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Literary analysis
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Its been said that writers write novels about their personal experiences, and also make themselves a part of the novel as the narrator or main character. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator’s, Nick Carraway, background and the main character’s, Jay Gatsby, life events portrays the life of Francis himself.
One of the similarities that Fitzgerald and Nick have in common are that they were both born in Minnesota. Fitzgerald was born in a small midwestern town St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (O’Hearn 2:28). Wanting to put himself in the novel, Fitzgerald, makes the narrator, NIck, come from the same state as him. Nick Carraway was born in Minnesota (Nick). Fitzgerald coming from the same culture as Nick, from The Great Gatsby, isn’t the only thing of Fitzgerald’s life that is in his book.
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Fitzgerald and Nick have another thing in common and that is that they both went to Ivy League schools in the East Coast.
FItzgerald went to Princeton (O’Hearn 4:41). Nick Carraway went to Yale University with the assistance of his family (Nick). Both Fitzgerald and Nick went to Ivy league schools giving them a perspective of life that non Ivy league school goers don’t understand. Yes Nick and Fitzgerald have many things in common but so do Gatsby and Fitzgerald.
FItzgerald and Gatsby also have a similarity in their life events. During WWI, Fitzgerald was stationed near Montgomery, Alabama where he met the love of his life, Zelda Sayre, the daughter of a wealthy judge (Peede). According to Jordan, during the war, before Daisy married Tom, Daisy fell in love with a lieutenant Jay Gatsby, who was stationed at a base near her home (Sparknotes). Wanting to put himself in the novel even more he made Gatsby’s love story similar to his; but Fitzgerald has one more thing in common with
Gatsby. Fitzgerald and Gatsby both have a relationship with alcohol, which was that he drank too much and that got him into big problems (O’Hearn 17:02). Because of the troubles Fitzgerald faced throughout his life with alcohol he made Gatsby alcohol free. Although Gatsby was alcohol free he did have another relationship with alcohol, which was that he was a bootlegger, in the novel it mentions that Gatsby gets his fortunes bootlegging with his friend Wolfsheim (Memory). In The Great Gatsby the impact of alcohol on Gatsby’s life was what was ideal of Scott, so he put it in the story as if it was him who benefitted from it. In total through the background of Nick’s life, and the events in Gatsby’s life, Fitzgerald found a way to put himself, or his life events, in the novel The Great Gatsby. Without reading the book and knowing the life of Fitzgerald it is hard to get the full meaning of the book. Works Cited "Nick Carraway." Nick Carraway. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. O'Hearn, Deirdre. "Scott Fitzgerald- American Dreamer." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. Peede, Jon, Dan Stone, Erika Kross, and David Kipen. "Introduction to the Book." The Great Gatsby. National Endowment For The Arts, Web. 28 Apr. 2015. "Summary Chapter 4." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
Neither were capable of fully assimilating to that chaos life on the east coast offered. After the death of Gatsby, Nick packs up and moves out of New York. The East became “haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction” (176). The power the East held over Nick, died with Gatsby in the pool. He was no longer capable of keeping up with the charade of his new life. Nick understand his failure, “conduct maybe be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point” (Fitzgerald 2) it really does not matter anymore, he does not care anymore. There is nothing left for Nick in New York, not even Jordan Baker, a potential
The classic novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one that opens reader’s eyes to the clouded hallow hopes and dreams that came with the famous idea of an American Dream. The hopes that one day a person could make their own wealth and be successful quickly became dead to many around this time and it is played out by characters and conflicts within The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway is the very first character we meet in this story. A young man who came to West Egg, Long Island the summer of 1922 for work unknowingly walked into a summer that would haunt him forever. The character of Nick Carraway is one who is characterized as someone who is extremely observant as well as the mediator between many of the characters. He is always involved
Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby are the two main characters of The Great Gatsby and can be contrasted based on their numerous differences. One comparison states “Nick’s mind is conservative and historical, as is his lineage; Gatsby’s is radical and apocalyptic-as rootless as his heritage. Nick is too much immersed in time and in reality; Gatsby is hopelessly out of it. Nick is always withdrawing, while Gatsby pursues the green light. Nick can’t be hurt, but neither can he be happy. Gatsby can experience ecstasy, but his fate is necessarily tragic.” This statement accurately describes the novel and clearly contrasts the two characters in a way that makes them foils of each other. Fitzgerald’s variation between Nick and Gatsby improves the plot of the book and creates well rounded characters.
The Importance of Nick Carraway as Narrator of The Great Gatsby In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald critiques the disillusionment of the American Dream by contrasting the corruption of those who adopt a superficial lifestyle with the honesty of Nick Carraway. As Carraway familiarizes himself with the lives of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Jay Gatsby, he realizes the false seductiveness of the New York lifestyle and regains respect for the Midwest he left behind. "Fitzgerald needs an objective narrator to convey and prove this criticism, and uses Carraway not only as the point of view character, but also as a counter example to the immorality and dishonesty Carraway finds in New York" (Bewley 31). Fitzgerald must construct this narrator as reliable.
“If you love two people at the same time, choose the second one, because if you really loved the first one you wouldn 't have fallen for the second” (Johnny Depp). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby emphasizes the similarities of the characters Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby despite their different backgrounds. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Tom and Gatsby are alike because of their extreme wealth, mutual desire for Daisy’s love, and lack of morals.
This immediately marks Nick as being dishonest. Nick also admits to lying about his heritage, claiming “(his) family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations. The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we’re descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch” but later admitting that his family is not noble “my grandfather’s brother… sent a substitute to the Civil War”, nor prominent “and (he) starts the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day.” Nick also begins the book by trying to deceive his readers into believing “Gatsby… represented everything for which I had an unaffected scorn,” (Fitzgerald 2), when in reality he liked “the consoling proximity of millionaires” and admires their lifestyle. Although Gatsby’s parties are the very things he hates, he never fails to attend and even pursues an interest in the host of them. Nick’s inconsistencies in his opinions clearly begin to alter him as a person and the way he tells the story over
Before the war, Fitzgerald fell in love with a rich girl , Ginevra King. Her class is way above Fitzgerald 's class, that was a challenge for Fitzgerald to workout the relationship with this girl. Fitzgerald had a brief relationship with her and it ended before the war, which leads into Gatsby and Daisy 's relationship. Gatsby relation was exactly like Fitzgerald 's, he was dreaming to win the rich girl 's heart ,Daisy, but he couldn 't be the right man that would afford everything for her and be like her status, he was just before the war a poor man with parents that ,"Were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people"(Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby had an another perspective of Daisy that she was a women filled with, that even her sound that Gatsby admired reminded him of money,"Her voice is full of money"(Fitzgerald 120). Which makes us believe that Fitzgerald thinks rich people haven a way of talking, like its hard for Nick to be flexible while he is talking to her and think before he says an idea or a word. Gatsby had an incredible crush on Daisy , that when Nick sets up an meeting between Daisy and him, Gatsby made it a big deal. He made sure everything was going on the right way, filled up the house with different kind of flowers, bought tea, and even made sure the outside lawn of Nick 's house was done before Daisy comes,"At eleven o 'clock a
In the Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald the novel does not reflect an autobiography, but several of Fitzgerald’s personal experiences are reflected in it. Similarities can be drawn between the novel and Scott Fitzgeralds own life. Similarities include Gatsby and Fitzgerald 's want for success through continuous failure, dreams of success, strong feelings towards alcohol, and their love life. Nick’s qualities that relate to Fitzgerald include his honesty as a man in relation to the liars surrounding him. Also his mid western values to not be judgemental makes him a perfect observer, but also makes him the perfect outsider, which is how Fitzgerald always felt in the company of rich people. The relation between Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
The quote that best describes Nick Carraway is, “The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality…in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men”(1). The good qualities of Nick are he is open-minded, a good listener, and tolerant of most things. His bad qualities are that he was affected by the fast life of New York, an example being when he got drunk just because the other people he was with were drunk. F. Scott Fitzgerald developed this character because as the narrator he can tell the readers what is happening. Additionally, he is important because through Nick readers realize how morally empty living a life such as Gatsby’s is.
The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald relates the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby through the eyes of an idealistic man that moves in next door to the eccentric millionaire. Nick Carraway comes to the East Coast with dreams of wealth, high society, and success on his mind. It is not long before Gatsby becomes one of his closest friends, who offers him the very lifestyle and status that Nick came looking for. As the story unfolds, it is easy to see that the focus on Jay Gatsby creates a false sense of what the story truly is. The Great Gatsby is not the tragic tale of James Gatz (Jay Gatsby), but rather the coming of age story of Nick Carraway.
The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, was first published in 1925. It is a tale of love, loss, and betrayal set in New York in the mid 1920’s. It follows Nick Carraway, the narrator, who moves to Long Island where he spends time with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and meets his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick can be viewed as the voice of reason in this novel. He is a static character that readers can rely on to tell the truth, as he sees it. But not only the readers rely on him. Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, and Jordan all confide in him and trust that he will do the right thing. Nick Carraway is the backbone of the book and its main characters.
From the beginning of The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is developed as a reliable narrator. His honesty and sense of duty are established as he remarks on his own objectivity and willingness to withhold judgment. However, as the book progresses and Nick’s relationship with Jay Gatsby grows more intimate, it is revealed that Nick is not as reliable as previously thought when it comes to Gatsby. Nick perceives Gatsby as pure and blameless, although much of Gatsby's persona is false. Because of his friendship and love for Gatsby, his view of the events is fogged and he is unable to look at the situation objectively.
Narrator's Perspective in The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway has a special place in this novel. He is not just one character among several, it is through his eyes and ears that we form our opinions of the other characters. Often, readers of this novel confuse Nick's stance towards those characters and the world he describes with those of F. Scott Fitzgerald's because the fictional world he has created closely resembles the world he himself experienced. But not every narrator is the voice of the author.
F. Scott Fitzgerald brilliantly wrote many novels as well as short stories. One of his best known works is The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the main character Jay Gatsby tries to obtain his lifetime dreams: wealth and Daisy Buchanan. Throughout the story, he works at achieving his goals while overcoming many obstacles. Fitzgerald’s plot line relies heavily on accidents, carelessness, and misconceptions, which ultimately reveal the basic themes in the story.
Nick Carraway has a special place in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is not just one character among several; it is through his eyes and ears that the story takes place. Even though the novel is titled after Gatsby, Nick examines the actions of others and presents the story so that the reader can understand the theme. Throughout the novel, Nick symbolizes a golden thread, used to stitch all of the pieces and characters together to learn about Gatsby. Nick is the only character that changes in the novel from the beginning to the end, making him very unarguably the most important character in The Great Gatsby.