The Great Gatsby - Research Paper Example

An analysis of the novel ‘Great Gatsby’ is imperative without taking a closer look at the character of Nick as it is through him that the reader gets to meet and know about the other characters as well as understand the mysterious life of Jay Gatsby. This paper analyzes on whether Nick is a morally upright honest narrator who gives the reader an unflinching look at the consequences of decadence or if he is untrustworthy and blinded by his admiration of wealth and glamor? Fitzgerald uses Nick as a point of reference to all the other characters in the novel and its setting.

The novel kicks off in the summer of 1922 when Nick moves to New York. He is originally from Minnesota and moves to the city to learn on the bond business. He rents a house in the fictional West Egg district of Long Island which gets displayed in the novel as unfashionable (Fitzgerald 2). The area is populated by a newly rich group of individuals who have made their fortunes just recently (Fitzgerald 18). This group of the newly rich is not shy to show off their wealth. Living next door to Nick in a gigantic gothic mansion is Jay Gatsby who is mysterious and throws lavish parties every Saturday night.

Unlike the other populace of West Egg, Nick is socially connected in East Egg, a more fashionable are of Long Island and home to the established upper class. his cousin is Daisy Buchanan who is married to Tom, a classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Nick is introduced to Jordan Baker, with whom he starts a romantic relationship, by Daisy and Tom. Through Jordan, Nick gets to learn of Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s love. Through the progression of the summer, Nick gets invited one of Gatsby’s legendary party’s where he finally gets to meet him.

As a cousin to Daisy Buchanan and next door neighbor to Gatsby, Nick proves the perfect choice of narrator for the novel. He is at a position where he is able to