Judging Characters Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nick’s father gives him this advice “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one”(Fitzgerald 1) and to keep in mind “People in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1). Nick then claims that he is “inclined to reserve all judgements” (Fitzgerald 1). Nick was able to stand up for Gatsby rather than just let Tom have a skewed view of Gatsby when he said that he was “Some big bootlegger”(Fitzgerald 107). Many other people believed Gatsby had some illegal, high paying job. Nobody knows Gatsby’s job, but Nick wanted to make sure that his reputation was not tainted before he met Tom. Nick defended Gatsby well staying reserved and without being rude to Tom. and on the surface it hardly did anything to gatsby’s reputation at all Daisy runs over Myrtle, Nick

Nick references how his father says, “’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.’” However, Nick later in the passage criticizes Gatsby by saying “represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn,” but also admits he admires Gatsby’s “extraordinary gift for hope.” Given how Nick in the passage has also stated how he is a good listener, the overall nature of Nick’s as a narrator is established. Nick is supposed to represent the everyday common man, providing us a view into the lives of the social elite and this view is unbiased. Nick rarely ever interjects his opinion or thoughts in his narration of the events that later ensue.

Multiple quotes from The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, can be used to explain how the characters work. You could use Nick explaining his past on the first page, the first time Daisy and Gatsby reunited, and even more. But one quote stands out compared to the rest. This quote is spoken by Daisy Buchanan to Jay Gatsby during the fight in chapter seven “’Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now – isn't that enough? I can't help what's past.’She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once – but I loved you too’” (Fitzgerald 7.261). Daisy was the puzzle piece that pulled everything together. She was the cause of everything that happened. So why does this specific quote stand out, she had said plenty of other things in the novel, why this one? This specific quote is said during the fight between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Gatsby claims that Daisy never

As Fitzgerald started to build the base of his storyline, one element that stood out to me was his characterization of Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan. Nick followed a motto in life, told by his father, ‘"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had”(1).’ Right off the bat, Fitzgerald portrays Carraway as an objective and nonjudgmental human being. As I read further through the chapter, I noticed Fitzgerald’s quite forward judgment of Tom, “... Rather a hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (11). Fitzgerald's depiction of Buchanan offsets the moderate portrayal of the narrator. This intimidating and bully like ambiance radiating off Tom “appears” later in the chapter when he continuously cuts Daisy off in the middle of her talking. Nick vividly describes the “appearance” of Tom, “Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body. It was a body capable of enormous leverage-a cruel body” (11). Fitzgerald was implying that whatever you may look from the outside, it definitely doesn’t portray who you are inside. From the outside, Tom looks well dressed and clean cut, but his personality does not suit him by any means. I believe that Fitzgerald had a meaning behind the way of characterizing and

Imagine moving to New York in the spring of 1922. You have no money, and you live in a small cottage in West Egg, right in between the wealthy homes. Your dreams are big and simple: become rich and live well. Everything is great at first, until you meet your mysterious neighbor and nothing would ever be the same again. In The Great Gatsby, that is the life of the narrator, Nick Carraway. In the book he meets many characters, with their personality bursting at the seams. However, their personalities aren’t always the brightest as Nick discovers, and through their actions it becomes hard to tell whether they are morally good or morally evil. Nick himself is morally ambiguous, as is Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby.

We know that Nick is an unreliable narrator from the very first page of the book. He begins by telling us that he is the most honest person he knows, and that he does not judge anyone for any reason. However, one paragraph later, he says “Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.”(1) He is saying that Gatsby is the epitome of

Gatsby knew people were unclear about him, people were making assumptions he was not pleased with. They were starting to realize about his unstable sense of self and he had to clarify it repeatedly. He says “I don’t want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear.” (Page 71) There is a need for approval here. Gatsby cares about Nick’s opinion as he is Daisy’s cousin but mainly, because he is eager for admiration and distinction.

I feel like Gatsby is a man of low class. Not low class as in, he does not have any money but as in although he has money he does not have the ability of truly act as a man with actual class. Almost as if a common man had a mountain of money fall on him out of nowhere. In the book Nick's keen eye, in this case I should say "ear" he realized that Gatsby was choosing his words methodically, almost carefully. As if he was using much of his brain power to sound smart, like a man with class. Furthermore in Chapter four Nick finds yet again another flaw in Gatsby's life story. Gatsby was lying in order to make his life seem interesting and appealing to Nick in order to gain his trust. During Gatsby's many parties, there are many random people and

Gatsby is a character who aspired to be successful and to realize his dreams of love and wealth, however, when he faced his reality he was never able to fully accomplish his dreams, revealing that one will use all their energy to hold on to a dream that will never reach a reality.

When they first go out together, it seems Gatsby tries to impress Nick with his past. “I’ll tell you God’s truth...I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West...I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated at Oxford” (Fitzgerald 65) As Gatsby boasts of his past filled with elegance and honor, Nick begins to doubt he is telling the truth. This upbringing, traditionally, leads people to a perception of ineffible greatness. Society idolizes those with money and power and tends to build them up to have an image that is not necessarily truthful to who they are. Nick only finds out this truth later when a reporter looking to find out more about Gatsby. “James Gatz - that was really...his name...His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 98) Nick learns that everything Gatsby told him about being the son of rich people and living a life of wealth was a lie that Gatsby had concocted to move up in the world. This broken facade understandably makes Nick wary of Gatsby and his intentions, as well as prompts him to question the “greatness” that precedes Gatsby wherever he is

In the very first chapter we find out that Nick believes Gatsby represents everything he scorns. However, we also learn that Nick exempts Gatsby completely from his usual judgments.

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is blatantly evident, as his view of Gatsby’s actions seems to arbitrarily shift between disapproval and approval. Nick is an unreliable and hypocritical narrator who disputes his own background information and subjectively depicts Gatsby as a benevolent and charismatic host while ignoring his flaws and immorality from illegal activities. He refuses to seriously contemplate Gatsby’s negative attributes because of their strong mutual friendship and he is blinded by an unrealized faith in Gatsby. Furthermore, his multitude of discrepancies damage his ethos appeal and contribute to his lack of dependability.

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 is a dynamic character. Starts to leave his values behind, temporarily and in one instance, he gets drunk for the second time in his life “… either it was terrible stuff of the whiskey distorted things, because it didn’t make any sense to me” (29). Only has gotten drunk twice in his life, and the reader can come to the conclusion that the whole scene at Myrtle's party is skewed. "Instead of being the warm center of the world, the middle west now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe" (3). Gatsby's Influence The title of the story is The Great Gatsby Is Fitzgerald being ironic about how "great" Gatsby is or is it to emphasize how great Nick thinks he is? Nick thinks Gatsby is admirable and see that he is driven by love to achieve his dream. He finds that praise-worthy and thinks its an honorable dream. He believe he truly is a good person. Thinks Gatsby is an unfortunate victim to the Easts eccentric ways but is respectable. In the end he sides with Gatsby. It sets up his biases. He hears rumors that Gatsby is a "spy" and "killed a man" (48). He had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person" (48). Time vs. Opinions His outlook gradually alters towards corruption as “the events of three nights several weeks apart” took effect on his writing and he found that they ” gave the impression that… they were all that absorbed” him (55). He has been focusing on one event and giving it great importance. He was partially opinionated

Honesty is one of the most pivotal traits for a narrator to portray. Nick is a very honest man and he often, through the novel is not afraid give his opinion. As he was introducing the novel to the readers he gives and honest assessment of Gatsby, Nick says “Gatsby , who represented everything for which I have unaffected scorn.” (Fitzgerald 2) This displays that Nick is willing to bring forth his opinion on Gatsby and shows that he will be honest if it is necessary. Nick is exclaiming that his first reaction to Jay was off-putting, and he rejected his lifestyle. Nick honesty fuels him into a friendship with Gatsby and lets the story flourish. Nick also seems to be in the thick of things whenever something went wrong. He gets insider information throughout the story and