Nick's Comparison Of Two Characters In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby There are many different types of people in this world. Apart from physical features, it is the characteristics of a person that makes him/her original. Nick Carraway the narrator of The Great Gatsby, has qualities which are the complete opposite of those of Tom Buchanan, his cousin-in-law. In the novel, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses the comparison between two cousins to show how their differing characteristics reflects the themes of morality and reality versus illusion. One of Nick’s Characteristics, that is incompatible with Toms is that Nick is cautious when speaking. On an occasion when Mr. Gatz said something that Nick disagreed with , Nick still hesitantly, agreed with him, as to not hurt an
Since Nick has a strong foundation and is honest, he is thus, very faithful. His faithfulness is quite visible because he was one of the few people to attend Gatsby’s Funeral. Nick and two others, were the only one’s to attend the service. He also arranged the service. This shows how he was faithful to his Gatsby until the very end. On the other hand, he has a weak foundation, for he is dishonest and consequently is not faithful. An example of his unfaithfulness is that he was not present at his daughter Pammy’s, birth. His faithfulness to his wife is visible in the following quote-“Well, she (Pammy) was less then an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling (said Daisy) (Pg. 17) Tom not showing up to his daughter’s birth shows how he has no moral value of family. Nick’s faithfulness and Tom’s unfaithfulness, indicates their morals. Nick has high moral, since he attended Gatsby’s funeral; however, or the contrary, Tom’s morals are low, since he was not present at his daughter’s birth, not for Daisy’s sake, and not for Pammy’s sake. Therefore it shows how their foundation for their faithfulness reflects the theme of
Since Nick has thick strong pillars, he, as a result, has a very strong conscience. His conscience makes him feel responsible for Gatsby’s death, for he was the one that brought Gatsby and Daisy together. “After Gatsby’s death the East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes power of correction. (Pg. 178) This quote shows that Nick is feeling responsible for bringing the two together. On the contrary, since Tom’s pillars are weak, his conscience is also that weak. Tom was very much responsible for Gatsby’s death , for he lead the killer, Mr. Willison, to Gatsby. Even though he was in a tight situation to have stilled informed Gatsby about Mr. Wilson coming for him, however he did not. He did not ever feel barely guilty, as the following quote