Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

Secondly, Gatsby is a very mysterious character. Nick has been Gatsby’s neighbor, or so he thinks, and has never met him. Nick says “It was Gatsby’s mansion, or, rather, as I didn’t know Mr. Gatsby, it was a mansion inhabited by a gentleman of that name” (5). This shows you that even Gatsby’s own neighbor does not even know who he is; which shows that Gatsby is mysterious. Later on, once he actually meets Gatsby, Nick goes on to say “I don’t like mysteries, and I don’t understand why you won’t come out frankly and tell me what you want. Why does it all have to come through Miss Baker?” (71). As expected, this frustrates Nick and gives him more reason to believe that Gatsby is mysterious and not trustworthy. Nick doesn’t understand why someone who seems to be his friend is hiding so much

Tom, Nick and Jordan are driving home when at Wilson's garage they come to find that Myrtle has been hit and killed by a yellow car. Tom immediately knows that it is Gatsby who was driving the car and seeks revenge. What he does not know is that the actual driver was Daisy. Gatsby does not tell anyone but Nick that Daisy was driving the car because he does not want anything bad to happen to her. This shows how much he truly cares for Daisy. It also shows that by not letting anyone else know the truth regarding the accident that Gatsby will only trust key people. This trust issue causes many problems for Gatsby and others.

In the beginning of the Great Gatsby, we are introduced to a number of characters through the main narrator, Nick Carraway. We are given hints and suggestions about how Nick can be portrayed as a narrator and as a main character. Throughout the first two chapters, we get an impression that Nick is an effective narrator and a key character in the novel. However, our opinions of him may differ as we get deeper into the story.

Despite rarely (if ever) being talked about in older classic novels, homosexuals, bisexuals, and all different types of sexualities have always existed. They weren't as clearly labeled as they are nowadays, but they have always been there. The feelings were usually suppressed, never talked about outright, because of fear of persecution. Times have changed since nineteen twenty five when The Great Gatsby was published. Since sexualities are more accepted and seen as normal human behavior, it is common to recognize these things in all works, even ones published years ago. Many people have come to agree, myself included, that Nick Carraway was in love with Jay Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the wonders of parties,

Without Nick, Gatsby's true colors would not be shown and his behavior would be left not pondered.  His presence from the beginning to the

Nick Carraway is a prime example of how an unbiased and trustworthy narrator can change a book. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is told in first person point of view, through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a 30-year-old man living in West Egg, New York. Carraway tells the story as it is happening and lets the reader know what is to come. Nick seems to be an “invisible character” because he is involved in the story but not in the major conflict. Nick Carraway is the perfect choice of narrator because he is reliable, connected to the main characters, and has an amicable personality.

Fitzgerald chose Nick to narrate the text because his perspective creates a multifaceted view of the world Fitzgerald portrays. He is an outsider to the wealthy materialistic world in which he lives. His similarity to Gatsby in that respect helps us gain an appreciation for Gatsby’s character, but although Nick and Gatsby are both outsiders Nick fails to fully understand Gatsby. This appreciation but lack of full understanding gives the reader a very different perspective than a narration from Gatsby’s point of view or that of anyone else in the novel. Nick is caught between the perspective of the man “looking up and wondering” (35) and the man in the party. Gatsby is neither; he holds the party but then scarcely shows up. Far from being an outsider to the world of wealth and materialism, he seems to embody it. Gatsby and Nick both disdain the world of vacuous wealth, but they do so from different perspectives. Gatsby has everything he needs to be part of it and chooses not to; Nick is caught on the edge, unsure whether or not he wants that world, but ultimately he cannot have it. If Nick is an outsider unsure about trying to become an insider, Gatsby is an insider trying, studiously, to make himself an outsider.

Nick describes himself an honest person, yet he goes on to help Gatsby connect with his cousin Daisy regardless of her being married. Gatsby is overly thrilled and insists on giving Nick an offer since he agreed to call Daisy to have tea with him but, Nick does not take it (Luhrmann). Even though Nick recognizes Gatsby’s flaws, he still admires him.

beginning to end.” What does this curiously ambivalent admiration for Gatsby tell us about Nick,

Having personal integrity, he can be looked at as a venerable. In the beginning of the novel, he immediately realizes how uncaring, self-serving, and hollow most of them are. Although he felt himself fall for Jordan Baker, he realized that she was not right for him and stopped what they had. Also, Nick was always there for Gatsby. Bringing Daisy to his house, he helped Gatsby reconnect with his lost love of five years. Although he didn’t like him in the beginning, he grew to respect him. “They’re a rotten crown. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together,” complimented Nick (p. 154). Not only was Nick there for him while Gatsby was living, he was there for him when he died. Making sure he wasn’t alone in his death, he put the funeral together. Only two others showed up, and they were Gatsby’s father and Owl Eyes. Throughout this novel, Nick Carraway progresses from being a man who wants a money, to a man who knows how much misery can come from

In a coming of age story, a character must look back on his or her youth and say goodbye. Nick Carraway comes to Long Island as an almost 30 year-old man who prides himself on the fact that he is a non-judgmental person. However, after his experiences he is no longer the same person he was before his 30th birthday. Along with turning 30, Nick’s experiences allow him to see past the illusions of the upper class lifestyle. Initially, Nick was intrigued by the glitz and glamour that accompanied the lives of Tom and Daisy. Slowly but surely, he matures out of his infatuation and comes to several realizations about himself and those around him. Fitzgerald initially presents Nick as a trustworthy character who reserves judgment and is unaffected by others. This first impression provides a meaningful contrast for Nick’s final opinions. After an unforgettable summer, Nick matures into a different person and has several judgments to make towards the people of East and West Egg.

Nick Carraway’s despair after the death of Gatsby reflects upon how much he cared for Gatsby. Nick realizes that after inviting many people to Gatsby’s funeral, nobody cared about him like Nick did. To illustrate, “But all this part of it seemed remote and unessential. I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone” (Fitzgerald 264). Nick is the only person who seemed to be taking care of Gatsby after all that has happened, and he knows that he is all Gatsby has. In relative terms, Nick’s feels hopeless after the loss of Gatsby and it shows that Nick has always valued Gatsby for who he was as a person. To continue, after the many calls Nick makes, only a select few show to the funeral. Nick becomes anxious due to the fact that he believes all of the people Gatsby once knew would be there for him. In particular, as Nick arrives to the cemetery he frantically looks for other cars to appear but then realizes it isn’t any use, and nobody else will be coming (FItzgerald 174). To Nick’s distress, he comes to the conclusion that not many people actually knew Gatsby, but rather used him for his popularity and entertainment. In other words, Nick is one of the few in this society whose standards are not immoral. Therefore, as the funeral takes place, Nick’s sorrow only grows for the little respect that was paid to Mr.

One way Fitzgerald hints at Nick’s orientation is through his narration and physical descriptions of other characters he is acquainted with. Nick first describes Jordan Baker as a “...slender, small-breasted girl with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet” (11). Jordan’s characteristics- her appearance, her profession, and her name, are very masculine, especially in comparison to Daisy. It seems rather indicative that Fitzgerald frames her as Nick’s primary love interest. Nick also seems very perceptive of feminine characteristics in other men, noticing them in both Tom and Mr.Mckee, and his

When Gatsby is waiting outside Daisy's house the night after the fateful crash, he tells Nick: "I thought so; I told Daisy I thought so. It's better that the shock should all come at once. She stood it pretty well" (151). This disgusts Nick, who is shocked that Gatsby can think only of Daisy under the circumstances: "He spoke as if Daisy's reaction was the only thing that mattered...I disliked him so much by this time that I didn't find it necessary to tell him he was wrong" (151). Nick dislikes Gatsby's take on relationships because it differs so greatly from his own. Nick has had many relationships with women, and Fitzgerald depicts his relationship with Jordan as rather intimate. However, Nick soon finds his relationship with Jordan dwindling. "I'd be damned if I go in; I'd had enough of all of them for one day and suddenly that included Jordan too" (150). In this scene, Nick finds that he has lost respect for Jordan and he decides to sever his connection with her. His actions are totally opposite to those of Gatsby, who sacrifices everything for his love. Thus there is a fundamental difference between Gatsby and Nick in their view of love and what sacrifices should be made for it. This is the root of Nick's distaste for Gatsby. However, despite his feelings towards Gatsby, Nick is always around him for reasons of

Nick lives next to Gatsby in an old workers cabin, which helps enforce Nicks personality of being a quiet, reflective, take it all in kind of person, because instead of living in an extravagant mansion such as Gatsby’s he prefers the quiet life. Nick is a great narrator to the story, because he has a mellow temperament, unlike the other characters his moods don't shift quickly, and he generally keeps a neutral status when other characters become angry, sad etc. As the story continues Fitzgerald shifts from being associated with Gatsby to more being associated with Nick, because Nick has an inner conflict between living the fast-paced fun-driven life of New York versus how that lifestyle of New York is grotesque and damaging. Then in the end Nick finally makes his choice to move back to his hometown after Gatsby’s funeral he fully realizes that all the people who said they were Gatsby’s friend really were just shallow shells of a person because no one showed up except reported for the news papers. Nick is Gatsby’s only true friend in the book because he doesn't care about Gatsby’s money, Nick truly wants to help Gatsby achieve his