He imagines Gatsby as what he wants himself to be- a wealthy, gregarious man who needs no other way to impress people because he is nearly famous. It is clearly understood that Nick has a desire to be a more socially active person which is why he invented Gatsby in the first
From this quote, the reader can see that Nick finds Gatsby to be a unique and once-in-a-lifetime type of person. This explains Gatsby’s uniqueness and Nick’s immense interest in Gatsby. As Nick continues describing Gatsby, he personifies his smile and mentions that it “understood you”,
The reason F. Scott Fitzgerald chose Nick as the main character is because he is the new guy in town and he is an outsider looking in. As is read on page on page 3, "My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this middle-western city for three generations". This quote says that Nick's family have little to no connection to New York. This quote also explains that Nick is unbiased and is just observing what is going on in the book, just as the reader is. Nick role in The Great Gatsby is to be an outsider that tries to introduce all the other character with very little opinion.
The Great Gatsby is a very peculiar book, and has a lot of questions that surround it, especially about Nick Carraway. Questions like, why Nick is narrating or his role in the book? Why first person narration? And can we trust Nick?
After the official introduction between the men, Nick noticed “[Gatsby] smiled understandingly... It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” (Fitzgerald 52). Nick then realizes that “some time before [Gatsby] introduced himself [Nick] got a strong sense that he was picking his words with care”(Fitzgerald 53). Nick at first sight did not notice Gatsby as he only saw him and talked to him like he was a guest.
Nick describes meeting Gatsby for the first time at one of his parties and one thing that strikes him is Gatsby’s smile. The smile is personified in that it is said to concentrate on the one it is directed at and have prejudices. Fitzgerald may be characterizing Nick with this smile. Nick may see what he wants to see in the smile. Having recently moved to West Egg to try his hand in the bond business, Nick may be in search of the understanding, assurance, and support that the smile is providing.
Nick seems to profess love for Gatsby in ways of such admiration, so much of which to make the reader believe that this might not be a simple platonic relationship between the two males. A really intense passage within the novel that shows the utmost admiration for the man in the pink suit is when our narrator is describing Gatsby’s smile: He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.
Near the beginning of The Great Gatsby Nick assumes these ideas that he has heard about Gatsby, he puts his initial trust into the ideas of others. As the novel goes on though and Nick meets Gatsby he learns much about the true character of Gatsby and his trust in Gatsby evolves. This is exemplified in the New Great Gatsby Movie during the scene where Nick is at Gatsby’s funeral and no one shows up except him. Nick was the only one who was brave enough to actually interact with Gatsby even with all of his preconceived notions of the man. This bravery and trust allowed for these notions to be tested and that gave Nick an even more trusting relationship with Gatsby.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel that explores the complex relationships between the wealthy elite of the Jazz Age. The story is set in the wealthy enclave of East Egg, where the excesses and moral decay of the time are on full display. Two of the most important characters in the novel are Gatsby and Nick, who form a bond that is based on mutual respect and a shared understanding of the world around them. In this essay, I will explore the relationship between Gatsby and Nick, and the significance of the East Egg setting in the story. Gatsby and Nick come from very different backgrounds, but they share a sense of disillusionment with the world around them.
Moreover, Nick Carraway thought of the time meeting Mr.Gatsby, as he was supposedly wholesome. However, there was one thing that caught Nick’s meticulous attention when meeting on a particular occasion with Mr.Gatsby, and it was his genuine smile. As stated, “He smiled understandably—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” This quote demonstrates that no one can identify the motive of Gatsby presence, as it is beyond comprehension.
It is made clear to the reader that Nick gains quite an interest in Gatsby. He actually begins to become obsessed with him. The book states, “Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him… It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.”
In the book The Greats Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the clock on Nick’s mantle represents Gatsby’s attempt to recreate the past because there relationship is already broken and they won’t ever have the same relationship as they use to. Nick invited Daisy over to his home and told her to have tea with him. Nick and Gatsby planned to reconnect Gatsby with Daisy so he could show her his wealth. There conversation is awkward but broken
While Gatsby is smiling at Nick he realizes for a split second that Gatsby has one of those rare smiles that makes you feel understood and believed in. “He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself” (48). Gatsby’s smile makes one feel that they are believed in and that he has an opinion f
In the story "The Great Gatsby" Nick has a favorable opinion of Jay Gatsby. In the first chapter of the book Nick states "When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. " The book gives many examples of Nick thinking of Gatsby as the "Great" such as Gatsby 's smile, what Gatsby was willing to do for Daisy, and what Gatsby did for himself.
It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.” This showed the interest Nick had for Gatsby and why he felt like helping Gatsby even though he might not know him well, he admired him for his romanticism and for him wanting to pursue his dreams. Later on Gatsby sees that he can trust Nick. He showed he can trust Nick when Gatsby told him the truth about him and his life, and explained to him how he got rich and famous. Another way he showed he trusted Nick was when he told Nick that Daisy actually killed Myrtle instead of him, he took the blame for her.