Trustworthiness In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is ingrained in human nature to strive for the acceptance and approval of others. Some will go through drastic measures to adhere their personality to what they believe others will enjoy. One trait that society deems as the most desired and respected is trustworthiness. The novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is based in the roaring twenties and is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway. Nick is a war veteran from World War I and grew up in Minnesota. After the war, Nick moves to New York City to join the bond business. He moves into a small cottage in West Egg which is right across from his wealthy cousin Daisy and her husband Tom’s mansion in East egg. There he meets his cousin Daisy’s friend Jordan who is a famous

After only knowing Nick for a couple of days, Gatsby invites Nick to lunch with him. Gatsby wants to clear up any rumors Nick has heard about him at Gatsby’s party and during the car ride to lunch he opens up to Nick about his past. Gatsby reveals that he comes from “wealthy people in the middle west” who were “all dead now” so he “came into a good deal of money”(Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby has only known Nick for a short amount of time as stated previously but is so eager to tell Nick about his life. The people that come to Gatsby’s parties know close to nothing about Gatsby or his past which is why people often gossiped about how Gatsby became so wealthy. This shows Nick that Gatsby trusts him and establishes a sense of friendship between the two because Gatsby shares intimate details about himself. When one confides in another person, that person feels as if they can confide in that person as well. Although this conversation makes Nick feel a sense of trust between him and Gatsby; Gatsby is only telling Nick about his past to conceal any rumors Nick might have heard about him, therefore reinforcing his trusting persona. Additionally, Gatsby stating that all of his money is inherited allows the reader as well as the characters to associate him with the “old money” crowd of rich people. People that are “old money” are seen as more respectable and trustworthy because they typically value tradition and have been able to sustain their wealth over generations. Whereas, the “new money” crowd is seen as reckless and less trustworthy due to the fact that they are more likely to have bad spending habits and be extremely flashy. This is because these people have all of a sudden come into a great deal of money . Lastly people that are “old money” are more likely to be highly