Difference Between The Great Gatsby And Nick Carraway

Isaac Davila
Mrs. Guerrero
English 11H, Period 7
29 April 2016
Gatsby and Nick - Character Developments
In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald creates two distinct characters named Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway who evolve in complete opposite manners throughout the novel. Gatsby, a romantic idealist, experiences very little change. He is blinded as he continues to be fixated on achieving a romantic dream and does whatever necessary in order to fulfill it. This will ultimately lead to his demise. Nick is an insightful narrator who comes to witness the true epitome of the wealthy Eastern American lifestyle. His many experiences during his time in the East transform his innocence and tolerant stance into one of disapproval.
To begin with, Jay

He comes to discern and respond to the true consequences of excessive wealth. Nick begins with excitement, yearning for the opportunities he’ll hope to find in the East. As he arrives in West Egg, he himself states, “There was so much to read, for one thing, and so much fine health to be pulled down out of the young breath-giving air.” (Fitzgerald 4). Nick, also, begins by claiming himself honest, believing in the good of others, and somebody who is “inclined to reserve all judgements” (Fitzgerald 1). He sees faults in other characters but does not act or say anything about them. His initial perceived naïve personality contributes to his supposed tolerant and pure innocence. This all changes by Nick’s 30th birthday. His morals begin to change and he realizes his so-called “friends” have been corrupted by the American Dream and are full of lies. No longer being able to tolerate the behaviors of the upper class, Nick admits, “They were careless people … they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money…” (Fitzgerald 179). Additionally, this statement proves how Nick became increasingly critical and biased throughout the book. As he loses his innocence and his tendency to “reserve all judgments” (Fitzgerald 1), he realizes that nobody except for Gatsby had shown any real positive qualities. Having witnessed close at hand the moral decay of Gatsby 's life and the corruption that had infiltrated Eastern lives, Nick yearns for and returns to a more wholesome community, his home, the Midwest. He suggests that the new world he encountered while living next door to Gatsby was unappealing to him and made him long for the familiar territory where moral qualities meant more than wealthy indulgence. He writes with relief, “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform