Who Is Nick Carraway The Protagonist In The Great Gatsby

Decent Essays
The protagonist of a novel is the main character of which the overall plot centers around. Although, in Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatspy, Jay Gatspy is often credited as representing the protagonist of the story, Nick Carraway could also be considered a protagonist for his role as a semi-omniscient narrator who serves a the central link between other characters. He also undergoes a personal transformation as the novel progresses, a typical theme of protagonists.
In chapters 1 through 3 and throughout the book, Nick Carraway exemplifies a relatable common man who travels East in order to seek economic prosperity following the war. Carraway’s personality is one of strong ambition and desire to pursue life to its fullest. Protagonists often

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Both Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby are similar to one another because they wanted to find love in their lives. Nick Carraway initially declares that Gatsby has represented everything for which he possesses "an unaffected scorn" only to feel admiration for the man at the end as he turns and calls to him, "They're a rotten crowd.... You're worth the whole damn bunch put together". But, it is not until Nick himself becomes influenced by the decadence of the East from his association with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and, especially, Jordan Baker, who is a "bad driver," that he himself becomes "a bad driver. A "bad driver" is a dishonest person.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel, “The Great Gatsby”, author F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the protagonist Jay Gatsby in a strange and interesting way. Nick Carraway states that, “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him,” The words “unbroken” and “success” tell the reader that Gatsby is something of perfection, or is at least this is the way he presents himself to be. Nick further compares Gatsby to the most pristine piece of technology of the 1920s, the seismograph. This further illustrates the mechanic perfectionism of Gatsby’s personality. It is interesting that Fitzgerald uses such strange and dehumanizing qualities to describe Gatsby.…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, bases characters from Fitzgeralds personal life to interweaving intricate love relations that all follow his actions of the six most pivotal stages. Throughout the novel, Gatsby shows Fitzgeralds active attributes. They both “love and lost”, meaning that Fitzgerald and Jay would do anything for their beloved. Some critics may argue that the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is a common fictional character from The Great Gatsby, however, there are many examples from the novel that prove Fitzgerald mirrors his personal life through his portrayal of Gatsby.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If judgement was to be paired with a picture, there would be no photo more suitable than that of Nick Carraway. From early on in the novel it was made very clear to the audience that Nick evaluated actions and placed them in a “good” or “bad” category. This, and several other characteristics of Nick root from his fundamental foundation, which was built in the Midwest were Nick resided until his move in the summer of 1922 taking place in his late 20s. During his two month exploration in New York City, more specifically, the West Egg, he finds himself in a plethora of situations that cause him to rely on his Midwestern value such as honesty, hard- work, modestly, and most of all, judgement. The transition from a slow pace family friendly lifestyle to the fast pace wealthy and lavish lifestyle is one that Nick is capable of making, however, his judgement helps him restrain from indulging himself into a lifestyle for the childish and reckless, making his 1922 summer move just a knowledgeable experience.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel The Great Gatsby written by an American author F. Scott Fitzgerald is a typical story about the life of American people in the 1920s. In this novel the two main characters Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby became the best friends and found many similar qualities and traits in each other. However, they had the very different families that trained them different qualities and traits. Nick Carraway was raised by his father that gave Nick very effective mentoring for his future life. For the Jay Gatsby the most important person in his life was Dan Cody, who is the rich man that Jay met when he was a teenager and received the very useful advices from him.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Great Gatsby Essay A person cannot discover their true feelings about another until after they have passed on. After the death of his friend and neighbor Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway reflects back on Gatsby and his life and the effect Gatsby had on his life and his outlook on the world. In the twentieth century novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses metaphors, symbolism, and diction to reveal different aspects of Nick Carraway’s cynical yet sympathetic attitude towards Jay Gatsby.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby is an ambitious and hopeful character. He is the protagonist of the novel and he is pursuing an unrealistic dream, thinking that Daisy Buchanan was a nature of perfection that could not possibly be real. He believes in the idea that he could change the past and…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    " Now, everyone in the class longed to be like him. Welcome to the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald 's classic novel The Great Gatsby, a life that is filled with hopes and dreams of happiness and a wealthy future. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Nick Carraway and his journey into the…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the narrator, Nick Carraway, is an intriguing character because he is immersed in the story, but still takes the ancillary role. Within the opening few pages he sets himself up to be a perfect narrator who is observant and well-suited for the job of the narrator. By being observant he sets up this façade of being a perfect and reliable narrator. Nevertheless, through the language that Fitzgerald employs there is cause to state that he is in fact non-reliable and the first few pages solidify this claim. Therefore, in this essay there will be a focus on the fact that although Carraway is an observant person, he may not be reliable.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of Nick Carraway, who moves next door to a man by the name of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, in love with the woman he was once with, Daisy, climbed the social ladder to fame and riches in an attempt to win her back. The novel follows Gatsby’s progress to a relationship with Daisy, then his downfall when she rejects him. The Great Gatsby explores fallen dreams and the emptiness of wealth, through the display of violent actions of humans and the cruel irony of life. Fitzgerald utilizes these devices, supported by symbolic imagery, to convey messages more profound than the themes one may see on the surface.…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being the narrator and attempting to cope and work with Gatsby, Nick Carraway presented himself to be the most admirable character in the novel. Throughout the plot, he shows his ability to cope with various social situations efficiently. For example, upon settling in East Egg in his new home, he receives an invite to a party by an entire stranger. Bravely, he attends the party, despite not having any previous knowledge of the host other than potentially erroneous rumors such as being a murderer. His aforementioned ability is shown through his mingling and his amiability when first meeting the mysterious Gatsby and other attendees of the party.…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    You can’t repeat the past. In, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald multiple characters are impacted by: social classes, women’s rights, and inequalities. Daisy Buchanan was most affected by women’s rights because she cheated on her husband, with Gatsby, and she went back to her husband because in that time period that is just what women were expected to do. Stay faithful, stay at home, and stay with your husband no matter what.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Great Gatsby written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway , is a character that helps readers navigate through the story, providing us with an experience that can only be shown through his eyes. Gatsby, is the wealthy protagonist who is deeply in love with a character named Daisy who is Nick’s cousin. However, as we follow Nick through the story his opinions on Gatsby changes several times and his judgement on his original opinion changes too. Toward the end of the novel, it’s clear that Nick truly admires Gatsby for the extraordinary quality of hope that he possess. Nick also admires Gatsby for dreaming of being with Daisy forever in a perfect world.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Describe using literary terms such as protagonist, Epic Hero, antagonist, foil, stereotypical, dynamic, static, round, flat, etc. Be sure to list at least two driving character traits as well. (6-12 lines) We know that the narrator of the novel, Nick, is the main protagonist of the story. is not really a hero as he is not a person to be admired towards, but we can see Gatsby as a epic hero, as he accomplished his goal to be rich.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The illusion of moving mountains for the sake of a lady is an everlasting motivation of men, but the green light that seems so inviting to Gatsby is not Daisy, it is self-realization. Not in the meaning of getting even more opulence than he already has – Jay Gatsby is not a character to whom money matter most of all, - but in the sense of feeling himself complete and capable to reach the highest peak. Perhaps this is a theory, but the only 'lovestory ' covered in “The Great Gatsby” is the love – or rather the lack of it - of Jay Gatsby for himself. It is not just the society whom he wants to prove something, but he himself. The grand and unstoppable ambitions of Jay Gatsby is what Fitzgerald if not judgemental of, then at least cautious about.…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays