C/LI/10. The parallel stories of Nick and Gatsby in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

The essay looks at the way Gatsby's true story is gradually revealed during the course of the novel, but also considers how this revelation is met by Nick Carraway, the narrator, how he responds to it, and what this demonstrates of Nick's own personality and vision. While Gatsby is both absurd and magnificent in his pursuit of the dream of his love for Daisy, Nick finds it difficult to make moral judgements because he is himself an inhabitant of a wasteland world, and is both horrified and seduced by the life of the rich in West Egg and New York. Although he feels an admiration for Gatsby's adherence to his dream, what happens to him damages Nick's faith in humanity, and his withdrawal at the end suggests failure and darkness.