The Great Gatsby

‘Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn’

This is the phrase which Nick Carraway uses at the beginning of The Great Gatsby to describe his next door neighbour. In this essay I will be looking at the relationship between Carraway and Gatsby, significant events that affect their relationship, and how Nick Carraway’s opinion of Gatsby changes throughout the book.

Mr Gatsby is a very mysterious character. Though he is Nick Carraway’s neighbour, Nick knows noting about him and does not meet him until chapter 3, when they have been neighbours for some time. Indeed many events in the book only reinforce the mystery surrounding Gatsby. Though hundreds of people come to his lavish parties, almost none of them have met him, and know nothing about him. Thus many rumours circulate about him:

‘Somebody told me he killed a man once.’

‘Its more that he was a German spy before the war.’

Thus before Carraway has even met Gatsby, Gatsby seems surrounded by an aura of illusion.

Gatsby is a relative newcomer to the island of West Egg, the island for the incredibly rich. Over on East Egg, live Carraway’s cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Sporting girl Jordan Baker also lives with them

When Carraway finally meets Gatsby, his reaction is negative.

‘I was looking at an elegant young roughneck.’

After meeting Gatsby, Carraway is told by Jordan Baker that Gatsby told her that he went to Oxford, but for some reason she does not believe this. Gatsby then requests to speak with Jordan in private. We as the reader do not find out what is said between Gatsby and Jordan. This raises an important point because the story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway. Thus we can only see what he sees. This can lead to some different situations than if the book was told from a third person perspective. Because Carraway narrates the story, we only find out things gradually, and some things we do not find out at all.

Early on in chapter 4, we encounter more rumours such as

‘He’s a bootlegger.’

And a rumour that he may be related to the German Kaiser.

Though the first meeting between occurs at one of Gatsby’s parties, Nick Carraway does not start to find out things about him until their second meeting. While driving, Gatsby tells Nick that he inherited his vast amounts of money. Carraway suspects that he is lying and so his opinion of Gatsby is still quite negative and cautious at this point.

‘I didn’t want you to think I was some nobody.’

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This is a preview of the whole essay

Early on in chapter 4, we encounter more rumours such as

‘He’s a bootlegger.’

And a rumour that he may be related to the German Kaiser.

‘I didn’t want you to think I was some nobody.’

This is a key quote in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is a man who wants to make something of himself. He wants to be popular, and is insistent on not becoming a nobody. As we hear from Carraway later in the book, perhaps the reason why Gatsby is convinced not to be a nobody is because he has a ‘Platonic conception of himself.’ This means that he has an idealistic view of himself, and this may cloud his thinking or judgement.

When Gatsby and Carraway finally arrive in New York, Carraway meets a dubious acquaintance of Gatsby’s, Meyer Wolfshiem. Wolfshiem casually tells of when he saw a man being killed, and Carraway sees that his cufflinks are made from human molars. Carraway then begins to think that maybe there is something sinister about Gatsby after all.

It is during this chapter that we get the first of several flashbacks in the novel, this one recounting when Gatsby and Daisy fell in love during the war, from the viewpoint of Jordan Baker. She tells how deeply they were in love, but as soon as the war ended she married Tom Buchanan. Thus we see how shallow Daisy really is. She loves Gatsby, but because he did not have any money at the time of the war she married Tom, for his money. However now Gatsby has returned with money, and he hopes he can win back Daisy.

After this flashback Jordan tells Carraway that Gatsby would like him to invite Daisy to his house, so that Gatsby can meet her again. It is at this point when us the reader and Nick Carraway realise that underneath his smooth persona, Gatsby is quite timid and shy.

Nonetheless the meeting is arranged, and when Daisy and Gatsby finally do meet for the first time in five years it is very awkward, and full of long silences. Nick Carraway goes into his kitchen to make tea. He does not see what happens between Daisy and Gatsby, so consequently neither do we, so we are left speculating about what happened during the most important event in the whole book.

After their brief meeting at Carraway’s house, Gatsby invites Daisy and Carraway to his house. While Daisy is washing her face upstairs in Carraway’s house, Gatsby remarks to Carraway:

‘It took me just three years to earn the money that bought it.’

Referring to his house

He is now going back on what he said earlier that he inherited his money.

When Carraway leaves Gatsby and Daisy on their own in Gatsby’s house, he says that Daisy may have fallen short of Gatsby’s expectations ‘because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.’ This means that Gatsby’s expectations have grown so big that they have grown out of proportion.

When Carraway leaves, we are once again left to ponder what happened between Gatsby and Daisy.

Gatsby, Jordan, Carraway, Tom Buchanan and Daisy all decide to go into town together. While they are having a drink, a number of important events take place. When questioned about whether he went to Oxfored by the irritated Tom, Gatsby replies that after the war some officers we allowed to go to any of the universities in England or France.

‘I had one of those renewals of complete faith in him.’

Carraway begins to warm towards Gatsby and this statement shows his change of opinion.

I believe that Tom’s outcry during the next few paragraphs is very important.

‘I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.’

This links back to a phrase made by Gatsby that he doesn’t want to be a nobody. There is a large argument between Gatsby and Tom, so everyone drives home. The final indicator that Carraway has changed his opinion about Gatsby is when he is talking to Gatsby and comparing him to the other residents of West and East Egg.

‘They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch of them.’

This shows that he respects Gatsby much more than the rich, materialistic residents of the Egg. Carraway reflects on Gatsby by saying that he had:

‘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.’

After Gatsby’s death, Carraway is introdueced to Gatsby’s father. His father helps Carraway to piece together more about Gatsby’s past. He shows Carraway a schedule that Gatsby used to keep when he was a child.

This shows that even at a young age he wanted to make something of himself.

Gatsby’s life is portrayed as a variant of the American Dream. This is why The Great Gatsby is in my opinion the quintessential American novel, because it portrays the American Dream very well, the idea that anyone can have the opportunity to become successful in America.

Carraway’s opinion of Gatsby ends on a positive note, and he believes that he will never meet a man of such endearing hope ever again.