Similarities Between Jay Gatsby And Nick Carraway

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered the best American novel of the 20th century, otherwise known as the Jazz Age. The setting of the novel revolves around the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island, New York. It explores a variety of theme such as elitism, justice, betrayal, and the American dream. The novel highlights the moral flaws of a society that admires the accumulation of wealth, the shallow ambitions, the bright lights, and the false beauty of giving significance to material goods instead of living a “good life.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald noticeably reflects his turbulent personal life in his novel. He attends extravagant parties with prosperous people in Long Island and dreams to join the culture of the moneyed class but never could. Fitzgerald situates himself to the fictitious characters of both Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Nick mesmerizes Gatsby’s lifestyle, which is comparable to how Fitzgerald professes to feel about the excesses that he adopts during the Jazz Age.

The relationship of the characters within the novel implicates a conflict mainly due to the mere presence misguided values and artificial desires. Jay Gatsby almost loses himself in the pursuit of wealth and Daisy Mae is ready to leave chase Gatsby because of his beautiful shirts. In the end, Gatsby and Daisy fail to live happily ever after. Just as Fitzgerald fail to live happily with his wife and start to drink to drown his troubles and prove himself through great writing until his dying day. To reflect, endless parties and material goods are all there is to someone who is after that. There is absolutely no substance behind it. In other words, the American dream is an illusion of money, fame, and high social class, because it’s simply about having good morals and being