Great Gatsby Friendship Quotes

Friendships from Gatsby's funeral

"I'll get somebody for you" (Fitzgerald 164), Nick had promised Gatsby after he passed away. But, doing that ended up being a much harder task than Nick had originally thought. Only Nick, Mr. Gatz, and Owl Eyes showed up. All the others, including Klipspringer, Daisy, and Wolfsheim, chose not to attend, giving various excuses. How those in Gatsby's life responded to his death tells a lot about how they really felt about him. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the qualities of Gatsby's relationships are reflected in the people who attended his funeral.

To begin, Nick was Gatsby's closest friend, even though they had not known each other for that long. The parties were not the reason that Nick enjoyed Gatsby's company. "Gatsby was unable to parlay his hospitality into any genuine connection with anyone besides Nick, who seems to have liked him despite the parties rather than because of them" ("Best Summary"). Nick really did not enjoy the parties that much. Outside of the parties, Nick and Gatsby spent time with each other. Nick even told Gatsby that he was "worth the whole damn bunch put together" (Fitzgerald 154). This shows how Nick valued Gatsby and respected him

despite his shortcomings and flaws. Unlike many others, Nick truly realized how much Gatsby was different from those he chose to associate with at the lavish parties he hosted.

After Gatsby's death, Nick was the only one immediately there for Gatsby. He said he "wanted to go into the room where he lay and reassure him" (Fitzgerald 164). Nick knew how much Gatsby had affected his life and wanted to pay him back. He did not hesitate after Gatsby died to make sure Gatsby was not alone or forgotten. For example, Nick called to let everyone know about the funeral, and he even visited Wolfsheim and the Buchanan's house in person. Even though "for Nick, Gatsby the man was 'too far away' to remember distinctly" ("Best Summary"), Nick recognized their friendship by planning and attending Gatsby's funeral.

On the other hand, Daisy and Gatsby's relationship was extremely complicated.

When Gatsby and Daisy were first reunited, Gatsby was certain that Daisy would leave and divorce Tom for him. But later, Daisy told Gatsby that "I did love him once—but I loved you too" (Fitzgerald 132). Daisy did not think they had as much of a connection as Gatsby thought they did. Gatsby refused to believe that Daisy had ever loved another man besides himself and thought that there was no way she had loved someone more. "He's been dreaming about Daisy for years and sees her as his one true love, while she can’t even rank her love for Gatsby above her love for Tom" ("Best Analysis"). Daisy merely saw Gatsby as another lost love from her

past.

Once Gatsby passed away, Daisy truly showed how she had moved on from him. Nick stated that he had "called up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation" (Fitzgerald 164). But, she had moved away already with Tom. They did not even leave an address or any way to get in contact with them. Nick "was sure there'd be a wire from Daisy before noon" (Fitzgerald 165). However, Nick was surprised when no wire ever came showing any sympathy or asking about the funeral. Daisy had cut her connection with Gatsby before he died, and now even after his death she chose not to recognize that there had ever been one.

To continue, Gatsby and his father, Mr. Gatz, had never had a very strong or close relationship. The two had not spent any time or even talked with each other in a while. Gatsby had even changed his name from his birth name of Gatz so that he would be able to start a new life and persona for himself. "His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald 98). Besides that small piece of information, Gatsby never really told Nick much about his mother or father. "His imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all" (Fitzgerald 98). That is why Gatsby does not bring them up much. Gatsby did not recognize Mr. Gatz as his father or as even having a place in his life in any way.

However, Mr. Gatz viewed Gatsby in a different, more positive light. "Mr. Gatz, being unaware of the facts of Jay's life, thought his son had been a great man" ("The Great Gatsby" 1). He does not let the fact that they had not seen each other in a while deter from all that he knew his son had done in his life. For example, Mr. Gatz showed Nick a tattered picture of Gatsby's mansion from a while ago that he had clearly shown to many people over the years. Mr. Gatz was so honored to call Gatsby his son. "He is in awe of what his son has been able to accomplish, and clearly loves him very much" ("Best Summary"). Mr. Gatz loved his son no matter what and was extremely proud of him.

Once Gatsby passed away, Mr. Gatz did not think twice about coming to the funeral, even though he would have to travel a fair distance to get to it. After he arrived at the mansion he was "on the point of collapse" (Fitzgerald 167). His son's death was pretty overwhelming for him to comprehend. Nick brought Mr. Gatz to see Gatsby's body, and he came out with "his eyes leaking isolated and unpunctual tears" (Fitzgerald 168). All he wanted to do was to be there for his son when he needed it and show him support. "As one of the few mourners at Gatsby’s very sparsely attended funeral, Mr. Gatz worshiped his son’s achievements in the way that no one whom Gatsby wanted to impress ever did" ("Best Summary"). Mr. Gatz demonstrated the power of a father's unconditional love by being at Gatsby's funeral, even though Gatsby did not view him in the same way.

As expected, Ewing Klipspringer had only used Gatsby as a place to stay. Klipspringer was "the guy who crashed at Gatsby’s for most of the summer" ("Best Summary"). He called up to Gatsby's mansion, so Nick just assumed that he would be attending the funeral. However, Klipspringer brushed past that subject. "What I called up about was a pair of shoes I left there" (Fitzgerald 169). Nick hung up in surprise when he discovered Klipspringer's real intentions. All Klipspringer wanted from the man he had stayed with for the summer was a single pair of shoes. Klipspringer had taken advantage of Gatsby's generosity and only cared about some of his material possessions instead of being there at the funeral for the man who had helped him.

One of Gatsby's party goers, Owl Eyes, was not much of Gatsby's friend while he was alive. They had not had any meaningful conversations. All Owl Eyes had done was attend his parties to get drunk and hang in his library. "I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library" (Fitzgerald 46). That was where Nick had become aquatinted with Owl Eyes. It seems like Owl Eyes had talked to Nick more than Gatsby almost. "In the Great Gatsby, Owl Eyes' ultimate role is to share his compassion and love with Nick Carraway" (Schroeder 90). But altogether, Owl Eyes had not never really gotten to know Gatsby.

Shockingly, Owl Eyes still came to Gatsby's funeral despite this. "It is Owl Eyes, who, with Nick, honors that past by acting with conscience and attending the funeral when all Gatsby's other friends failed him" (Savage 73). Owl Eyes came to pay his respects for a man that he had been aquatinted with. "Standing in the rain at the funeral, he represents the little that, in Fitzgerald's time as in ours, remains in us that is godly and kind." (Savage 73). Owl Eyes was a good person at heart. In fact, Nick did not even know how Owl Eyes knew about the funeral. That did not matter, though. Owl Eyes showed up, and he was even inspired to say Gatsby's epitaph, "the poor son-of-a-bitch" (Fitzgerald 175). Owl Eyes overall demonstrated compassion by attending Gatsby's funeral, even due to the fact they had not been the best of friends

Lastly, Wolfsheim and Gatsby had known each other for several years. They did work together. Wolfsheim said that "I knew I had discovered a man of fine breeding after I talked with him an hour" (Fitzgerald 72). Throughout, Wolfsheim had talked very highly of Gatsby. However, they were more business partners than friends.

After finding out about Gatsby's death, Wolfsheim does not talk to Nick about being able to attend the funeral. In fact, Nick struggles to get in direct contact with Wolfsheim. Eventually Wolfsheim replied with a vague letter stating the excuse of "I cannot come down now as I am tied up in some very important business and cannot get mixed up in this thing now" (Fitzgerald 166). Later Nick went to visit Wolfsheim in person. He expressed his sympathy, but refused to attend the funeral, selfishly. "Wolfsheim's refusal to come to Gatsby’s funeral is extremely self-serving" ("Best Summary"). He sentimentally told Nick to "let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead" (Fitzgerald 171). But, that is covering up for the fact he does not want to be near a crime scene, and it is also just easier to leave everything alone. "Part of forgetting the past is forgetting the people that are no longer here, so for Wolfsheim, even a close relationship like the one he had with Gatsby has to immediately be pushed to the side once Gatsby is no longer alive" ("Best Summary"). Wolfsheim was worried about being held back by the past and their relationship, so he refused to honor their friendship by going to Gatsby's funeral.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the qualities of Gatsby's relationships are reflected in the people who attended his funeral. Only three people came to recognize the impact that Gatsby had on their lives. Gatsby affected many people's past, so he will always be connected to their future. Many did not realize that connection, whether they chose not to or honestly did not. The last line of the book stated this concisely. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" (Fitzgerald 180).