What Does Smile Mean In The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway, the narrator, first describes Jay Gatsby in a way that makes Gatsby seem almost perfect, but once the story develops, it becomes apparent that this faultlessness is a facade covering Gatsby’s ulterior motives. When Nick first meets Gatsby, Nick is greeted by an exquisite smile. Nick describes, “He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed …show more content…
The way in which Gatsby’s smile was described alluded to the progression Gatsby would go through. Over time, Gatsby began to let Nick see who he really was and eventually revealed his love for Daisy. It is this love that can be seen represented in the smile. From the very moment Gatsby found out about the connection between Daisy and Nick, Gatsby set out to befriend Nick in order to meet Daisy again. Gatsby’s smile seems as though it was directed towards Nick because it was the first time they had met, but the smile gains a new meaning when Daisy is taken into consideration. When Gatsby first introduces himself to Nick, Gatsby sees Nick as his key to rekindling the love between himself and Daisy. Therefore, the smile is really the look that Gatsby has wished for five years that he could give Daisy, and because Nick is his path to Daisy, Gatsby smiles at