In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway introduces himself and considers himself not judgemental in any way and, even when the actions and opinions of others lean towards the nefarious, he reserves his qualms and remains optimistic about their character. He forshadows that "Gatsby turned out alright at the end" but leaves little reasoning behind how he considers being murdered in a pool to be alright.
At the end of the novel, Gatsby dies in one of the most undignified ways- Wilson shoots him and he falls into the pool and dies, floating as a horrific image for all of his neighbors to attempt to forget later. With him, Nick's confusing and invigorating ride stops. The excitement in life, the wealth, the glamor, the curiosity- it all comes to a screeching halt and subsequently takes away Nick's wonderlust.
Nick's friendship with Gatsby is not so much of a friendship but rather an infatuation. He is bedazzled by his house and his very existance, refraining whatever judgement he could pass about Gatsby's shady dealings and affairs, and still captured by the "eternal reassurance" he sees in Gatsby's eyes. He ignores allegations about Gatsby, how he might have killed a man and how he made his money bootlegging. Despite the fact that he has not learned much about him through six meetings in the course of a month, Nick becomes more intrigued. Even at the end of the novel when he finds out Gatsby lied to him about his family, Nick remains subtley distraughtover his death. He loves Gatsby (platonically, for the sake of argument) and wants to be a part of his life and to be as close to him as possible.
Gatsby's death affects Nick terribly. The man he shared property, drinks, and a friendship with is killed and he is the only one who deals with it directly. Anyone else affiliated with Gatsby decides to flee or lay low, leaving his funeral with a disturbingly low attendance. We realize that Gatsby's associates were just that; they did not consider Gatsby a real friend, just a man with an unabashed display of wealth, an extravagent lifestyle, and a penchant for doting on his guests almost as if he were trying to buy love and approval. Nick is so heartbroken over his death that he strives to do anything to put his friend to rest honorably, even returning to the body to reassure his spirit. Nick makes phone calls to all the people who knew Gatsby and is given petty excuses as to why these people won't come. He becomes frustrated through each of these interrogations, almost trying to reassure himself that Gatsby was a respectable man who everyone loved and an admirable man.
But every excuse, every decline, and even the one late attendant seem to smack Nick in the face trying to give him a hint. Even Owl Eyes calls Gatsby a "poor son of a bitch."
Afterwards, Nick leaves New York to go back West, definitely jostled and affected by this entire event. It's as if the entire story serves as a frightening memoir he uses for coping with his losses. He learns that his cousin and her husband are awfully shallow and selfish people and that the man he thought was his friend really wasn't anybody's.
Perhaps how Nick determines Gatsby ends up alright is that he is dead- he doesn't have to discover that all his colleagues detested him, fess up to accusations, deal with the press. Nick has to crawl through this mess. He watches people get murdered out of vengeace and not in a war-like atmosphere. And through Gatsby's murder, Nick is stripped of all of his associations with all the people he met when he moved to New York.
In short, Nick does not turn out "all right at the end." He is obviously scarred and this does not seem like it can be overcome without psychiatric help.
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I find it very interesting that you think Nick’s determination that Gatsby is all right in the end is due to the fact that he is dead. I never really considered this point; in fact, it had never entered my mind at all, but now that it has, it seems to make sense. All of the things that Gatsby held dear and was striving for did not have the same feelings toward Gatsby. His greatest desire, Daisy, chose Tom and that sense of complacency over her childhood love. Even when Gatsby gave up everything for her, his life included, she still wouldn’t even come back for the funeral. His money couldn’t buy him happiness or love, and money wasn’t enough for Gatsby. He needed Daisy and her love; he needed friends who cared for him, though, Nick did seem to care for him, as you stated. If Gatsby were to have not been murdered that day, he would have simply realized that he was poor in all things but money and would have been devastated. In death, he did not have to come to that sad realization. He could simply go to sleep and be spared all of the pitiful truths.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, it seems that you might be implying that Nick had secret desire for romantic love with Gatsby. Although I was not reading for it when I read the novel, looking back now, I can almost see that. He was enamored when he looked into Gatsby’s eyes; in them, everything felt alright for Nick. He, as you said, wanted to be in his company and spend time with him, especially in his time of need.
I have to say that I disagree that Nick does not turn out alright in the end. I think that just as everyone else, there are the good times and the bad times in life. Of course, I am sure that this incident was traumatizing for Nick, but he also learned a lot of lessons from it. You can only learn from yours as well as others’ mistakes. I think by the end of the story Nick is showing that he has learned valuable life lessons. He begins to reflect on what he desires in life, and also what is important to him. I think that before this incident Nick did not appreciate or maybe understand himself, but I think through this he gains reassurance that he is a good person. He defends Gatsby’s honor-a task no one else seemed to be up to.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I just think that Nick has moved on from it all… I did not get the impression that he will dwell on these events. For one, he moves back West to the people and the place that he feels most comfortable.I just think that he chooses to remember the positive aspects of Gatsby, and will only be motivated by his experiences to want more out of life.
I like how you point out the lack of serious relationships that Gatsby has prior to his death. In the novel, he hosts magnificent parties which are attended by hoardes of people, most of whom are not even invited. However, at the end of the novel, after he is murdered, no one so much as comes by to give their condolences. I think this plays into the fantasy world that Gatsby lived in. On the surface Gatsby wanted everything to be perfect: huge house, roaring parties, excessive luxuries, etc. However, when the chips are down, you see how superficial and shallow all of these things really are. For all his material wealth what does he have to show when he dies? Nick, his father, and a few people who work for him are all that care enough to show up.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with you in the sense that Gatsby and Nick do not ‘turn out all right.’ If Gatsby had not been murdered at the end of the story what would he have had in his life? Granted, this story is written from Nick’s point of view, but prior to his death Gatsby’s whole world is torn from him. He finally believes he has Daisy – everything he has ever wanted- only to have her ripped away from her. All these things he gave so much value (his wealth, his home, Daisy) in his fantasy world, mean absolutely nothing when he plunges back to reality. In my opinion, Gatsby had to die! Without death he would have only been miserable. As for Nick, I don’t think he was ever really a part of that society/lifestyle. With the exception of Gatsby he had no real relationships in New York, or at least none that were really important to him. Nick is able to walk away from this story and continue on with his life. I like to think that Nick learned a great deal about human nature from Gatsby and will live his life accordingly.
You can argue that Gatsby’s obsessive impulse tends to further Nick’s own introspective curiosity and this is the glue that makes Gatsby’s life so cohesive to Nick’s own worldview. It is quite evident that Gatsby has Nick wrapped around his finger and that Nick has become yet another moth drawn to the light, color, sound and fury. However, I believe that Nick’s ability to circumvent his “non judicious” demeanor with scathing symbolism and irony betray his true motives and intelligence. This is not just another moth, this is a living, breathing Spectator. While Gatsby’s other friends graced his life with the assistance of a strong breeze, Nick seems more grounded in a sense with his intellect- just compare some of his allusions with the natural conversation of Tom and Daisy, or even Owl Eyes. His thoughts are too lofty and they reflect a thorough mind. Does Gatsby lure Nick in and damage his worldview with his involvement? I just don’t see Nick being that naïve- however, he is a human, and as all humans are fallible in this way, it is possible that Nick dropped his intellectual guard in the case of Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the case, what is it about Gatsby that intrigues Nick? Is it the mystique of an enigmatic figure? Is it something that perhaps all of us can relate to? I’d like to think that Nick, in his own way, views something more humane in Gatsby than in the hundreds of fair-weather party guests- even against the logic that Gatsby may be involved in shady dealings.
You say that this involvement with Gatsby turns out poorly for Nick’s character. Perhaps in the short term you are correct; he does end up dealing with the baggage that Gatsby left behind, and the whole affair does imprint itself in Nick’s mind. However, I would argue that all these things are just the realization that Nick needed to understand something deeper about human relations and about the human experience; especially in a world of “broken” people. Does he come away psychologically scarred? Maybe, I can’t make that assumption. But I think he comes away a sadder and a wiser man for his own benefit and anyone’s who is willing to listen to his story.