Who Is Nick's Advantage In The Great Gatsby

The line of attack we use in order to identify individuals around us is an intriguing thing. Our perception is forever shifting, forever building, and affected not only by the person’s actions, but by the actions of those around them. In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby Nick Caraway’s perception of Jay Gatsby is always changing. All the way through the novel, Nick’s perception of Gatsby changes from him perceived as a rich chap, to a man that lives in the past, to a man trying to achieve his aspirations but has failed.

The real contradiction to Nick is The Great Gatsby himself, Jay. Jay and Nick share a similar small town upbringing but Jay was able to parle his stolen trades into the corrupted version of the American Dream. Most of what Nick knows about Jay is based on his reputation and it’s not until they actually meet and Nick sees the “quality of distortion” in Jay’s New York lifestyle that Nick sees for himself the illusion that Jay created. Nick is attracted to the high life that Gatsby has created in the valley of ashes. Who can blame him with all the lavish parties, cars, mansions, women and other temptations. It’s like Fitzgerald has placed Nick in the Garden of Eden and the two characters; Nick and Jay, represent the good

He had high hopes that he would be successful without help from others. In The Great Gatsby, Nick described his family and his history. How his family came from wealth. Nick came from a family who believed in the American Dream: "The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day." (Fitzgerald 3). In this quote from this novel explains his heritage. According to Dust and Dreams and "the Great Gatsby," Nick was determined to become successful. He didn't believe in failure. "Nick's constant romantic self-projection, his own large sense of glamorous possibilities, his ability, even while noting that tawdriness of an actuality, to understand the glamour that it could still legitimately possess for an outsider- these, of course, are so obvious and so spelled out as to need no commenting on here." By John Fraser. (Fraser 557). This quote states how Nick's determination for success ties into the American Dream. He comes from a family of wealth and a proud family who believed in the American

Through the observations and experiences of Nick, The Great Gatsby exposes the temptations that men have towards the allure of the East and the consequences of giving into them. When Nick first attended one of Gatsby’s parties, he noted that “they [the guests] conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with an amusement park” (41). Nick describing the guests of Gatsby’s party with the behavior associated with an amusement park shows that people from the East are not truly any more civilised than those from the West. Throughout the book, the East is seen as being more privileged than the West, with grander houses and prestigious families, while the West is less fashionable with wide lawns and friendly trees. With the

Gatsby doesn't exactly belong in the wealthy group and his outsider status is very important. Gatsby plays a person who does belong in the wealthy group. So, Nick's is surprised at Gatsby's ability make his dreams come to life making it seem so easy. Gatsby kind of just plays a part.

One of the reasons why wealth is involved in Gatsby’s life is because he is spending his own money on things that aren’t necessary. Nick was explaining how he didn’t see a party one Saturday night, “It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night”

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, the poster boy has a questionable past. He is arguably justified depending on who you ask, and only the few who are wise know his true colors. It could be said that Gatsby's hidden nature is both personal and societal, but that is up to prlerspective.

It is clear that in the beginning, Nick is aware of the presence of the American Dream, or at least the presence of intense ambition in his friends and family. While Nick initially seems to be inexperienced with the idea of the Dream, Gatsby is an expert. Having been born to a poor agrarian household, Gatsby successfully escaped poverty and the fate of his parents. Without any noticeably extraordinary abilities, Gatsby was able to acquire millions of dollars and achieve widespread fame in the matter of a few years. Along with the riches came the opportunity for a reinvention of his identity, which he voraciously exploited; "the truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself" (104).

Nick is still, however, an honest and good man. He is not extravagantly rich, but unlike Gatsby he earned all of his high social connections fairly. He is rather disgusted with the East and it’s empty values by the end of the book. But he is still intrigued by it all, as he demonstrates through his relationship with Jordan Baker. He holds an almost subconscious

Before one can learn, one must be confused. It’s no surprise that a coming of age character starts out naïve and inexperienced. When Nick first introduces himself, he appears very innocent. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice,” he says. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (Fitzgerald 1). Nick naively claims that he is a man

Nick Carraway is the only character worth knowing in The Great Gatsby. He is living in East Egg with the rich and powerful people. He is on the guest lists to all of their parties and yet he is the person most worthy of attending such parties because he is well bread and his family is certainly not poor. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” (Ch1, P1). These words were taught to Nick by his father showing the qualities that a man with goals and values would have in a place where goals and values was no existent. His Judgmental eye for character and guts of using them when desired makes him more interesting. He has a greatest fear that he will be

During the 1920's American culture was centered around status and wealth, especially in the east, in hopes of living the true "American dream". Although most people became shallow, empty, and careless in their paths to wealth, often hurting those who have less then them, and making them pay the consequences of their immoral actions. But Jay Gatsby was unlike every other hollow person in the East, because he had something to live for, fight for, and dream for; Daisy Buchanan. His love for her gave him the strength to keep believing in the American dream and the drive to accomplish it. Gatsby restores Nicks faith in the people of the 1920's by showing him that not everyone is shallow and selfish, and that in order to live the American dream, hope and determination can not be lost.

Gatsby is a common man who had the ambition to achieve a big dream. Part of Gatsby’s dream was wealth, which is the idea that each person desires to achieve within their lifespan through their hard work. Gatsby is not born into wealth nor privileges. He was a farm boy from North Dakota with no education or money, Nick states “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (Fitzgerald 98). Some of Gatsby’s many achievements were becoming a war

While readers are shown this message through the downfall of greed many times, there is an emphasis on the topic specifically during the last conversation Nick and Gatsby have. Nick says to Gatsby, “you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”(154 Fitzgerald). While this certainly isn’t a typical compliment, it comes as a surprise to readers because of Nick’s character. He was advised by his father to be careful when passing judgement on people, a recommendation that changes the telling of the entire story. Nick rarely expresses an opinion on the moral value of the people around him, and Gatsby is no exception. Based on this fact alone, the few words go a long way. In order to best understand why Nick believes this to be true, it is important to understand what makes Gatsby different from all other characters. Judging on face value, Gatsby is no different from every other person living in East or West Egg. He has excess wealth, throws too many parties, has a list of petty and meaningless relationships, and is portrayed as a liar from the beginning. At the same time, he seems careless and irresponsible, as well as socially awkward. None of these characteristics make him stand out from the crowd of equally stuck up characters. The most relevant difference that sets Gatsby aside from the crowd is that he has a goal besides making money. Tom and Daisy appear to be living in order to make money; it is as if their final destination is simply more wealth. Gatsby is separated from this group because his ultimate goal is to restore his past relationship with Daisy and is using money as a way to accomplish his goal. While the two concepts seem to bleed together, a clear distinction can be made in the purpose of having wealth. The Buchanan’s want money simply to