What Does The Great Gatsby's Life Mean

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick Carraway's loss of innocence and growing awareness is one of the significant themes. Nick moves to West Egg, Long Island, an affluent suburb of New York City, where millionaires and powerbrokers dominate the landscape, from his simple, idyllic Midwestern home. In his new home, he meets Jay Gatsby, the main character in the novel. Throughout the novel, Nick's involvement in Gatsby's affairs causes him to gradually lose his innocence and he eventually becomes a mature person. By learning about Gatsby's past and getting to know how Gatsby faces the past and the present, Nick finds out about the futility of escaping from the

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

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

Fitzgerald writes a story with a character that is considered “larger than life”; he throws massive parties, is in love with a married woman, is rich and goes by the name of Jay Gatsby. Nick is the narrator who is sees a different side of Gatsby that sees him “great” aside from his wealth and corruption. Nick grew up in the Jazz age and it was replaced with the vitality, and favor of the artificial American dream. Gatsby’s life was full of winnings along with failures that followed him into death throughout the novel; never the less he achieves a form of “greatness” because of his morality in Nick’s perspective.

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

Fitzgerald’s background falls somewhere between those of Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby’s narrator, and Jay Gatsby. It seems that Fitzgerald’s paternal lineage is the model for Gatsby, who came from a modest Midwestern family, while his mother’s lineage became the model for Nick Carraway, whose family was a member of the upper-middle class. After several failed business ventures by Fitzgerald’s father, the family came to rely on his mother’s inheritance for their well-being, leaving the young Fitzgerald uncertain of the social strata to which he belonged. This caused him to ponder whether he would live a life of magnificence or modesty. Through Carraway and Gatsby, we see the conflict that this created in Fitzgerald’s life. In some ways, he desired to earn wealth and fame by any means necessary as Gatsby did, but he also developed an indifferent and thoughtful persona like Carraway. This shows that Fitzgerald’s contrasting desires for material happiness in Gatsby and mental happiness in Carraway carried into his writing.

He began as the son of an impoverished father, but got to the pinnacle of wealth through this dedication. His father reveals to Nick that even as a boy Gatsby refused to waste a moment of his time. After showing Nick a schedule Gatsby wrote when he was young, Gatsby’s Father claims that, “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something,” (9). This quote reveals a foundation of Gatsby’s character and work ethic. He refuses to stay idle and always has to be doing something to better himself or his situation. This perseverance followed him through life and when he met Daisy it took on a focus. He developed a passion and decided he needed to have Daisy at all costs. He would do crazy thing fueled by this passion. It is revealed that “he’s read a Chicago paper for years just on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy’s name,”(4). This kind of love and hope fueled Gatsby. It is why he worked so hard his whole life and drove him to follow his passion, Daisy. The daily motivation for Gatsby to keep working so hard was the green light on Daisy’s dock. Nick proclaims that, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.”(9). This quote demonstrates Gatsby’s optimism even when characters like Nick see the world as desolate. It is evident that Gatsby’s passion flowed through him like blood and that his hard work was a consequence of

The Great Gatsby, written by R. Scott Fitzgerald follows the story of a man by the name of Nick Carraway. Nick tells the story of his life while meeting the wealthy, esteemed Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby always aspired to be rich and live the lifestyle that came along with it. As Gatsby’s character becomes more in depth it is learned that he was in love with a rich woman named Daisy. Daisy and Gatsby meet a few years prior and fell in love. The problem was Gatsby was in no way wealthy. Someone of Daisy’s status could never be with a man like that. The two lovers eventually end up having to part ways. While Jay Gatsby’s life might seem like a dream with all of the money, fancy house parties, and pompous, high and mighty people it’s not so much

The Great Gatsby is the story of prosperous yet ambitious people who live in the high esteemed “eggs” of New York during the 1920’s. Nick Carraway is from the Western side of the United States and moves to New York for work. He soon learns that he moved in next to Gatsby, an eccentric man who throws mysterious parties for seemingly almost no reason. From the eyes of Carraway, Gatsby is intriguing and does not fit in his scope of common values. Throughout the rest of the book he tries to categorize the other characters based on their attitudes and behavior towards each other. In the world of Gatsby, Nick Carroway compares his personal morals to the wealthy western society and status quos including gender roles and loyalty.

I asked Nick today to invite Daisy over for tea (that was before the kiss). And then Gatsby, with such a modest subtly for having waited five years for his love, will come over to Nick’s and say hello. Drop in and shake things up, if you will. Gatsby is most hopelessly in love with Daisy—it really is rather adorable. I find Gatsby’s quest for Daisy charming, but a bit delusional. After all, Daisy is married to the richest man in East Egg. Granted, Tom is a hulk of a man blown by the winds of chambermaids and secretaries—but still, he smells of money.

Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward”(Fitzgerald, p.7). Here, Nick’s tone conveys that he sees Tom as vain, condescending man. He indicates that he knew Tom prior to this encounter. This familiarity demonstrates that Nick has already built an opinion on him, and even Daisy since they are cousins, proving partiality/prejudice and thus discredits him as a reliable narrator. Not only does Nick speak ill of other characters, but he also showcases unrelenting admiration for Gatsby, putting him before anyone else. Nick states: “ If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life… an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person (1.4)”. Here, Nick depicts Gatsby as a man of prominence with the determination to fulfill whatever he wishes, while carrying a sense of charm and romanticism- the complete

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.

Those who undeservingly hold themselves in high-esteem often struggle to come to terms with the differences between reality and fantasy. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, a man from the Midwest, perceives himself to be of a greater moral standing than his new neighbors. Despite this belief, Nick gets mixed up in the lives of Jay Gatsby, who lives in West Egg, and the Buchanans, who live in East Egg. While submerged in the problems of others, Nick draws several conclusions about the character of those he meets as well as himself and applies these conclusions in a way that casts doubt over his reliability as a narrator.

Scott Fitzgerald, the author of “The Great Gatsby”, uses his own experiences in his life as an influence to his novels. “The Great Gatsby” is just one among the many novels by Fitzgerald that tell not only it’s own story, but have aspects of Fitzgerald’s life in them. Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are two characters in this novel that can be compared to Scott Fitzgerald. Many events that have happened in Fitzgerald’s life carry over into the lives of these two characters. Gatsby and Carraway have similar personalities and behaviors to Fitzgerald as well.

Nick is instantly drawn into Gatsby at first sight when talking to him. Gatsby’s smile intrigues Nick and makes him feel valued and understood. He is eager to get to know Gatsby on a deeper and more personal level. Nick admires the comfort and support Gatsby’s charisma