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How Did Nick Carraway Achieve In The Great Gatsby

1179 Words5 Pages

Meaningless Pursuites
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel, The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is a man who, like many in the 1920s, is searching for meaning and purpose in life. Nick leaves his hometown in the Midwest and moves to New York City, hoping to immerse himself in the glamorous world of the wealthy elite. It is there that he meets the charismatic figure Jay Gatsby, who embodies Nick's desires and aspirations for love and wealth. In this essay, we will explore Nick Carraway's dream of finding meaning and purpose in life, how he achieved that dream, and what the author was trying to communicate through Nick's pursuit of his dream. Nick, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, pursues his dream of finding meaning and purpose in life by moving …show more content…

He decides to return to his hometown in the Midwest, recognizing that the true meaning and purpose in life lie in more simple and authentic experiences. For example, Nick realizes that this meaningless mission has destroyed the natural beauty and wonder of the land around him, "I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder." (Fitzgerald 182) He recognizes that he has become caught up in this pursuit, but that it ultimately leads to emptiness and a loss of meaning. This realization is a key turning point for Nick's character and sets him on a path of self-reflection and contemplation. Additionally, Nick realizes that the extravagant and artificial lifestyle of the East, centered around wealth and status, is ultimately hollow and unfulfilling and decides to return to his hometown in the Midwest. "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all - Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life." (Fitzgerald 177) In contrast, he sees the Midwest as a place of authenticity and simplicity, where people lead meaningful lives based on genuine connections and relationships. This realization marks a significant shift in Nick's perspective and values and signals his rejection of the superficial and empty world

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