Character Analysis: The Great Gatsby '

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick is drawn back to the West once he realizes he has been pulled into the lifestyle of the East. Throughout the entire novel, Nick is a realist and sees everything literally without a “lens” obstructing his view of things, as Gatsby does. In the beginning, Nick is just a person who sits back and enjoys the ride of his life. He even leaves the West just to avoid marriage, “’We heard you were engaged.’ ‘It’s a libel. I’m too poor.’” (19). He avoids confrontation at all costs, even if it means leaving and not talking to that person for the rest of their lives. Nick is also the type of person that everyone talks to about their problems, “I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bones” (1). Nick does not wish to have these people talk to him, but still “reserves judgment” and keeps an open mind. He still considers himself one of the few “normal person[s]” (1) even when he discovers that everyone shares similar problems in their daily lives.
As the novel progressed, Nick sees more into lives of others and realizes how “careless” people are: Daisy running into Myrtle with the car, Tom cheating on Daisy, Gatsby taking all reaches to get to his ideal life not caring what the consequences may be. Nick even confronts Jordan, “For just a minute I wondered if I wasn’t making a mistake, then I thought it all over again quickly and got up to say good-by” (177). He has taken giant leaps from the beginning of the novel and just running away, he decided to take control of his own life and make decisions for