Examples Of Honesty In The Great Gatsby

“Being honest may not get you many friends but it’ll always get you the right ones” (John Lennon). The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota. After fighting in WW I he moves to New York City to learn business. While living in West Egg, a part of Long island where the “new money” lives he becomes friends with his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Nick is honest, pleasant to be around and sees people for who they really are. Out of all the people in the world there are only a few people that are honest. For instance when Nick is explaining what he thinks, “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59). There are so many people in New York but the majority are liars, thieves and murderers. Another example of Nick’s honesty is when Gatsby offers Nick a job, “because the offer was obviously and tactlessly for a service to be rendered, I had no choice except to cut him off there. I’ve got my hands full.” (111). Nick is in need of money but still declines Gatsby’s offer because he knew it was not the right thing to do. Nick is a pleasant person a be

For instance when Nick is explaining what he believed, “Gatsby turned out alright at the end, it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” (1). Nick saw that even though Gatsby’s actions are wrong he knew Gatsby is doing it for a good reason. Another example that indicates Nick’s keen eye is, “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.” (145). Nick noticed straightaway that Tom and Daisy are not good