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 believes he is very tolerant and is non-judgemental towards others. He doesn’t want to look at someone and automatically dismiss them, he wants to talk to people first and get to know them first. They tell him about their stories and problems bu sometimes he gets bored of it and of the people. He feels like he is trapped talking to people who are boring and who he doesn’t want to talk to. But because he spends automatically dismiss them he does this he does talk to. some interesting people as well. Nick should be a good narrator for this as he gets lots of peoples different stories and supposedly doesn’t judge them.
Nick Carraway is the narrator of the book, he believes he is un-judgemental and tolerant towards others. Nick is 29 years old and currently lives in west egg. He studied at Yale before moving to New York to join the bonds business.
“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
Nick wanted everything to go back to the ‘normal’ that it was before he had left. He wants the world to all have the same morals and wants people to stick to them and obey by them. He didn’t want to go on anymore crazy trips and experience any of the things he has again. Like Daisy and Gatsby thing or Tom and Myrtles. He had had enough of that side of his life and of the people and didn’t want to go back to it.
“…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
Tom forces Nick to go around with him, he literally picks him up and moves him from place to place like a chess piece. Because Nick listens to everyone and doesn’t tend to give his judgement input on the things people tell him others find it easy to get him to follow and do want they want him to.
I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” – Chapter Two
Nick is there but not present. He is in with the crowd but doesn’t really fit in with them. He is in the story but is also telling it as an observer. Nick is mesmerised by the lives these people are living but doesn’t exactly approve of it.
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 cares about others opinions of him, he doesn’t want trouble its anyone so he backed down. He makes an effort to be friendly and cares for people. He is very job driven, and maybe not financially stable.
“I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”– Chapter Three
Nick thinks very highly of himself and not heaps of others. He thinks is a very very good person. He thinks he is pretty perfect and compared to some his is good but he also isn’t as honest as he makes himself out to be.
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 tells us he won’t judge people but this was a pretty big judgemental statement. Gatsby does a lot of illegal things to impress somebody and his morals were’t in line. He is not much better than Tom and Daisy, he is not as selfish but he still does some questionable things. Nick does judge people although he says he doesn’t. He contradicts himself and gets sucked into other peoples worlds.
“I shook hands with him. It seemed silly not to for I felt suddenly as though I was talking to a child.”- Chapter Nine
He moves on and takes the easy road out instead of making a big deal about it and giving Tom his opinion. He try to reduce any conflict that may form.
“I sat there brooding on the old unknown world…” –Chapter Nine
Nick has deep thoughts about the world and if he could go back to what it was.
Nick doesn’t stay the same throughout the story. At the beginning he says how un judgemental he is but throughout the book he gives very strong opinions about others. Nick is involved with a lot of other people business and is told to keep it a secret. This would be very hard on him because of all of the lies he has to tell.