F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - Nick Carraway's Self-Interest

Jay Gatsby manipulates other characters. Gatsby fails to love Daisy Buchanan; instead, he “seems committed to an idea of Daisy that he has created rather than to the real woman she is” (Hermanson 1). This idea of Daisy represents the American dream. Flaunting his money, Gatsby attempts to seduce the idea of Daisy rather than Daisy herself. Therefore, Gatsby deceives Daisy.

In the beginning of the chapter, he tries to win Nick’s favor, offering him a trip to Covey Island and, when he declines, to “take a plunge in the swimming-pool” together (82). During Daisy and Gatsby’s reunion, Nick acts as a third wheel toward the pair. He’s cast aside, but Gatsby refuses to let him leave because “[his] presence made them feel more satisfactorily alone” (94). Though Gatsby does show some genuine affection towards Nick, it’s mostly to earn his kindness and better use him for his own purposes. From Nick’s perspective, he and Gatsby are great friends - and to a certain extent, that is true. But in the end, it wasn’t necessarily Gatsby himself that attracted Nick, it was his incandescence, his dreams and aspirations; he was an enigma - a bright, sparkling enigma in Nick’s eyes. Throughout the book, Nick unconsciously denies this fact, allowing himself to believe that he and Gatsby are close friends. As a result, he continues hanging out with Gatsby, doing whatever he asks, and taking his side in conflicts - not always outright, but in subtle ways.

When Gatsby reveals to about his relationship with Daisy, Nick’s relationship with Gatsby takes a full u-turn as it rapidly advances their association from simple acquaintances to close friends. Nick’s outlook of Gatsby undergoes a similar transformation. When Nick learns of the previous relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby’s actions make sense to Nick. The mansion, the extravagant parties, and the green light were all in the efforts for making Daisy notice him. Gatsby lives his life for the past life that he lived. He spends his life seeking the attention of his love, Daisy, and as Nick explains, “He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was…” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby sought out the American dream in order to win over the love of Daisy which creates a different perception of himself to Nick. Nick, now knowing Gatsby’s intentions worries about Gatsby’s possible rejection, and then warns him that, “[he] wouldn’t ask too much of her, you can’t repeat the past.” (Fitzgerald 110) But Gatsby, blinded by love, strives to win Nick’s married cousin’s heart. Nick perceives Gatsby as a man dwelling on the past

Nick and Gatsby can both relate to wanting the girl that they can't have. For Gatsby, his dream girl is Daisy. They had a relationship but then Gatsby had to go into war and they hadn't seen each other for five years. All Gatsby thought about was seeing daisy again, he even bought a house across a lake from her. Daisy obviously moved on because she married Tom, a rich socialite but their relationship is toxic. A quote to support this statement is “Look!” she complained. “I hurt it.” We all looked- knuckle was black and blue. “You did it, Tom, she said accusingly. I know you didn't mean to but you did do it. That's what I get got marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a-”( ). This shows that Tom is abusive and he is a very ignorant and disrespectful human being. Gatsby's has always had an undying love for Daisy and he states that they should be together. A quote that shows is “I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he said, nodding determinedly. “She’ll see.” ( )That shows that Gatsby has never stopped loving Daisy and he wants to fix his relationship with her. Nick on the other hand has his eyes on Jordan. Things are not easy because Jordan is focused on her golfing career and her Aunt is very controlling. Gatsby obsesses over Daisy and is in love with her but with Nick he is just attracted to Jordan, nothing close to love. Nick says, “ I wasn't actually in love but, I

N=Necessary Information: In “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carroway, the narrator, has recently moved from the midwest to start his career in New York. He lives on the island of West Egg, next door to a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby. Nick becomes friends with him and learns that Gatsby is in love with his cousin Daisy. They never married because Gatsby had to go off into the military and he was not rich enough for her, so when Gatsby was shipped overseas, Daisy married another man named Tom Buchanan. When Gatsby returns from his service and discovers this, he begins bootlegging to make enough money to try to impress her and win her over. After Gatsby uses Nick to

In regards to the expression of love , Gatsby and Nick themselves highlight this worldwide concern by expressing feelings about love. “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can” (Fitzgerald 110). Revealing the extent of Gatsby’s commitment to his dreams, he is sure that the past can be repeated. One of his dreams is to be with Daisy and he worked hard to renovate himself just to get her back. “...And for a moment I thought I loved her but I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires” (Fitzgerald 58). Nick takes things seriously when it comes to being with someone he wants to be with. It is not his intention to flirt with Jordan until he is done with his girl back at home, this shows that Nick is very serious about love.

Fitzgerald uses Gatsby's parties and the way in which Nick views them to reveal that whilst Gatsby is surrounded by shallow and vulgar people, he is above this. Fitzgerald also uses these parties to expose Gatsby's isolation which leads us to feel sympathy toward Gatsby. Despite the amount of people at the party, Nick observes Gatsby's seclusion and loneliness, "my eyes fell to Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps". This evokes a great deal of sympathy from us as although Nick describes Gatsby in a warm and friendly way, "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life", we now can see that Gatsby is a lonely figure. This sympathy is accentuated when Nick is the only person to turn up to Gatsby's funeral, as we know that Gatsby is a decent and honourable character and thus our sympathies are emphasised by Gatsby's isolation. When Nick first meets Gatsby, he reveals Gatsby to be a fascinating character that we would like to know more about. The warm and assuring smile that Nick describes is in antithesis to the

Jordan says, “He wants to know, if you’ll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon and then let him come over” (78). Gatsby uses Nick to reconnect with Daisy, because he is a mutual friend between the two. Nick is not only connected to the main characters but also has an amicable personality.

“the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired”(Fitzgerald). From this Nick puts Gatsby as a pursuer and Daisy as the pursued. Nick is essentially stereotyping people with four niche stereotypes that are accurate for very few people. Nick tells gatsby “You’re acting like a little boy” and that Gatsby was being rude. Nick rarely tells people what he thinks of them and their actions. It was a rather condescending statement towards Gatsby, who was already embarrassed.(Fitzgerald 88). One of the few times Nick tells people how he feels about something it’s negative. Throughout the story Nick never tells Daisy about Tom’s affair and Never tells Tom about Daisy’s. Nick also could have told Mr.Wilson from being surprised. If either Tom or Daisy knew they would have divorced ending horribly dishonest relationship. This would have benefited everyone. Mr.Wilson knew that if he did not go west his wife would leave him, but if he knew before he could have either ended the affair or his marriage. If he had told anyone instead of standing by and doing

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

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.

In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway functions as both the foil and protagonist, as well as the narrator. A young man from Minnesota, Nick travels to the West Egg in New York to learn about the bond business. He lives in the district of Long Island, next door to Jay Gatsby, a wealthy young man known for throwing lavish parties every night. Nick is gradually pulled into the lives of the rich socialites of the East and West Egg. Because of his relationships with Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom, and others, along with his nonjudgmental demeanor, Nick is able to undertake the many roles of the foil, protagonist, and the narrator of The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a world filled with rich societal activities, love affairs, and dishonesty. Nick Carraway is the busy narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a part of Gatsby’s circle. He has hesitant feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s wonderful ability to hope. Using Nick as an honorable guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to show the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve

The Great Gatsby is the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, an eccentric millionaire who lives on Long Island. The whole novel is written in the perspective of Nick Carraway. Nick was originally from the Midwest, but moved to Long Island to get involved in the stock market. From the beginning, Gatsby shows an unusual interest in Nick, which we later discover is because Nick is a cousin of Daisy Buchanan's. Eventually, Gatsby convinces Nick to arrange a meeting between the two. After initially getting back in touch, Gatsby and Daisy begin to see each other frequently, which causes all the conflict in the book. As Nick is telling the story, we see holes in his logic quite often, which leads us to believe not everything he says is completely true. This trait is exactly what makes Nick an unreliable narrator.

Although to Nick, Gatsby seems at once completely unoriginal, extremely knowable, being with him, he notes, was "like skimming hastily through a dozen magazines” (Fitzgerald 55). Gatsby, in Nick’s point of view, was disruptive. He is unable to trust Gatsby, for a fear that he would just vanish at the moment in which a promise leans toward its fulfillment.