Indirect characterization is a big part of the Great Gatsby because of how many different ways the characters and the story have been analyzed. When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the Great Gatsby in 1925 he most likely did not think it was going to be analyzed so thoroughly, so people tend to see things a bit different. There is a significant difference between how the characters are when they are first introduced and how they are at the end; Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the story, being a prime example. Jay Gatsby is meant to portray the ‘American dream” but through the indirect characterization in the novel we see Gatsby for who he was originally supposed to be, a lying, secretive man who has his head stuck in the past. There are many reasons …show more content…
to believe that the character interpretation of Jay Gatsby is vastly different from what he is intended to be, because of the indirect characterization from Nick Caraway; the narrator of the story. Jay Gatsby is perceived by many readers as mysterious, lavish, and even a little stand-offish.
Though the story is told from Nick’s point of view, the reader gets many perspectives of Gatsby from different characters. One can see from characters like Jordan Baker -Nick’s girlfriend through the majority of the novel, or Tom- the husband of Nick’s cousin Daisy; that Gatsby is not as good as everyone where to think. Based on how these characters act and feel about Mr. Gatsby it is evident that they dislike him to some extent, showing a bit more of a flawed human side of him. Tom is quoted saying “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong.” about Gatsby depicting Tom’s harsh feelings towards him and showing the reader Tom’s negative feelings about Gatsby. Because the story is told from Nick’s point of view, Gatsby is still painted as this mysterious man because Nick is a bit curious of him and does not know Gatsby in the beginning. ‘"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."’ Nick says to Gatsby, showing that he thinks he is worth more than Daisy, Tom, or the other characters. With this quote one can infer that Nick holds Gatsby on a bit of a high platform than the other characters, giving the reader Nick’s indirect characterization of
Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald meant for Gatsby to be somewhat like an illusion so the indirect characterization is almost purposeful within the novel. While all the characters have their own view of Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald has a bit of a different interruption of his own character. As stated before most readers view Gatsby as mysterious, vastly wealthy, and maybe a bit too far into his own head; but F. Scott Fitzgerald saw Gatsby as a liar, a love sick man who would go to any lengths to be loved by Daisy-whom he had previously had an affair with. !QUOTE FROM THE NOVEL DESCRIBING GATSBY! The reader learns later in the novel that Gatsby got his wealth from bootlegging alcohol and that Gatsby’s entire life story had been made up, giving insight to what kind of things Gatsby would do to be loved by Daisy. In the novel, because the story is told strictly by Nick’s point of view, the audience has this slight warped perspective of Gatsby as a whole and therefore do not really know how to take his character. In conclusion it is evident that the relationship between what Jay Gatsby is perceived as by the audience and how he was intended to be as a character is pretty different. Wither he is a tragic hero or a pathetic love sick man is all up to opinion and one’s own personal view of the book. Never the less though, the indirect characterization of Gatsby is a big theme in the book because it helps create the feeling of amuninitity with Gatsby, which is kind of what F. Scott Fitzgerald was going for. The indirect characterization really plays a big role in the story in the beginning before the reader ever meets Gatsby; so it is understandable why there is so many different ways to take the ‘Gatsby’ known for the great Gats
Of course Nick is going to talk to him before he makes any assumptions. Even though Gatsby is one to easily be judged based off of his lavish lifestyle and looks. It’s important here because Gatsby asks Nick for his opinion of himself, but before he gets the opinion he wants to tell Nick his story before he hears nonsense from anyone else. While listening to Gatsby talk about his past, Nick starts to slip. In this passage Nick is talking about how he reacted to Gatsby be so called past, “With an effort I managed to restrain my incredulous laughter. The very phrases were worn so threadbare that they evoked no image except that of a turbaned ‘character’ leaking sawdust at every pore as he pursued a tiger through the Bois de Boulogne.” (Fitzgerald 66). However before talking to Gatsby Nick says, “So my first impression, that he was a person of some undefined consequence, had gradually faded and he had become simply the proprietor of an elaborate road-house next door.” (Fitzgerald 64). Nick judged Gatsby, based off of his appearance and what he had seen next door. Of course, Nick doesn't own up to that, he uses the word impression instead of
Nick Carroway is not a very judgmental person, in fact, he himself states that he withholds judgment so that he can get the entire story out of the person to whom he is listening. To say that Nick is both approving and disapproving is not suspiring, for Nick rarely looks at things from only one perspective. Nick finds Gatsby to be ignorantly honest, in that Gatsby could not fathom the idea of saying something without really meaning it. He respects Gatsby for his determination to fit in with the East Egg crowd, though Gatsby does not realize that he does not really fit in with them. On the other hand, Nick sees Gatsby to be excessively flashy and, in the words of Holden Caulfield, 'phony.' Gatsby's whole life is a lie from the moment he left behind the name James Gatz and became Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lies about his past to try to have people perceive him as an 'old money' guy when that really is not necessary. Gatsby's valiant efforts to lure Daisy are respectable, yet they show Gatsby's failure to accept reality and give up on his long lost dream.
“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
Considering that many authors use figurative language techniques in their writing to help convey a specific message; there is no wonder why Fitzgerald and Twain both use the tools for the purpose of criticising people in more of a low key fashion. Fitzgerald uses many different figurative language devices in The Great Gatsby, like similes. Because it is set in the roaring 20s, partying is a big element to the storyline. When Gatsby throws extravagant parties, Nick thinks to himself “...men and women came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.” (Fitzgerald 44). Nick refers to the social statuses of the young people in the 1920s. It proves that they really just want to party, get wasted, and that they absolutely
Even though he had some thought that the meeting would provoke harmful tensions between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, he went along with it anyways, further demonstrating his own innate lack of reservation. Ultimately, Nick is an unreliable narrator who overlooks Gatsby’s lies because of his biased judgment of him. Nick portrays Gatsby as a generous and charismatic figure while in reality, he is a duplicative and obsessed man entangled in illegal business who is determined on an unattainable goal. It is highly ironic that Nick judges others for their lack of morality and honesty; his own character is plagued by lies as he abets Gatsby in many of his schemes.
In the Great Gatsby, what you refer to as Gatsbyś moral ambiguity is the result of his obsession with recapturing the past as he sees it, basically his dream. Everything else is subservient to his dream. Gatsby is so in love with Daisy that he is willing to do anything to win her. Gatsby can be a good bad evil person, but on the other hand he could be a good noice person that is what mak\es him moral ambiguity.
Throughout Nick’s narration he makes the point that Gatsby was “worth the whole damn bunch” of them and was very great (154). The first description of Gatsby stated that “there was something gorgeous about him” (2). A lot of his characterization is comparing him to “a rotten crowd”, which could be taken to mean all the rich. Nick’s comparisons all say that Gatsby is the best rich person out there, better than all of them “put together” (154).
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.
In many stories a reader sides with one or two characters for the whole story. In this book you may have sided with Daisy at the beginning but towards the end you despise her. Even with Nick Carraway the narrator of the story. The reader usually takes sides with the narrator of the story. Yet, at some points during the story I felt that Nick should have stopped Gatsby from using him. It was Nick’s own fault that he got caught up in Gatsby’s drama. Gatsby at first was a character a reader did not know much about. F. Scott Fitzgerald did so to keep Gatsby as a secret prize for later. It kept us readers wanting to keep reading and to learn more about Gatsby. Daisy’s character was very dynamic. At first, we see an innocent girl just exploring her love between two men. By the end of the story she turned into a coward and left the town as soon as she could. “Good writing” does not let a reader know what is to be expected. With the characters of this story a reader at many times struggled with who was right and wrong. The changing of the character’s emotions and personality contribute to the making of a great
In the book “The Great Gatsby” we have the character Nick, which at first, gave the impression of a nice person, because in the book he states that keeps all judgments to himself, stated in, this quote, “ In consequence I am inclined to reserve all judgments.” This gives an idea that Nick while knowing the character of another keeps his ideas to himself, in addition, it shows that Nick is aiming to keep the judgments that his father gave him with out giving up, even though it has caused Nick a lot of trouble. That make Nick boring, nonetheless, he continued showing an ambition to keep his fathers advise, ...
At the end of the book, it is revealed that all of Tom, Daisy, and Nick are extremely careless. Nick’s carelessness detriments his reliability as a narrator. Because of Nick’s deep and familiar connection with Gatsby, Gatsby is “the exception” and Nick cannot be a reliable narrator towards him. Nick really admires and appreciates Gatsby as a friend, although it seems that Gatsby may not feel nth same way ads Nick. Gatsby may have befriended Nick solely because of his connection with Daisy. Nicks obsession with Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession with
This once again proves his insecurity and the necessity to show himself in all his glory. Additionally, it must not be forgotten that Nick is also present and plays an important role in this maiden meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. He seems to provide Gatsby with a certain amount of security and confidence. Finally, based on the numerous examples discussed, it can be deduced that there is considerable awkwardness between the two characters. This atmosphere is mainly portrayed through Gatsby, as opposed to Daisy, who seems to be just as insecure but doesn't show it as much.
Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald in his book, The Great Gatsby, structures the characters Tom and Gatsby to demonstrate the difference between old and new money, and the class conflict within the upper class.His purpose is to emphasize the differences between the old and new money through the characters Tom and Gatsby. He adopts a wary tone when describing Tom and a fanatical tone to describe Gatsby through connotative words, advanced punctuation and sentence structure, and other details.
“The Great Gatsby” is one of these stories with its amazing characters and its exaggeration. This book has a major drawback. Gatsby and Nick’s relationship was too close. Gatsby was so cautious that he fired all his servants, but he allowed Nick to stay with him to peek on Daisy and Tom and to make sure Daisy was not hurt. Nick accepted his request to stay outside. This is where Nick contradicts himself again, “I disliked him so much by this time that I didn’t find it necessary to tell him he was wrong.” (Fitzgerald,136). He disliked Gatsby but he still stayed to help. But why should Gatsby, such a cautious person, allow Nick to stay beside him? And why would Nick be willing to stay even if he dislikes Gatsby so much? This part of the story is illogical, and that is why I don’t like this
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...