gatsby

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Recommended: Analytical essay about the book the great gatsby

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. In many ways the journeys of Gatsby and Nick are parallel to one another, but in the end it’s Nick’s initiation into the real world that wins out. The maturation of Nick begins with his description of his time leading to his arrival in West Egg, “I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War” (Fitzgerald, 3). The protagonist comes into the story having not lived much of his life in the normal world that he desires to successfully conquer. He goes directly from schooling into the war, where he found heroic satisfaction. Yet, somehow, Nick is able to keep part of himself innocent and pure despite being in the horrors of war. It is not long after attending his first party at Gatsby’s that Nick confesses that “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known’ (Fitzgerald, 59). The level of Nick’s idealism and virtuousness begins at such an innocent pl... ... middle of paper ... ...ve on a young man, but the truth is it is a glimpse into the life of a man that chooses into keeping his virtue at the cost of his dreams. Unfortunately for Gatsby, he learned a similar lesson as Nick did, but never gets the chance to move on with his life. The death of Gatsby symbolizes the death of Nick’s final hope in his dreams. When Nick say his final words to Gatsby, “They are a rotten crowd. . .You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together,” the smile he sees on his friend’s face is not an acceptance of the compliment, but rather an acknowledgement that Nick is actually speaking Gatsby’s thoughts on Nick as well (Fitzgerald, 154). This final moment together unites Gatsby and Nick in the dissolving of their dreams. Though these men are parallels of one another, Nick’s maturation and life going forward are always connected to Gatsby’s friendship.

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