The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

‘ "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember the advantages that you 've had..." In consequence I 'm inclined to reserve all judgments.’

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.

In the book a few characters that are introduced are “Jay Gatsby”, Nick Carraway, Daisy Fey Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, and Jordan Baker. Nick Caraway is the narrator of the book, and he is the only one of the main characters that is not overly wealthy. He is also the only character that is honest with whom he is. Gatsby acquired his money through questionable means, and he used it to get as close to his

Nick Carraway –An honest young man who comes from a well-known, small town family, but works hard to make his own living. Carraway narrates the story. He is Daisy’s second cousin and Gatsby’s neighbour. (Narrator/Dynamic Character)

The 1920s in America was better known as the “roaring twenties”. The materialistic society is reflected well in “The Great Gatsby” where Jay Gatsby didn’t have enough money to keep the high class rich girl that he fell in love with, therefore he made his money through organised crime, bootlegging. This shows the importance of money within this society as Gatsby believed that he couldn 't be with the girl he loved due to his social class. However it was a lot more than just Jay Gatsby’s wealth that meant he couldn 't be with Daisy. Gatsby completely transformed his lifestyle and in fact his name. He goes from being James Gatz to being Jay Gatsby. When Gatsby meets Dan Cody he realises that he wants this type of lifestyle full of money and

Unfortunately, as time passes, the true nature of Daisy’s identity exposes itself. When she is put in the predicament of choosing her ominous husband, Tom, or her zealous lover, Gatsby, she deserts her self-confident character and complies to her adulterine life with Tom. Nick remembers seeing Daisy and Gatsby together during this and hearing “‘Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now—isn’t that enough?

An often controversial and debated topic within most literature revolves around the morality of certain characters, and whether or not they are deserving of their accepted reputations. These questions come into play during contentious debates such as the infamous “good versus evil” and “angels and demons.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald induces the question of morality. Gatsby, a reserved and wealthy man who seeks the love from a past acquaintance, captures the “Lost Generation” essence as he devotes his life to partying and living an embellished lifestyle. But the question of whether he deserves the adjective “great” often arises. What truly determines if a character is deserving of their reputation? Is it the way people perceive them as a person, or their ability to live up to their expectations? Is it their level of morality, and if so, do their mistakes from the past affect their current determination of morality? Many avid readers would fight to prove the Great Gatsby is in fact not that “great” – maybe more deserving of the name “The Mediocre Gatsby.” But heated debates often spawn from the most controversial characters, illustrating the idea that the reader has the most effect on characterization. Their own interpretation of the writing and how they define morals could be the ultimate determination of a character’s true ethics, and whether a character’s reputation is fitting. In regards to the novel, The Great Gatsby is not deserving of his accepted persona

The Great Gatsby is a novel that illustrates the society in the 1920 's and the associated beliefs, values and dreams of the American population at that time. These beliefs, values and dreams can be summed up be what is termed the "American Dream"; a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. This underworld infiltrated the upper echelons and created such a moral decay within general society that paved the way for the ruining of dreams and dashing of hopes as they were placed confidently in the chance for opportunities that could be seized by one and all. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the

Nick Carraway, the novel's narrator, is a young man who was born into a conservative, well established, but not wealthy, Midwestern family. After attending college and serving in World War I, Nick comes back home, but he finds the Midwest seems out of the mainstream of life as he has come to know it out in the world. With his family's financial backing for one year, Nick goes to New York to learn the bond business and establish a career in the East. Nick's work ethic is strong; he works hard, but he also becomes involved in the lives of his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom (whom Nick had known in college).

A perfect world may be where there is money, a perfect, house, a wonderful spouse, beautiful and smart kids. The perfect lifestyle may only include having a job you’ve always wanted, or something simple as retaining the freedom given when entering the country. Ellen Truax was someone who saw the way people envisioned the American Dream, and those who couldn’t achieve it. She proposed an act called DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. By this proposal she sought to give those who have been through tragic events such as deportation, a change to recreate themselves, a chance to give themselves a better life; the American Dream. (Stockwell, Diane, trans. Dreamers: An Immigrant Generation’s Fight For Their American Dream.” Publisher Weekly (2014): 59-60. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.)

The protagonist, Nick Carraway, is a young man from Minnesota who moves to West Egg, next door to Gatsby. Gatsby’s allure and clearly apparent wealth keeps both Nick and the reader hooked throughout the book. The Great Gatsby couldn’t of had a more fitting cast, all the main characters bringing a different twist and aspect to the story. I think Nick is perfectly placed to be the narrator. He maintains a friendship or companionship with all the main characters but generally assumes a secondary role, rather then dominating the action he describes and comments on what is going on around him.

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is written in the 1920 's during the prohibition, and the characters values and goals really shaped the theme. The book was written about how people lived and acted during the 1920 's. This paper will cover; how the values and goals of the characters were shaped by the values and goals of people in the 1920 's, how the values and goals of the characters shaped the setting of the novel, and lastly the overall theme of the novel.

Written in 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows Jay Gatsby in his quest to win back Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby’s endeavor leads him from poverty to wealth, and eventually to death. The novel presents a clear picture of 1920’s culture in America, where people’s idea of the American Dream is simply riches and fame. The American Dream is the fundamental force which drives most characters in The Great Gatsby, but, in a dream driven by money, the characters are led to tragedy instead of success. Through his characters, Fitzgerald asserts his disapproval of the evolving meaning of the American Dream as social and moral values disintegrate within an increasingly materialistic and capitalistic nation.

F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the ambitions and the downfall of James Gatsby, a wealthy 1920s bootlegger in The Great Gatsby, hinting at the fallacy regarding the American Dream--one cannot achieve success simply through labor and valor. Gatsby, a poor officer, spent five years earning money in order to gain his lover, Daisy Buchanan’s, attention. Daisy, a wealthy, beautiful young woman, not only instigates Gatsby’s quest for wealth, but also causes his death; Gatsby is murdered because he takes the blame when Daisy accidentally kills Myrtle. Nick Carraway, the protagonist, is the primary narrator of Gatsby’s story. At times, Jordan Baker, a professional golfer and Nick’s girlfriend, narrates the novel to describe past events. However,

In the world of the novel The Great Gatsby, there are plenty of meaningful and impacting characters throughout. Some have big roles and some have little, but none of them reach up to the standards of the character Nick Carraway. Nick is in fact the foundation of this novel as he is labeled as the narrator, he helps Gatsby reunite with his true love and he’s the only one who knows the whole true story of what goes on. Though this title of this novel is The Great Gatsby, the narrator is called Nick Carraway, a man who represents the story as a whole and is the foundation to the story. Though he is not the main character, the man “Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book.”(Fitzgerald Pg. 6). There is a sole reason why the title is what