Character Influences In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Kendall Grigg Mrs. Bellenie Honors English 2 April 12, 2024 Fitzgerald’s Real Life Character Influences Most authors have personal influences when writing a book. That was no different when it came to F. Scott Fitzgerald and his book, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald used the people around him to write his characters. He took character traits, possessions, and other ideas from his neighbor, wife, idol, and lost lover to create the characters in his story. Fitzgerald models his characters Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom after real people in his life. These influences deepen the character's complexity and strengthen the connection between the characters and the reader. Nick Carraway is the narrator of the story. Fitzgerald based Nick’s character off

Fitzgerald writes that one of Nick’s morals is that he is honest unlike most other people, and this is a characteristic Fitzgerald wants to see in himself. Nick in Fitzgerald’s mind was created as someone who Fitzgerald wanted to be himself. Fitzgerald wanted to be an open-minded person who had strong morals. Along with strong morals, Nick was “a man who could turn down a drink once in awhile – something Fitzgerald struggled with since his college years” (Armstrong). Fitzgerald was an alcoholic for most of his life, which led to many of his struggles. He idealized himself with a vision of not drinking and becoming someone who others would look up to as well. The character, Nick, portrayed that desire. Nick's character added someone who the reader could trust. A character that observes and recounts the events he experiences. The reader forms a type of trust between Nick and takes in Nick's opinions on other characters in the story. This makes the story much deeper because the relationship created between Nick and the reader gives the reader an opinion to take into consideration when the readers make their