ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Chapter Summaries

376 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Society and class in the great gatsby theme

The story starts off with the reader learning about how Nick’s lifestyle has been shaped. We learn that his father has taught him to not judge other people. His moral standards are different from other people so his father thinks he would misunderstand them. We learn about his moral values when he goes with Tom to attend a social gathering. Nick has only gotten drunk other than one time prior to this party. Nick also tries to leave the party because of the vulgar atmosphere of it. In the story it says that Nick’s temperament is “tolerant, open-minded, quiet, and a good listener”. In the story some events that take place can be questioned by many people but not Nick his tolerant and open minded personality causes him to not question some situations. …show more content…

With Nick’s good listening personality trait we learn a lot about people from him as they have trust in and he listens. As far as understanding the story we can assure that anything told from Nick as the narrator is true. He is very educated and respected as he graduated from Yale and also served as a soldier in World War I. He keeps his education growing by also traveling to east egg to learn selling bonds to become a bonds salesman. His morals in the story show that they are all from what his dad taught him and he hasn’t developed his own set of morals. But his cousin and her friends are very opposite of his values and morals in the story. They care more about socializing and drinking as they get drunk very early in the day compared to Nick only getting drunk twice in his life. After graduating from Yale he comes to New York to learn to become a bonds salesman and makes it his goal in the story. With Nick having a unique character the story is narrated differently as he has no biased opinions and his morals are all positive and of the

Show More
Related
579 Words | 3 Pages

He disliked Martin because he perceived that Martin was wealthy and ate well, which Nick doesn’t do, which influences his point of view. When the author finally pulls back the curtain to show Martin’s true source of his appearance, he recognizes some signs of his mother and him being poor, which confuses but may give Nick an idea that Martin was not wealthy. He sees what Martin eats, which is only two things, which reveals that what Nick perceived was wrong. The narrative realizes this, and understands that he was wrong, which caused him to think

Read More
632 Words | 3 Pages

Nick still sees the class in him he believes he has that “natural decencies” that most classy rich folk have lost due to their sight of money. 3. “we shook hands and I started away. Just before I reached the hedge I remember something and turned around. “they’re a rotten crowd”, I shouted across the lawn “you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”.”

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

Nick seems not to be oblivious to his sadness, although he lacks knowledge about the cause of the emotion, for he admits that dinner alone at the Yale Club is, “for some reason [,]…the gloomiest event of [his] day” (62). After dinner, Nick studies in the library, which he considers a quiet and “good place to work”, although he does mention that “there generally a few rioters”, which contradict Nick’s purpose for studying there, because if Nick really didn’t want to be disturbed he would go home (62). After studying for about an hour, “if the night [is] mellow” Nick restlessly “strolls around” the avenues and although among many, he still “[feels] a haunting loneliness” and can “[feel] it in others”(62). However, Fitzgerald relates Nick’s loneliness to that of “young clerks”, who “wast[e] the most poignant moments of night and life” “loitering” and waiting around for people to come and provide work for them, which parallels Nick’s own method of wasting time and waiting for people to provide him with something to

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

Have you ever looked at somebody and you can tell that they are judging you? Well the person who is judging you is most definitely Nick Carraway. He’s a sophisticated Yale University graduate and is very complex with his perspective on life. When he becomes friends with his next door neighbor, Jay Gatsby he meets some people that he is very quick to judge upon. The book ruckus mainly begins when Gatsby asks Nick to basically be his wingman to help him meet with the love of his life, Daisy.

Read More
285 Words | 2 Pages

In Chapter 3 of the novel, Nick's judgments offer valuable insights into his character and provide a glimpse into his unique perspective on the world around him. Right from the opening comments, it becomes evident that Nick possesses a discerning and observant nature. His ability to form judgments reflects his tendency to critically analyze people and situations, hinting at his role as an impartial narrator throughout the story. Nick's initial judgments in the chapter demonstrate his keen awareness of social dynamics and his inclination to evaluate others based on their actions. For instance, he describes East Egg as the "more fashionable" of the two Eggs, implying a superficiality and emphasis on appearances that he may find unappealing.

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of

Read More
468 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the summer, scandals involving these characters, including a couple of affairs, test Nick’s ability to keep his lifelong promise of withholding judgment from people. Throughout the novel, Nick does keep his promise of withholding judgment

Read More
333 Words | 2 Pages

“ This quote shows that Nick does not find Tom to be a reasonable, kind man because of his

Read More
1265 Words | 6 Pages

Eventually Nick stops trying and leaves the decision up to Trent and that’s when he starts to listen and realize. Throughout the book Nick goes through a lot of challenges. There was a good amount I enjoyed, a few I disliked, but I liked it so much because of the

Read More
1096 Words | 5 Pages

He states, “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice… ‘whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (Fitzgerald 1). This quote truly expresses the sense of purity and the lack of judgement that Nick has at the beginning of the story. However, as the story continues, Nick’s character progresses from this innocence and eventually reaches a point in which he is cynical and looks at life in a more dissatisfied manor. At the end of the novel, Nick states, “Most of the big shore places were closed now and there were hardly any lights except the shadowy, moving glow of a ferryboat across the Sound.

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

However, Nick doesn’t question the situation and even goes on to get as debauched as everyone else at the party. Nick’s “bystander complex” is further cemented when he sneaks out of the party amongst the chaos and spends the rest of it with McKee. Socially, Nick wasn’t in any position that would hinder him from offering to help Myrtle or even to stop Tom from abusing her. He was after all closest to Tom in

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

As the story begins, Nick says, “...I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me…” (Fitzgerald 1). Although Nick claims he has been taught to not judge others, he does quite frequently. Nick insults Daisy and Tom,

Read More
1475 Words | 6 Pages

In Nick’s case, his, “family has been prominent… people in this Middle Western City for three generations”(3), meaning he was old money. His lifestyle was simple, and he grew up with a sense of humility and the ability to never judge others. However, people in the East were not like him at all- quite the opposite in fact. They were self centered, and all had a superiority complex, which is completely contrary to Nick’s personality.

Read More
706 Words | 3 Pages

His heritage has an enormous influence on his character, that is to say factors that include, how he speaks and thinks, regardless of his youth. During the story we also discover that his father might think of Nick as an incompetent boy, who lacks courage, and as a matter of fact he does lack courage. Nick is a very curious, yet solicitous boy who cares and shows sympathy for others. As to how we know that Nick has the characteristics of a kind and considerate person can be substantiated through the following quotation: “Oh, Daddy, can’t you give her something to make her stop screaming? asked Nick.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

This shows that Nick also broke the rules because he did not have any freedom. In the novel, characterization of men proves the lack of freedom leads to the breaking of

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Chapter Summaries

Related Topics

Open Document