1

The Great Gatsby: Character Analysis

I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known. (Fitzgerald, 1945,
p.59) This quote perfectly describes Nick Carraway, the protagonist of F. Scott
Fitzgeralds book, The Great Gatsby. Nick is in charge of narrating the story, and at the
same time being part of it; but his job goes further than that. Fitzgerald created Nick to
show his view towards an unscrupulous society. The negative aspects of 1920s
American culture are exhibited through Nicks perspective. Negative actions from the
characters can be detrimental to the societys morals. In the novel we can appreciate
Nicks ideology and thoughts about people and their reactions towards situations that
surrounded them. Finally, we see how Nick seems affected and makes decisions
depending on the situation in which he is placed. All of these elements combined, give
us a better idea of how the American culture was during that time.

Nick is a very reserved person that demonstrates to us how trustworthiness he is.
Everybody came to tell him their secrets because they didnt feel judged. In
consequence, Im inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many
curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bones
(Fitzgerald, 1945, p.01). This quote talks about the rumors that people created about
Nick, for he kept the secrets people trusted, and at the same time we notice that the
society in which he lives is incredulous. This society is based on gossip. After knowing
the relationship status between some characters, Nick has driven to the conclusion that
even though some apathetic characters can trick among themselves for their
convenience, only God will know the truth about their intentions, therefore he is the
only one who has the power to judge.

Nick interacts with different characters through the novel. In these interactions
we see diverse characteristic from this period. Gatsby stereotypes the conventional
wealthy man, who gave big parties, but in reality he has lonely life. Daisy represents a
dupe woman that has a difficult time differentiating between the false and the truth.
Nick represents the lower class strata with morals, which wants to have a transparent
life with a loved accompaniment, in Nicks case, Jordan. I even had a short affair with
a girl who lived in Jersey City and worked in the accounting department (..)
(Fitzgerald, 1945, p. 56) Nick depicts to us that he had the same life as the rest, but his
reactions is what makes him different from the oblivious society.

In chapter 8 Jordan confessed to Nick that she is engaged to another man
because he pushed her from his side. Instead of reacting in a hysteric manner, he
stepped away, but still loving her. In this society it was really common to marry
someone that you didnt love therefore, you easily fall into affairs, like Tom and Myrtle.
On the other hand, in this society real friends were hard to find, and everyone wants to
benefit from the others failure. For example, Nick was the only friend of Gatsby that
went to his funeral, meaning that the rest of Gatsbys friends were false, and had an
interested love for him.

Nicks view helped us detect the most common defects of this time period.
Lovers, death, suicide, betrayal, lies and many other negative aspects ruled over this
society. The past actions of the characters did not lead to a pleasant end. Fitzgerald
used Nick to transmit how these attitudes destroy the society, and how God is the only
one who can judges us.
2

Bibliography:

Ftizgerald, F. Scott. (1945) The Great Gatsby. USA: New York. Simon&Schuster.