Nick Carraway's Archetype In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragedy filled with love, loss, and betrayal. Fitzgerald paints us a beautiful picture of the events in this tale through complex wording. While his story and word usage may be complex, his character are not as complex as they appear. Their outward appearance may fool a reader because deep down they fit many popular archetypes. From the narcissistic jock type to the outsider, each one of Fitzgerald’s main characters can fit a certain archetype.
Nick Carraway is the first of many characters to fall under an archetype. Nick can easily be considered the classic outsider. Throughout the book, the characters go through a dramatic downfall while Nick stands back and watches it crumble at his feet. Nick “succumbs to the lavish recklessness of his neighbors and the knowledge of the secret moral entanglements that comprise their essentially hollow lives”(“The Great Gatsby” 70). His house even makes him a physical outsider. Nick describes his house saying, “My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked, so I

had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires—all for eighty dollars a month” (Fitzgerald 5). Nick is not only socially but physically an outsider from the rest of the characters.
Daisy Buchanan can be seen as a tempest.

Daisy’s main goal is to maintain her social status. She comes from a high status; her voice is even described as “sounding like money” (120). Near the end of the novel, she doesn’t leave Tom for Gatsby even though she truly loved Gatsby. She stays with Tom knowing he has a higher status and more security than Gatsby. Nick describes Tom and Daisy interactions as not happy, but almost satisfied in a way. Nick says, “They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched their chicken or ale- and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (145). This quote shows how Daisy wasn’t with Tom because it made her happy, she was with Tom because he didn’t make her unhappy. Daisy uses Tom to provide a secure status and life for

herself.
On the topic of Tom, he also fits the very popular archetype of the narcissistic jock type. Tom is a man with a hard mouth, enormous body, supercilious manner, and two arrogant eyes (7). His physique matches that of a classic jock, being that he is well built. He even played football at New Haven (6) making him fit into the jock role even more. Tom is also very narcissistic; he believes that he is superior and makes it know. He flat out says it on page 7, “‘just because I am stronger and more of a man than you are’”. This quote shows that he believes he is above Nick and is a top-quality human being. This characteristics combine make Tom fit the archetype very well.
Jay Gatsby is a character that is guilty of falling under an archetype. Gatsby can be considered a quester; he is a man on a mission, that mission being to win Daisy’s heart back. Everything he does is to win the heart of Daisy. He lives right across from her, always looks at the green light, and hopes that she would drop her As Jordan states on page 79, “‘ I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties one night,’ went on Jordan,’but she never did…”. Tom even knows Gatsby is competition. Donaldson describes his clothes as being a easy thing for Tom to target saying, “the clothes he wears that Tom Buchanan is able to undermine him as a competitor for Daisy”. All Gatsby ever wanted was the love of Daisy, but he died never fulfilling his dream.
In conclusion, Fitzgerald's novel proves to be less than complex when it comes to his characters. All of his main characters fit the roles of popular archetypes. His characterization can be seen throughout many other novels across the world. While his characters may be simple, his storyline is complex and his wording is beautiful. His storyline and wording of it is what makes this novel one of the most beloved in America to this day.