Character Analysis On The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald is truly a masterful writer. He introduces Nick and immediately you get a sense that he is a reliable narrator. The opening lines, “in my younger and more vulnerable years” suggest that he is wiser now from his experience. Fitzgerald presents him as a moral character of integrity in contrast to the Buchanans and Jordan Baker. They are shallow, careless, and selfish people. In contrast, Nick is a character of moral fortitude and integrity and this is apparent from the very start by his honest narration. My opinion of him didn’t change; in fact, I thought more highly of him because of his decision to move back Midwest and get away from the selfishness and shallowness of the East.

Gatsby is immediately portrayed as an enigmatic character.

At the start, I saw this woman who was beautiful, charming, filled with vitality, and unforgettable; the kind of person who you are drawn to. As Gatsby later notes, her voice was like money. She appears like a good person, dressed all in white; angelic. However, as the story continued, subtle hints were dropped about her true nature. Though she has a daughter, I think the girl is only brought up once or twice in the novel, showing how little Daisy cares about her. About her daughter, she comments, “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (22). She is insightful, yet she does not do anything about it. This problem plagues her throughout the novel; an inability to take action. We learn Tom is cheating on her, yet once again, she doesn’t take action. She is too taken with his money that she is willing to turn a blind eye. This shows what a weak-willed person she really is. She is a selfish person. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before” (89). She is crying because of her love of material objects. She is not deserving of someone like Gatsby. All this is subtly revealed and it is only when I finished the book did I reflect on my changing opinion. When she kills Myrtle and flees, it’s clear she has no conscience. The rich don’t care about the poor. She then abandons Gatsby, not attending his funeral. She essentially moves on, retreating back to her money-filled life. I

His characters have their true colours revealed slowly and subtly, just as it is in real life. Meeting someone for the first time, it is impossible to truly know who they are. It is only through time can you truly judge their character. Even then, it is difficult. Society is a lie, an illusion. It’s so hard to discern who is being honest in a dishonest world. People put on false faces to conceal their true intent and ambitions. Though conmen are associated with this, anyone can put a “disguise” to hide their true nature. Even if you’ve known someone for a long time, there still might be facets of their personality that are hidden to you. From Brutus, Judas, to Benedict Arnold, to now Daisy Buchanan, appearances are not what they seem and society is filled with liars. I have been made aware about the lies, but knowing they are there and actually finding them are two very different