Analysis of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Everyone suspects himself at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known. ”-Nick Carraway. Nick is an impartial, honest, and loyal character. He gives readers a detailed, accurate account of the events pertaining to Gatsby’s life. Nick spends time with Gatsby and Tom even though they do not like each other. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the color gray is continually used to show Nick’s impartiality to the characters and conflicts. Throughout the whole book, there is tension between Tom and Gatsby since they both want Daisy to love them.
Nick acts as a friend to both characters; he spends time with Tom going out on the town, and with Gatsby attending parties every weekend. “Gray cars, ash gray men,” is a phrase used on page 23 as a color reference to Nick’s neutrality between the two opposing characters. Nick comes off as a very honest character to readers and other characters in the book. On page 19 Daisy says to Nick, “You remind me of a-of a rose, an absolute rose. ” The red color of the rose represents his passion and care for other people.
He looks out for all of the other characters throughout the book even while he struggles with his own personal concerns and struggles. When Gatsby offers to let Nick join in his gambling, Nick refuses; he wants to make an honest living. Nick remains loyal to Gatsby after his death when all of his other friends do not. Out of all of the people that Gatsby knew, Nick was one of three that attended his funeral. Other people pretended to be Gatsby’s friend just to get to attend parties or take advantage of him, but Nick actually cared for Gatsby and remained loyal to him throughout the entire story.
On page 188 the phrase “on the white steps,” represents peace. Nick valued peace and friendship which went along with his loyalty to Gatsby. Though Nick, like the other characters in the book, has some faults, he remains impartial, honest, and loyal. Nick’s demeanor allowed him to provide an honest, accurate account of the events of Gatsby’s life. He told us the story to the best of his ability and through that story we can learn more about Nick and ourselves.
