Hello, everyone!

In 1940, Fitzgerald left the world thinking The Great Gatsby was not great. Perhaps due to its interesting reflection on the “foul dust floated in the wake of his [Gatsby’s] dream” (Fitzgerald 2), The Great Gatsby becomes great. Today, we look at one of its most fundamental elements: the characters.

 

The first one we’ll look at is Nick Carraway. He’s the narrator that might carry you away (a terrible pun in case you did not notice) with his needlessly highfalutin English.

According to himself, Nick is not fond of criticizing others due to his dad’s advice and is probably the poorest main character in the novel despite being relatively affluent. He considers himself to be “inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores.” (Fitzgerald 1) Considering the fact that the majority of information mainly comes from Nick’s thoughts and descriptions, it’s a blessing that we have such a diplomatic character doing this job.

 

As a Yale alumnus and a senior citizen, Nick might be an observer of the new/booming generation in the 1920s from the perspective of the older/conventional generation. In a sense, Nick is the center of collision between two American eras. 

 

If I have to guess, Nick has an INFJ personality (just like my sister). He keeps his own depiction simple, opinions well-hidden, yet is tireless in observations, as shown in his nuanced narration of Tom’s physical acumen and domineering behaviors. Nick does bear a resemblance to my sister, which is made interesting as they both live in outskirts of New York. Coincidence?

 

 

We then have Tom Buchanan as our next guest. He’s an athlete that reached climax at the age of 21 and a bigot whom Nick takes issue with.

According to Nick’s slightly spiteful description, Tom has a “touch of paternal contempt…, even toward people he liked.” (Fitzgerald 7) He is super-duper rich, cheats on his wife, and breaks his mistress’ nose, so he seems to fit quite well into the antagonistic narrative. 

 

From Nick’s eye, Tom’s really has nothing likeable except for his capital, yet people, including his mistress, could ignore all his wrongdoings for that $$$. Thus, Tom might represent the decrease in immorality in pursuit of material wealth that embodies the Roaring Twenties. It is no doubt Nick, a man with traditional philosophies, dislikes Tom in his deferential manner. 

 

Tom’s character traits stay relevant in modern America, where capitalistic success remains the primary goal for many individuals even if that comes with moral degradation (looking at you, Wall Street elites). Just look at the protagonist in the movie Wolf in Wall Street (I swear I didn’t watch it!!!) and look at Tom… Yeah, THIS is America.

 

 

We’re almost there!

 

We’ll end with Myrtle Wilson, the mistress of Tom Buchanan. As it turns out, she is not particularly pristine either.

CHALLENGE: count how many things she bought in the following sentence. “At the news-stand she bought a copy of Town Tattle and a moving-picture magazine, and in the station drug-store some cold cream and a small flask of perfume.” (Fitzgerald 27) It’s not difficult to see that she was preoccupied with material goods. You could call her a gold-digger for getting along with Tom, but she emphasizes a fundamental aspect in an increasingly commercialized society: we consume more than we ever need. That was a relatively novel concept in the twenties, and Fitzgerald might be subtlely criticizing it by making Ms. Wilson an unlikeable character. 

 

Whenever I watch a sport game or Youtube video now, half of the screen is filled with unrelated ads. This is an indication that Myrtle’s spending habits have infiltrated into many fields, which is not surprising as she is the ideal subject for advertising companies.

Before we part, I have a question for you: do we need more people like Nick and less people like Tom and Myrtle?

See you next time!