Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Great Gatsby Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Page # 163-180

Chapter Summary
In this chapter it describes the struggle Nick goes through to help Gatsby have a respectable funeral, but in the end Gatsby lived lonely and died lonely because no one went to his funeral. Daisy wouldn’t even call about Gatsby and Wolfsheim Gatsby’s only friend besides Nick refuses to go for business and personal reasons. The only important people to attend the funeral were Nick, Gatsby’s father, and surprisingly Owl Eyes. After Gatsby’s death Nick is a changed man and he decides to break up with Jordan and move out of West Egg. Later in the chapter he also meets Tom and refuses to shake his hand or even tell him the truth about Myrtle’s death, the sight of Tom disgusts him. In the end Nick goes back to Gatsby house and reminisces about Gatsby and talks bout how the dream is over.

Character Analysis:
Nick Carraway

Quote:
“Look here old sport, you’ve got to get somebody for me. You’ve got to try harder. I can’t go through this alone.” (Nick’s mind 165)


Description:
Nick is a young, kind, and educated man who doesn’t seem as corrupt or fake as the other characters in the novel. He also is a pretty successful young man working for a bond company and living in a comfortable house in West Egg next to Gatsby. He seems like a trustworthy narrator, except in my opinion when he talks about Gatsby because he is bias for the reason that he sees Gatsby as his friend. In my opinion the first time Nick tells the truth about his truly feelings about Gatsby is in chapter 8 when he says, “They’re a rotten crowd. You worth the whole dame bunch put together…I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I have ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end.” (Nick 154) Nick liked Gatsby so much that I felt like he was untrustworthy narrator when talk about how Gatsby until chapter 8, where he tells his true thoughts. Jordan also agrees with me when she says, “It was careless for me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were a rather honest person, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.” (Jordan 177) Nick was a true friend and kind person, but I don’t think he was as a trustworthy person as he seemed like he was earlier in the book. Nick best quality in the novel is that he is a true friend and we can see in chapter 9 when he did everything in his power for Gatsby to not die alone. Nick was an untrustworthy narrator because he was a good friend and put Gatsby before everything, showing that he is a truly caring person.

Character Role in Novel:
Nick’s role in the novel is to give the reader a trustworthy person to tell the corrupt lives of these people that live in West and East Egg. He is also important because he helps unfold the plot of the story and Gatsby’s past. Nick is important to novel because if you compare him to other characters in the book, it helps to show the characterization of other characters too. Nick is more of the innocent, quite character as to many of the characters in the novel are flashy, fake, loud, or corrupt.


Meaningful Quote:
“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.” (Wolfsheim 172)

Significance:
This quote really troubled me because I agree with both sides. I do think it is more important to be a better friend when they alive than dead like Wolfsheim, but it is also good to honor and pay respects to them when they die like Nick. This quote really got me thinking about the true meaning of friendship or love, that if is about being together or is about truly caring for the person. Personally I don’t think funerals are as important as being a good friend when they are alive. I understand Nick is trying to let Gatsby die without being lonely, but what really matters was how he lived, not how he was buried. But I do understand where Nick is coming from because he doesn’t his friend to have lost everything and die alone. I think this quote is important because it also helps you really see the difference between the corrupt characters and Nick. The comparison ultimately shows that only Nick and his father cared for Gatsby and it seemed that Gatsby ignored these two the most.

1 comment:

  1. I realized my description on Nick was a little wrong from the discussion in class on Friday.

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