitzgerald: 187- 188). Nick’s head then turns to his side where he views Gatsby’ s mansion. His heart swells for the man who was unable to let go of the past, and move toward his future. With the two houses juxtaposed in his mind’s eye, Nick ponders his experiences in the East, and enters the car to take him home with a new perspective on life. Nick’s maturity becomes evident as his perspective of society becomes more realistic as a result of his observing the consequences which occur in unhealthy relationships.
In Nick Carraway’s narration throughout the novel, he is observant of the characters who long for the American Dream, yet doesn’t judge too quickly. However, his “dream” has little connection to wealth, unlike other characters. It’s more of his morals and mental values that consist of loyalty, equality, and friendship that no other characters possess. His mental value of his friends has “infinite hope” (Page 2). Nick doesn’t jump to conclusion, leaving leeway for his hope to be upheld by the character. For instance, at Gatsby’s party, Nick hears rumors about Gatsby, nevertheless assumes he is, but he still remains not entirely trustworthy of him. But sometimes Nick has such a high hope that leads to disappointment. Even Nick is a little
to rekindle the love between Gatsby and Daisy. After this period in the novel, Gatsby and Nick became even closer friends. & nbsp; Getting closer to the end of the novel is when the reader sees the true friendship between Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Whenever Gatsby would ask Nick to do something Nick would always have or make the time to do it. The strongest example of the genuineness of Nick is when Jay Gatsby was murdered by Mr. Wilson, Nick took care of all the arrangements for the funeral and all Gatsby's assets. Nick said "I found myself on Gatsby's side, and alone." (Gatsby, p.165) Nick said this because everyone who knew him wouldn't even take the time or effort to attend the funeral service. He even had people say that Gatsby deserved it, and these were people who. attended his parties. Nick was the only true friend of Gatsby. & nbsp;
At the end of the book, it is revealed that all of Tom, Daisy, and Nick are extremely careless. Nick’s carelessness detriments his reliability as a narrator. Because of Nick’s deep and familiar connection with Gatsby, Gatsby is “the exception” and Nick cannot be a reliable narrator towards him. Nick really admires and appreciates Gatsby as a friend, although it seems that Gatsby may not feel nth same way ads Nick. Gatsby may have befriended Nick solely because of his connection with Daisy. Nicks obsession with Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession with