Examples Of External Validation In The Great Gatsby

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Nick’s need for external validation, particularly from those of a higher status than himself, reveals a character with deep insecurities about his own place in society. This tendency to define himself by those he fraternizes with is highlighted in the scene in which Gatsby, Nick’s enigmatic and absurdly wealthy neighbor, invites him to a party. Nick announces, with no short measure of pride, that he “had actually been invited” unlike the other numerous guests (41). It is only natural that Gatsby, by all accounts a magnanimous person, would eventually extend an invitation to his new neighbor; yet even this quite mundane gesture makes Nick feel special. The posh nature of the invitation, delivered by “[a] chauffeur in a uniform of robin’s-egg