Essay On Nick's Integrity In The Great Gatsby

591 Words2 Pages

I believe from what I have read till now that Nick has what many of the other characters lack of, personal integrity and his sense of right and wrong helps elevate him above the others characters . He is more of the guy who knows when to do, or when not to do something. He alone is repulsed by the fake nature of the socialites. Nick represents the quiet, reflective Midwesterner.Nick moved to New York in 1922 to learn the bond business. He lives in the West Egg district of Long Island, next door to Gatsby. Nick is also Daisy’s cousin, and Gatsby uses that as an advantage to make Nick helps him to resurge the love affair between them two. Nick is the type of guy that need proves to believe something, although he likes to help people after he gets to know him better. He doesn't care about what others say about you, he needs to confirm it himself. For example everyone said that Gatsby was a criminal, although he knew what others thought of him he decided to give it a shot. By this I can also say Nick is tolerant, open minded, quiet, and a good listener, and, as a result he has earned other people trust, so they talk with him reveal their secrets or count on him when they need someone loyal . Gatsby, in …show more content…

On the other hand he feels repulsive about the illegal environment and how the cops lets you go just because you are rich or a very important person . Nick states that there is a “quality of distortion” to life in New York, and this lifestyle makes him lose his equilibrium, especially early in the book , as when he gets drunk at Gatsby’s party. In Chapter 3, again Nick comes off as less mercenary than everyone else in the book as he waits for an invitation to attend one of Gatsby's parties, and then when he does, he takes the time to seek out his host. From these instances it becomes clear that Nick, in many ways, is an

Show More
Related

  • Social Hierarchy In The Great Gatsby

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Like his house, Nick is not showy, this characteristic allows people to easily trust him, which supports his role as the narrator of the story. Despite the fact that everything revolves around him, Nick is never actually involved in the events of the story, he simply acts as a vehicle for the other character’s wants and needs. Nick describes his house as "an eyesore” (Fitzgerald 11) compared to the mansions around it and say that “it had been overlooked" (Fitzgerald 11) in the presence of such glamorous homes. Similar to Nick himself, his house is strangely out of place among the mansions that are beside it, but is small enough that people overlook how much it does not fit in. Fitzgerald uses Nick 's house in order to show how Nick fits in, in Gatsby’s world, similar to his home, he is overlooked in the presence of such wealthy people. Nick 's House serves as a meeting place where Gatsby and Daisy meet up. Parallel to how Nick serves as an object that allows Daisy and Gatsby to reunite. Nick is unfamiliar with the world of the extravagantly wealthy, though he begins to adapt throughout the novel, he is generally out of place in the world of the rich, and blends in to the

    Read More

  • How Is Jay Gatsby Remarkable

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity of the promises of life as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away."(pg 2), Nick did not judge Gatsby at all in the book (well he tried to not do so), because he saw so much in Gatsby. Gatsby believed he would reunite with Daisy after five years had passed, he did everything he could in hopes of getting back to her, he threw those parties thinking Daisy would one day walk through the doors of his mansion. He believed history could and would repeat itself. Gatsby was full of so much hope but that hope was a little bit of an obsession, which is never a good thing. He became rich just for Daisy, he moved to West Egg and bought a home there to just be across the bay from

    Read More

  • Gatsby Rough Draft

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gatsby yearns to be part of the high society, but, in reality, he is an outsider to his social class. An important note for this is that he is a very wealthy person and has an expensive mansion, yet he lives on East Egg, while the “real” high society people live on West Egg. Near the end of the novel, Nick showed the reader that he was one of Gatsby’s only real friends; it showed when Nick was one of the only three people that attended his funeral. Nick seems to be more or less the only one who cares about him after his death.

    Read More

  • Outsiders In The Great Gatsby And Slaughterhouse-Five

    2135 Words  | 5 Pages

    He follows other people’s lead, but not what they think. The invitation to his first Gatsby party was a large and impressive part of his day and his need for invitations continues for the rest of the book. His lack of self-assuredness kept him from being as spontaneous and involved as the other characters. But more than his need to be invited Nick also has a need to get away. When partying with Tom and his mistress he wanted to leave, “I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the Park through the soft twilight, but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back..” (p35) As with most outsiders Nick was surprised about the way he felt being included. “[He] was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” (p.35) Despite the necessity of being invited and continuously brought back in Nick is capable of having fun while still sporting his outsider

    Read More

  • What Is The Synthesis Of The Great Gatsby

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nick believes the American Dream, this is examined in Claire Stocks criticism, she states, “ Is that he believes the American Dream. Nether less, it is only Nick (whose inherited wealth is on the decline and who identifies with Gatsby’s desire to improve his social standing” (Claire Stocks 4) Nick understands the feeling and does not show judgment towards Gatsby, yes he looks down for the illegal things Gatsby does but, not for the wealth and big parties, he understands. Rather, William Voegeli A critic of “Gatsby and the pursuit of happiness” shows a different side to this, he states, “Nick rents, Gatsby buys, and the Buchanans inherit,” also stating “”you’re no better than anybody else and no one else is better than you” (William Voegeli 1) Which shown in the novel is not true, Nick is a middle class character compared to the magnificent West Egg class. He gets on his feet just because of his father 's money. These people are not equal, when it comes to society, they may have the same rights but when it comes to what they can and can not do there is a line drawn. Yes you can 't put all your value on money but, the lack of money can create a stopper in society. So yes, Nick was taught not to judge, that not all people have the things you do but, as he goes through the story he sees a change that he wants everyone to be in uniform because he can 't stand the empowerments of money anymore. Nick states, “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into

    Read More

  • Nick's Evolving Perceptions of Gatsby in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the book Nick sees Gatsby as a mysterious shady man. In the beginning of the chapter Nick somewhat resents Gatsby. In Nick’s opinion Gatsby was the representation of “…everything for which I have unaffected scorn.” (Fitzgerald 2). Nick sees Gatsby as what he hates the most in life, rich folk. Since the start of the novel it was obvious that had “Disapproved of him from beginning to end.” (Fitzgerald 154). As time passes, Nick realizes his neighbor has quite a mysterious past. Some think he’s a bootlegger, and a different person wa...

    Read More

  • Social Commentary In The Great Gatsby

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nick character and tone of voice comes across as being cynical and at times judgmental of the other characters and the world the live in. we have Nick as the primary person whose tone there is to discuss because we can see into his thoughts, while with the other characters, we have only dialogue and action to decipher them. Nick wants to be seen as a somewhat cynical and "with it" kind of person, but part of him longs for a world of true love and heroism. His tone reflects these contradictory aspects of his character. When we see him assess Jordan Baker, for example, or Tom Buchanan, we see his cynical take on the world. Even when he assesses and discusses Daisy, we know that he sees her as she is, a very material girl. But when he starts to see more of Gatsby and watches Gatsby 's love for Daisy, as he reveals his thoughts to us, we can see that he is longing to have a hero to admire, and his longing for true chivalry and true love. If you read the novel carefully, paying particular attention to the opinions and thoughts Nick shares with the reader, as opposed to what he has to say in dialogue, you will see the difference in tone. He also sees something noble and admirable in

    Read More

  • Compare Nick's Social Status In The Great Gatsby

    73 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nick's social status is higher than an average mans but still lower than the buchanan's and Gatsby's. His father saved him from being similar to Tom and judging people because their different than him. Nick might not have been able to stand being friends with people with such higher social status' if it wasn't for his father, he might have judged them too hard on the first day he went to their

    Read More

  • Essay On Why Is Nick An Unreliable Narrator In The Great Gatsby

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ultimately, although readers portray Nick as an honest and unbiased narrator, through the above evidence combined with the fact that the 2 years have passed for Nick, his narration point is inherently bias. Since he has such a close friendship with Gatsby, Nick manages to overlook Gatsby’s illegal activities, and portray him unjustly as a virtuous man. The portrayal is unjust because Nick doesn’t account for his flaws, and he highlights his positives.

    Read More

  • Nick Carraway - Biased Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nick wants the readers to believe that the way he was raised gives him the right to pass judgement on a immoral world. He says, that as a consequence of the way he was raised he is "inclined to reserve all judgements" about other people (page 5). His saying this makes it seem like we can trust him to give a fair unbiased account of the story that he is telling, but we later learn that he does not reserve all judgements. Nick further makes us feel that he is a non-partisan narrator by the way he tells of his past. We come to see that Nick is very partial in his way of telling the story. This is shown when he admits early in the story that he does not judge Gatsby because Gatsby had a "extraordinary gift for hope, a romanric readiness". This made Nick more loyal to Gatsby than other characters in the book.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Nobody Analysis

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    He believed Gatsby was just trying to impress him, by telling him what could be a fairytale. As the narrator, Nick is suppose to withhold judgement, but now he is becoming more of a character. At the beginning of the novel, Nick described others by their attributes; he had no opinion of them. However, Nick now has people he clearly likes and dislikes, and people he trusts, and others he does not. This is a sharp comparison to what a narrator is suppose to be. We can relate to Nick in this way because over time, we begin to judge people for their personalities, rather than their outer appearance. This can be related to how Nick felt about Gatsby in chapter three, compared to now. Nick no longer needs approval from Gatsby, but rather Gatsby needing approval from him.

    Read More

  • Nick Carraway

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick is our narrator and the voice of reason in a time and place where parties are the goals and having a good time is all that matters. Parties at Gatsby’s mansion are the rule not the exception and all who attend pay homage to their false prophet Gatsby. He is their leader the charming man living in a mansion and driving and awesome care. Too bad he has no sense of real worth. Yet nick seems to be loyal to him the whole time “They're a rotten crowd, “I shouted across the lawn. “You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.”I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end. First he nodded politely, and then his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we’d been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time” (Pg 162). Nick appears on the sidelines more than in the mix with all the drinkers and boasters and unfaithful spouses. “I forgot to ask you something,...

    Read More

  • The Genuine Nick Carraway of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    By meeting Gatsby Nick has changed for the better.  His ideas and actions. all start to change.  He becomes very genuine.  Sometime after the party Nick says "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. " Gatsby, p. 41. said this because most of the people at Gatsby's parties were just invited. themselves.  This is the time when Nick's character is showing some.

    Read More

  • Essay On Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the book, Nick's dependability is demonstrated as he recounts various information about himself. He is “inclined to reserve all judgments”(1), a trait that implies objectivity and therefore reliability as a narrator. However, he continues to say that this reservation of judgment has certain limits, especially recently in his life. These limits, apparently, do not apply to Gatsby, as evidenced in the next line. Nick says that only Gatsby “was exempt from [his] reaction”, even though Gatsby “represented everything for which [he has] an unaffected scorn”. He then continues to praise Gatsby's “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life”, and his “extraordinary gift of hope”(2). This beginning excerpt from the book in the first two pages sets the tone for the rest of the book and foreshadows the events that are going to happen. It is one of the most important sections of the book, as it lays out ...

    Read More

  • Perspective of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    He becomes our eyes and ears in this world and we have to see him as reliable if we are to proceed with the story's development. In The Great Gatsby, Nick goes to some length to establish his credibility, indeed his moral integrity, in telling this story about this "great" man called Gatsby. He begins with a reflection on his own upbringing, quoting his father's words about Nick's "advantages", which we could assume were material but, he soon makes clear, were spiritual or moral advantages. Nick wants his readers to know that his upbringing gave him the moral fiber with which to withstand and pass judgment on an amoral world, such as the one he had observed the previous summer. He says, rather pompously, that as a consequence of such an upbringing, he is "inclined to reserve all judgments" about other people, but then goes on to say that such "tolerance. . .

    Read More

More about Essay On Nick's Integrity In The Great Gatsby

Open Document