Great Gatsby - Nick

Nick was born in the Middle-West. His family could afford to give him a good education and that is why his father always tells him not to judge others. Not everyone had the chance to enjoy the privileges he had. In my opinion, not judging others makes Nick kind of respected among his friends and acquaintances. But he, for sure, is not perfect.

In 1915, he graduated from Yale and was called up for war service. In 1922, once he is back he decides to go to the East. Nick is really disgusted and frustrated by western provincialism. So, he makes the decision to learn the bond business in New York. There, Nick would love to live in a more fashionable way. For that, he moves to West Egg and rents a house that lays between two big mansions. He will leave this house after a short period on account of deep moral frustration. Nick has learnt that money is the most important thing for the upper classes. Money is even more important than love. For people like Tom and Daisy, for rich people, materialism plays an outstanding role.

Fitzgerald uses Nick as a first person narrator and so he is manly a passive observer. He is also a reliable narrator because he does not only tell the story from his point of view, but through other characters, too. For example, it is Jordan who tells us about DaisyÒ's past. Nick is a very ironic narrator, but his main character trait is probably tolerance. Although Nick does not like most of the characters and their behaviour, he avoids to make judgements. He is also sort of romantic and ends up really liking Gatsby, whom he despises at the beginning. At the end, the only one who possibly knows Gatsby is him and he is the one trying to arrange a decent funeral. Nick understands Gatsby in a certain way.