The Great Gatsby

Discovering the truth and judging the character of people often epitomize maturing and development. For instance, during William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, Ralph judges the character of others on the island. He also struggles to uncover the truth and matures to take on a leader position. Therefore, the reader considers Ralph a completely developed character. Similarly, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, while the remainder of characters remain flat, Nick Carraway evolves into a round character through his developing moral judgments about Jordan Baker, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby.

As the narrator and an intricate character in the plot, Nick Carraway probes into the lives of the other characters and then forms judgments upon them. Through this experience, the reader learns about the insight and morals of the narrator. For example, during his affair with Jordan Baker, Nick discovers her lying habits. "She was incurably dishonest.... It made no difference to me. Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply" (Fitzgerald 63). Nick tells the reader that Jordan's dishonesty does not bother him; however, his mere mention of the lying hints that it may be a problem. Towards the conclusion of the novel, Nick makes a decision about Jordan when he leaves her at the Buchanan's house. "I'd be damned if I'd go in; I'd had enough of all of them ... suddenly that included Jordan too" (Fitzgerald 150). The narrator realizes that he wants nothing to do with these people. Therefore, Fitzgerald explicates to the reader that the narrator does not accept the dishonesty of Jordan Baker. Nick progresses toward the point of his moral judgment of Jordan throughout the novel during his character development.

In addition, as the novel proceeds, Nick learns about the character of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. At their dinner party, the Buchanans from East Egg present themselves as sophisticated, superior people. "In a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged" (Fitzgerald 22). Nick notices Tom and Daisy's egotism; however, at first, he does not let the fact bother him. Instead, he politely ignores their vainness and withholds moral judgment. On the other hand, through maturing and developing, Nick decides not to ignore the unacceptable behavior of the Buchanans. "I couldn't forgive him or like him but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated