The Great Gatsby's Downfall

When the other characters diffuse after Gatsby's death, Nick not able to accept that none of Gatsby's partners will even pay their last regards. Nick picks up the pieces and guarantees Gatsby isn't distant from everyone else in his passing. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" (179). Nick acknowledges how childish they are. He develops, longing fortune, but knows indeed wretchedness fortune can

Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to portray the personal failure in life in order to demonstrate how some people are dealt a worse hand in life than others. Gatsby, the protagonist of the story, is in love with a girl named Daisy, however she is married to a man named Tom. After a confrontation between Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Tom return home. Meanwhile, Gatsby hides in the bushes outside their house so he can make sure that Daisy is safe. Nick, the narrator of the novel, observes as Gatsby watches over Daisy “standing there in the moonlight - watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145). As Gatsby waits outside Daisy’s house, he believes that she will choose him over Tom, but unfortunately he is in a hopeless situation and Daisy will break his heart. Nick further describes the dinner Tom and Daisy share to have “an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (Fitzgerald 145). While Gatsby stands there, he is unaware of Daisy’s betrayal as she shares an intimate dinner with Tom. Furthermore, as Gatsby fights for the love of his life, he is has no idea that the circumstances that are beyond his control since Daisy’s true love is Tom. As Tom and Daisy

These characters live in the age of the “Hollow Men,” and are portrayed as empty and absent-minded people. In fact, Nick voices his grievances with this at the end of the story; after Nick meets Tom Buchanan a couple months following Gatsby’s death, he takes time to reflect, pondering, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (179). Shaking Tom’s hand, he states that he feels like he “were talking to a child” (179). Nick feels a personal disdain for the carelessness of the characters in the book. Gatsby, however, acts with real thoughtfulness, as he exhibits his authenticity multiple times in the novel. Reflecting on Gatsby’s life, Nick proclaims that Gatsby’s heart “was in a constant, turbulent riot” (99). He then tells that “the most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted [Gatsby] in his bed at night” (99). These examples help validate that Gatsby, unlike the other characters, was genuine enough to feel passionate and convey emotion. While the readers dislike Tom and Daisy’s emptiness, they favor Gatsby’s compassionate and sincere personality, as they can relate to his

In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway gradually grows annoyance with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and their selfish and luxurious life. Daisy, on the other hand finds Nick to be her “trustworthy genuine cousin”. Tom thinks of Nick as his old friend from college who is always there for him; however fraudulence lies between all of them. Thus, representing how each of the characters perceived their friendship differently. To begin, throughout the book Nick grows to become more and more disgusted with the actions Daisy and Tom fulfill; especially towards people. Nick represents this when he says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them

Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald displays a wistful tone by illustrating Gatsby's yearning to start over, contradicting the compelling nature normally associated with the “Roaring 20’s.” For instance, Gatsby’s regretfulness is shown in his “want[ing] to recover something, some idea of himself,” contrasting the glamorous and thrilling view of the “Roaring 20’s” (110). This reveals how Gatsby longs for a chance to be with Daisy once again. In addition, a wistful tone is established by Gatsby’s longing to start over. Nick notices that Gatsby’s “life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place” he could find the missing piece he was searching for (110). This description of his life signifies that

Gatsby’s wealth, sophistication, and handsomeness are admired by Nick which ultimately, develops into a friendship with Gatsby. Although Nick Carraway seems to be there every step of the way, Gatsby and his mystery makes it too difficult for Nick to save Gatsby from collapsing. “They’re a rotten crowd… You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”(154). Despite the fact that Nick claims he never complimented Gatsby, he only enables his false hope of being able to reignite his love with Daisy by giving him support. Nick never quite reaches the understanding that Gatsby isn’t the “realest” character in the novel, he continues to feel sorry for Gatsby throughout his struggles. Although Nick may not have realized that Gatsby quite possibly may have used him for Daisy, he continues to support Gatsby and continuously attempts to get Daisy and Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is about a writer named Nick Carraway. He leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922 . Nick chases his American Dream and ends up living next door to a mysterious, party-loving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who is  across the water from his cousin, Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals that the upper class society is corrupt from money. This is best proven through Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom.

Nick points out a “secret place above the trees” that Gatsby could reach if he “climbed alone”; this secret place is the high-society life Gatsby has wanted all his life, but the only way for him to attain is it by leaving Daisy behind. Gatsby knows this and chooses to kiss Daisy anyway, where he “forever wed[s] his unutterable visions to her perishable breath”. Gatsby’s dreams were so vast and could have been gained had he not signed a death certificate by involving himself with Daisy, and Nick understands this. Gatsby loses a major part of himself to Daisy at this point in the story by devoting literally everything he does to her and remains just steps away from literally worshipping her. Another example of details is when Nick tells Gatsby not to “ask too much of [Daisy]” because “you can’t repeat the past”. This is something Gatsby refuses to accept as the truth and insists that he’s “going to fix everything just the way it was before”. At this point Nick registers that Gatsby’s life has been “confused and disordered” since he met Daisy and that he is actually stuck in the past. Nick is trying his best to deter Gatsby from pursuing Daisy yet Gatsby continues to ignore his one true friend that has only his best interests at

Moreover, Gatsby travels great lengths in order create a visually display of his expansive and admirable collection of materialistic wealth, as a means of displaying to Daisy the possible luxuries and wealth she could possess in exchange for her love. Specifically, following Gatsby’s initial acquaintance with Daisy Buchanan, he insists that they relocate their ecstatic reconciliation to his house. Upon exposing Daisy to his fortress of luxurious solitude, Nick observes that “He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (96 - 97). Therefore, this indicates Gatsby’s inability to separate his illusions from reality, alternatively, on account of his wealth, he mistaken believes that if he could fulfill Daisy’s materialistic needs, she would repay him with her infinite affection. In conclusion, throughout Gatsby’s conquest for the affection of the beloved and internally flawed Daisy Buchanan, he becomes the “boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (189). Regrettably, Gatsby’s illusion and longing desires for Daisy consume himself, thereby allowing him to falsely believe that his vast fortune will provide contentment, whereas, in reality his fortune and lifestyle only mask the inevitable destruction of himself.

“The Great Gatsby” follows Nick’s perspective on Jay Gatsby’s desperate attempt to get to be with his only love, and only desire in life, Daisy Buchanan. Life has not been kind to Gatsby as he worked his way up the social ladder, the only thing keeping him together being the obsessive need to get Daisy to leave all else to be with him. Gatsby wrote many letters to Daisy, most of which he never sent, both before and after he found out she married another man. I was most eager to read these letters, so this will be what I think may have been written in one of Gatsby’s many un-sent letters to Daisy – after he found out that she had married another man. To the best of my ability I will mimic the language Gatsby used when talking to and about Daisy. With this I hope to achieve that desperate and delusional tone of voice that he has.

Nick sees Gatsby as the beacon of human perfection a man with a dream so pure it couldn’t be corrupted by anyone. Nick sees this once incorruptible dream in the “Gatsby believed in the Green light, the orgastic future…” (Fitzgerald 180). Nick’s tone shows that he saw Gatsby’s dream not what the end goal was but what the dream symbolized. The dream of Gatsby was treated so poorly as if it meant nothing to everybody, and Nick could sympathize with this dream for, in the beginning, Nick was much the very same way weak and vulnerable to the power of everyone else. Gatsby’s dream only grow the more he wanted to achieve it and Nick grows in character from watching Gatsby never give up on it. Gatsby teaches Nick to be dignified indirectly and teaches him to see the world as a place that is formal and filled with dignity. When Gatsby is murdered because of the corrupt people around him, Gatsby’s dream dies with him, and Nick is tormented by the absence of the once great Gatsby. Nick later walks the streets of the once great wonderland and sees its wonder no longer, “After Gatsby’s death the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction” (Fitzgerald 176) Nick has been taught by Gatsby that the world should be seen as formal and be dignified, and with this knowledge he realizes that the

When Gatsby finally gets Daisy to go to his house and he seduces her, he begins to think. Nick points out, “He knew that when he kissed this girl… his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (110). Gatsby knew once he kissed Daisy, his life would always focus on her and his mind would never be able to think about anything else. The flaw shown is his willingness to do anything for Daisy because within a few short moments, he kissed Daisy. While Nick is meeting Tom Buchanan and his friends he is peer pressured to drink. Nick’s thought process is to get out of the apartment and get away from this situation. As Nick is attempting to leave the apartment, he hears, “You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever” (36). In the end, Nick stays to party and becomes extremely intoxicated. The result of his decision is a mix up with wrong people with is not beneficial to him. The flaw depicted in Nick is his nonchalant attitude. The thought process of Nick shows that he ultimately does not care and that is detrimental to his character. Once Gatsby has kissed Daisy, he in a trap. Gatsby is in a trance of only thinking about Daisy. When Daisy is unsure whether she will leave with him or not, “He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do” (148). The life that Gatsby had could not be continued unless Daisy was a part of it. Gatsby shows a flaw of attachment

This final section of the paper will discuss the relationship between Gatsby and Nick. More specifically, this section will discuss Nick’s personal bias towards a man whose actions throughout the novel are questionable. As previously discussed, Nick is instantly drawn towards the man who would be named Gatsby. Nick is drawn in by Gatsby’s smile, judging him positively. Past the introductions between the two men, Nick learns more and more about Gatsby. Nick gathers information of Gatsby difficult past, and learns that the purpose of his personal success and wealth was to attract the woman who he loved. Gatsby and Daisy could not be together despite their love for each other simply because of class differences. Daisy was born into a life of advantage, whereas Gatsby had to struggle to find success. Although Gatsby’s pursuit of success as a means to win Daisy’s love is admirable, it does not excuse him from his injustices. As the novel progresses, Nick gathers more information regarding the life of Gatsby. Although aspects of Gatsby’s life are considered questionable, Nick remains ignorant and biased towards his character. The affair between Gatsby and Daisy is an basic example of Gatsby’s flawed character. As previously discussed, Gatsby pursued an affair with Daisy. In the mind of Nick, this affair between Gatsby and Daisy was judged as attractive, unlike other affairs. Although Tom was also having an affair with Myrtle, that does not justify the affair between Gatsby and

When it came to Gatsby, he was interested in Nick’s simplicity but he was also intrigued at Nick’s relation to Daisy, his long-lost lover. In the novel it states, “had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.” (Fitzgerald, 97). This quote shows how Gatsby had reconnected with Daisy through Nick and how Nick admired Gatsby’s passion when he finally meet up with Daisy once again. Lastly, the tragic death of Gatsby opens up a new realm of things for Nick. In the novel, it states, “After Gatsby’s death the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction.” (Fitzgerald, 176). He now reflected on how Gatsby’s passion and drive to live allowed Nick to view life in the real world differently. Nick, who was directly inspired by Gatsby, now was left confused as he wanted to learn all that one needs for success, though the death made it impossible. The last page of the novel, it ends with, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eludes us then, but that’s no matter - to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arm farther.” (Fitzgerald, 180). This quote shows how much of a deep impact Gatsby’s death had on Nick. Now

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