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Examples Of Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

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Inside Nick Carraway Nick Carraway represents a man who wants to be above the nonsensical dealings of the rich man but is continuously dragged down by the human desire to fit in with high society. The Great Gatsby is a Novel that follows the downfall of Jay Gatsby, but where the story shines is its ability to utilize its side characters to their fullest extent. For example, Nick Carraway is the main narrator of The Great Gatsby, and F. Scott Fitzgerald uses him perfectly to drive the plot of the story forward. Throughout the novel Nick's admiration for Gatsby is slowly revealed to be a desire to have a place to fit in high society, first with his relations with Jordan then with his constant need to aid Gatsby in his endeavors. Nick Carraway …show more content…

F. Scott Fitzgeral is able to illustrate Gatsby’s wealth and freedom through his words in a way that encapsulates Nick’s thoughts of what the American dream should be. With this being said, it should be obvious that Nick who has seen nothing but the horrors of war for many years would be mesmerized by the lifestyle Gatsby has built for himself. Keeping this in mind, Nick allowing Gatsby to use him throughout the novel is justified when you remember that Gatsby’s world seems to be Nick’s idea of the American Dream. Therefore, Nick would want to be as close to the ventures of Gatsby as possible so that he can have a taste of the life of a man who seems to have it all. To summarize, Nick carraway seems to have an idealized view of the American Dream which he recognizes in the lifestyle Gatsby portrays, and it becomes obvious that Nick would do anything for Gatsby in the hopes of getting closer to a man who seems to have achieved all he could have ever …show more content…

Nick, similarly to his feelings towards Gatsby, is mesmerized by Jordan, “At first I was flattered to go places with her, because she was a golf champion, and everyone knew her name. Then it was something more. I wasn’t actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity. The bored haughty face that she turned to the world concealed something” (Fitzgerald 46). Although he is not yet in love with Jordan he is enthralled by her fame, success, and strength which is emphasized by his accounts of being flattered to be able to go places with her. Furthermore, Nick’s use of the word “flattered” shows his belief that he is somehow underneath Jordan when it comes to social standing, and that their relationship does not hold equality between the partners. This instability in the relationship reveals that Nick is willing to be a pawn in the games of the east egg residents as long as he is able to partake in their endeavors. To continue, Jordan is shown to be very self centered and controlling which is further played up by the reveal of her having cheated in a golf tournament, “At her first big golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round. The thing approached the proportions of a scandal then died away. A caddy retracted his statement…It made no

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1133 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, although the title of the story bears the name of Gatsby, we hear the story from Nick Carraway, making him the most important character in the story, through his growth, his beliefs and opinions, and his relationships. F. Scott Fitzgerald puts Nick Carraway in the center of the story, rather than Gatsby, through Nick’s narration of the story. Nick grows to understand the people around him more, and grows in his narration. Because he is constantly around people, he comes to understand them more and he comes to ‘mature’ over the course of the story. When we first are introduced to Nick, we see some advice that he got from his father a long time ago.

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1472 Words | 6 Pages

Initially, Jordan seems to have a ‘soft spot’ for Nick and his carefulness. When the two leave Gatsby’s party after getting to know each other better, Jordan makes it clear that she is interested in Nick. As Nick comments on carelessness, Jordan remarks, “‘I hate careless people. That’s why I like you’”, implying that Nick’s awareness is attractive to Jordan (58). After reading this quote, one would believe that Jordan is encouraging this relationship with Nick and that she likes him for his personality.

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885 Words | 4 Pages

Acknowledging Mr. Carraway “Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby, who represented for which i have an unaffected scorn” (Fitzgerald 2). Initially, When Nick Carraway moves to New York he describes himself as very different from others and shares no feelings or affections towards anyone but Gatsby. With regards to this, Nick, being socially awkward, finds himself only relating to Gatsby because for the first time he has someone reaching out to him. Evidently, Nick Carraway's loneliness can lead the readers to reevaluate the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

Nick is chasing after Jordan and Gatsby, however. He thinks he is interested in Jordan, and wants to get to know her better, until he finds out that she is a liar and he cannot trust her. Nick is also looking into Gatsby’s life because he is interested about his

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Both narrator and active participant, Nick Carraway is the character that shows us the world of The Great Gatsby. Although we are introduced to a hopeful young man, as we begin to see the high society of New York for what it is, and as the city and it’s life are revealed to the reader, the change in Nick became more and more obvious as the novel goes on. Though he is not the main character, he is the only one that has substantial change from our first introduction, till the end. In a city that so notoriously loved things in excess, and was full of people that were nothing but self-serving, he found a friend in Jay Gatsby. The death of Gatsby was the suffering that it took for Nick to really look at the world that everyone around him was living

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462 Words | 2 Pages

Great Gatsby Essay The Great Gatsby written by Scott F. Fitzgerald a fiction book written about the 1920s during the era of Jazz, prohibition and bootlegging. The Great Gatsby had many important characters that played a big role in the plot. Many of the characters did not change throughout the novel like Gatsby never changed and was very static throughout the novel but others were very dynamic and changed throughout the novel in many ways. NIck Carraway is the narrator of the story but is also the main character in his story.

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1201 Words | 5 Pages

Recounting heartbreak, betrayal, and deception, F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a bleak picture in the 1920’s novel The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, witnesses the many lies others weave in order to achieve their dreams. However, the greatest deception he encounters is the one he lives. Not having a true dream, Nick instead finds purpose by living vicariously through others, and he loses that purpose when they are erased from his life.

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948 Words | 4 Pages

The summer that Nick Carraway narrates throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel The Great Gatsby forced Nick to question his view of the world. Nick, an aspiring investment banker who rented a little shack on the luxurious West Egg is enamored with his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lives in a palatial abode a door away from Nick. Once Nick finally meets Gatsby, they develop an enduring friendship.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Nick takes this to heart, when he first meets Gatsby he admits that Gatsby is a likable person and is in awe of his wealth. Yet he does not yet see him as a fully developed person. It is not until the end when he learns about Gatsby’s struggles to get to the point at which he is at that he gains a sense of understanding. Yet, Nick is one of the first to notice Gatsby’s destructive nature to achieve his goal of being with Daisy. Nick also has a disdain for the ones who were born rich and did not value the privilege that they have been handed on a silver platter.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

Nick was clearly in love with Gatsby. He had had true feelings for Jordan for a while, but once he met Gatsby, those feelings slowly disappeared. He was secretly holding out hope to be with

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702 Words | 3 Pages

We see this in chapter four when Nick says, “I wasn't actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity. ”(57) This demonstrates that while Nick is attracted to Jordan and admires

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627 Words | 3 Pages

Nick Carraway is the narrator in the novel “The Great Gatsby “by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is also the protagonist in the story. Nick is responsible for letting readers know what was happening in the story and his and other characters reaction toward it. He has explained how Gatsby love for Daisy and his disliking Tom. In the “The Great Gatsby” there are many thoughts nick has hidden from Gatsby such as Tom’s affair.

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586 Words | 3 Pages

He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided. But his ocean of dreams was disturbed by a storm of guilt. The truth of what happened that night was like a bad taste on his tongue. Rainsford was overwhelmed and could not stop obsessing over the fact that he killed Zaroff, “Was this the way Zaroff felt after he killed every single one of his prisoners?”

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1042 Words | 5 Pages

This decision has consequences as well. Nick has information that could be useful to police as well as protect Jay, but he prefers to lie. Jordan Baker suspects Nick to be a liar as well. When Nick and Jordan talk a while after the car accident, she tells Nick she believed he was an honest person, but after most of his behavior, she has changed her mind. “‘... I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person.

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803 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the course of the book, Nick starts off open-minded, but gradually becomes disgusted with everyone he meets. Nick saw mostly everyone only thinking of themselves and trying to pursue "The American Dream", a staple of the 1920s. The one person Nick liked was Gatsby, because

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