Nick Carraway: In or Out?
Money can lead people to do things to hurt others, but these people do not ever seem to care who they hurt in the process of getting what or who they want. This money issue can be see in the elite of New York in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. They are constantly hurting others in the process of getting what they want, and they have nothing telling them what they are doing is wrong. The elite just assume that because they have the money to pay for what they want, that they have the ability to hurt who they want. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway’s conflict about his identity, which is shaped by the attractive yet careless lifestyles of the New York elite, to show that elite …show more content…
Nick and Gatsby go to a speakeasy and Nick meets Gatsby’s business partner Meyer Wolfsheim. Gatsby has offered to set Nick up with some on the side business with Meyer Wolfsheim, because he knows Nick does not have much money. Nick “realize[s] that under different circumstances that conversation might have been one of the crises of [his] life,”(83). Nick has realized Gatsby and the work Gatsby does is not what Nick thought it was. Nick is no longer attracted to the New York elite, especially Gatsby, because he sees now they can be involved in shady business. He sees some people's fame and money comes from uncommon ways and Nick realizes this is not how he wants to live. Not wanting to be involved in questionable business shapes Nick’s identity, demonstrating he is a strong individual who has fierce morals, which he uses to decide what is right and wrong. Another time Nick realizes elite life is not all it is made out to be, is after Gatsby has told Nick his real name is James Gatz and the helped out Dan Cody, which is where he got all of his money. Nick has “reached a point of believing everything and nothing about him,”(101). Nick has gotten to a point where he has heard so many stories about Gatsby, he no longer knows what is true and what is fake. Nick no longer feels attracted to the elite crowd because he sees Gatsby isn't as real as he thought Gatsby was, which makes Nick feel as if the elite life is not as special as he believe it to be. This shows that Nick is conflicted with whom he should trust, which demonstrates his conflict of identity. He is conflicted over if he should trust only himself or trust what others have told him. Then, Nick decides to only trust what he believes to be true, which displays that he knows who he is as a person. Nick comes to see that the New York elite crowd is not all the pomp and circumstance he
Money can lead people to do things to hurt others, but these people do not ever seem to care who they hurt in the process of getting what or who they want. This money issue can be see in the elite of New York in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. They are constantly hurting others in the process of getting what they want, and they have nothing telling them what they are doing is wrong. The elite just assume that because they have the money to pay for what they want, that they have the ability to hurt who they want. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway’s conflict about his identity, which is shaped by the attractive yet careless lifestyles of the New York elite, to show that elite …show more content…
Nick and Gatsby go to a speakeasy and Nick meets Gatsby’s business partner Meyer Wolfsheim. Gatsby has offered to set Nick up with some on the side business with Meyer Wolfsheim, because he knows Nick does not have much money. Nick “realize[s] that under different circumstances that conversation might have been one of the crises of [his] life,”(83). Nick has realized Gatsby and the work Gatsby does is not what Nick thought it was. Nick is no longer attracted to the New York elite, especially Gatsby, because he sees now they can be involved in shady business. He sees some people's fame and money comes from uncommon ways and Nick realizes this is not how he wants to live. Not wanting to be involved in questionable business shapes Nick’s identity, demonstrating he is a strong individual who has fierce morals, which he uses to decide what is right and wrong. Another time Nick realizes elite life is not all it is made out to be, is after Gatsby has told Nick his real name is James Gatz and the helped out Dan Cody, which is where he got all of his money. Nick has “reached a point of believing everything and nothing about him,”(101). Nick has gotten to a point where he has heard so many stories about Gatsby, he no longer knows what is true and what is fake. Nick no longer feels attracted to the elite crowd because he sees Gatsby isn't as real as he thought Gatsby was, which makes Nick feel as if the elite life is not as special as he believe it to be. This shows that Nick is conflicted with whom he should trust, which demonstrates his conflict of identity. He is conflicted over if he should trust only himself or trust what others have told him. Then, Nick decides to only trust what he believes to be true, which displays that he knows who he is as a person. Nick comes to see that the New York elite crowd is not all the pomp and circumstance he