Suspicion In Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is certainly great in the eyes of Nick, but there are also traces of suspicion in Gatsby’s work. Nick, the narrator, thinks that Gatsby was “all right”, but some of his actions rose some questions in Nicks mind (2). Many phone calls made Nick think that he got his money dishonestly. Some of the facts that Gatsby said about himself contradicted each other. Most of what Nick thought about Gatsby was that he was a good man and was indeed ‘great’, but he could not dismiss the fact that there were a lot of reasons for suspicion.

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).

Some reasons why Gatsby is the best include the free parties he throws, and the fact that he rose up ‘from rags to riches’. All of the parties that he threw were open to anyone, they “were not invited, they went there” (41). At these parties, no one knew what Gatsby looked like or even if he existed, but they were there anyway. Because no one saw him he would not be drinking, he would not be dancing, and would not be going crazy, like the rest of the ‘guests’. Later in the novel Nick learns more about Gatsby and how he was born into a poor family and gained riches through hard work. In the war he received many metals and then later went to oxford. These facts made Nick respect Gatsby. Although Nick is unsure about how Gatsby got most of his riches.

Nick qu...

... middle of paper ...

...lf “one of the most honest people I[he] have[has] ever known”, being honest of course (59). Although this over honesty could make him a bad narrator, he is better than a narrator that lies. Most of the time nick is a reliable narrator who tells the truth, especially when it comes to Gatsby. His thoughts about Gatsby’s character are very just, because he is suspicious about the same things that regular people would be. Also Nick is from a rich family and so he has been around rich people for all of his life. Because of this fact one would think that he is very capable of judging all types of rich people. To be overly honest, as what Nick would say, Gatsby is great and is seen as great in the eyes of Nick, but his suspicions still stand. The reader knows that those suspicions and Nick’s overall ideas are true through the characteristics of Nick and his experiences.