“I am inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and made me the victim of not a few veteran bores.”- Chapter One
Nick is saying that he is not judgemental person and tries his hardest not to be, this causes people to come to him and speak to him about all their problems and issues. They can lay all their thoughts and emotions onto Nick and expect him to deal with it because he naturally does not judge others and knows not to. This has sort of taken a toll on Nick’s life and how he acts as you could say he has been scard my some of the stories he has heard. Nick is very used to being told dull and boring stories, I think he gets very sick of hearing it but is simply too nice to speak up. This shows Nick is quite reserved and open minded.
“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. “ – Chapter One
After Nick left New York I think he was just genuinely sick of all the madness and riots thats he to deal with involving Tom and Daisy etc. He was fed up after being dragged around through their ‘antics’ and was hoping his life could continue like it used to be now that he was back in his home town. When he says he wanted the wanted the world in uniform i think he was referring to normality- he wanted it back to usual so he didn’t have to deal with the New York madness that he did in the summer. This is the whole reason Nick moved away from the east – i think. He wanted to forget about the traumatising summer he experienced that ended up with his neighbours and friend being shot.
“…wedging his tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were moving a checker to another square.”- Chapter One
This is an example of how Tom and daisy ruled over Nick because they were wealthier and top of the class. They’d use Nick as he was too reserved to give his opinion. When it states that tom compelled Nick from the room its saying he moved him strongly and abruptly. He moved Nick as if he was moving a checker to another square- this shows how much power Tom had over Nick and he manipulated him.
“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” – Chapter Two
Nick is attracted to the unusual life experience of unlimited money in NYC at the same time, being repelled by the un-maturity and superficiality of the scene. I think this illustrates his conflicting feelings about the extravagant lifestyles of the Buchanans and the elite members of society in NYC. Nick is a big part of the Buchanan’s life but doesn’t really fit in with them and generally gets left out, he doesn’t belong in that lifestyle. He may be in the story but most of the time he is observing, it’s hard for him to fully fit in as he will always be the one telling the story.
“Most of the time I worked…I knew the other clerks and young bond salesmen by their first names…I even had a short affair with a girl who lived in Jersey City and worked in the accounting department, but her brother began throwing mean looks in my direction…” – Chapter Three
Nick seems like a very relaxed and friendly person. He cares about others and never wants to get into drama with others- he may be struggling with money as he says he is always working. Nick also seems to care a-lot about what other think of him- this is shown when he abruptly leaves his relationship when his partners brother starts giving him funny looks.
“I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”– Chapter Three
Nick makes it sound like he is a really good and genuine person. He is defiantly better than the other characters in the story but I wouldn’t say he is the most kindest and modest person. Nick never told Tom or Daisy that their partner
“They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together!’ I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him because I disapproved of him from beginning to end.”- Chapter Eight
Nick says at the start of the story that he is inclined to recall all judgements- clearly he doesn’t stick to this. In my opinion Gatsby is better than the Buchanan’s- Gatsby liked Nick but did defiantly use Nick at times to get to Daisy. He seems like a willing person and usually shares his wealth but Tom and Daisy seem to just be stuck up and selfish. Nick is controversial- he does one thing and then doesn’t do it the next time- you could say he chooses who he is allowed to have an opinion on.
“I shook hands with him. It seemed silly not to for I felt suddenly as though I was talking to a child.”- Chapter Nine
Nick decides to forget about the drama even though Tom was acting very un-mature and childish in the situation. He likes to carry on with life and come out with no conflict. I think this is because he does not enjoy confrontation and usually gets uncomfortable in these situations.
“I sat there brooding on the old unknown world…” –Chapter Nine
Nick likes thinking about the world and how it is. He is a deep thinker and spends lots of his time thinking about his actions and speech, this shows that he really puts alot of effort into how he acts and what comes out of his mouth. He is very curious about the “unknown world” and even so the world he lives in.
Does Nick change through out the book? And if so, how?
Yes I think Nick changes through out the story, he may not change drastically but he defiantly changes in ways that he said he wouldn’t. At the end of the story he starts to stand u for himself and decides he doesn’t want to take the nonsense and get pushed around anymore. In the first chapter he states he reserves him self on judging people but this becomes very un-true by the end of the story. I think the summer Nick spent in NYC was very damaging towards him. It then caused him to leave NYC and move back to his home town to where i think he felt safe and sane again. Nick is a laid back guy and is someone who enjoys the simple life- which is not what NYC holds!
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