Character analysis help please!!!!

[chw32190]

gatsby

[millon]

I am going to analysis on Nick in the Great Gastby. I think it is possible to consider Nick as a narrator, a wittness,a friend and a critic. however, could anyone give me some advice?

[k8e_caldwell]

My topic is:

Write an analysis of one major character in The Great Gatsby. Identify the character's traits and motivations, and how the author gives un insight into the characters through action, dialogue and/or images.

I am thinking about talking about the reinvention of himself, his relation to the American Dream, his mysterious past and his dream to recreate his past (his love with Daisy). This is what I have for an opening paragraph:

"Jay Gatsby, the title character and the protagonist of The Great Gatsby, is a self-created personage, the embodiment of the American Dream in the 1920’s. Gatsby is an extravagantly wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. Despite having achieved his desired social status and wealth, he remains a mysterious and shadowy figure. He is motivated to reinvent himself and buy his way into the social circle of old money, with a dream to recreate the past. Although Jay Gatsby appears to have accomplished the American Dream, his violent and mournful end becomes symbolic of the disintegration and corruption of the American Dream."



1. Do you think the opening paragraph relates to the given topic?

2. Does the thesis statement relate enough to what I want to talk about in the essay?

3. What I want to cover in the essay, does it relate to the topic?

Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Any new ideas, suggestions, would be great!!

[trippy star]

I think it's very accurate, however Gatsby is - in my opinion - a deeper character than that, especially towards the end of the novel. Nearing his death, Gatsby, although still a "shadowy figure", is described as more amiable than other characters, which I believe is due to his new money. Gatsby isn't snobbish. He still remembers and relates to the "hot struggles of the poor", and this is why he is such a great friend of Nick's.

The best example of this that I can think of right now is when Gatsby and Nick - after Gatsby returns from Daisy's for the last time - search the mansion for ciggerettes. Nick says that the mansion had never felt bigger, which is, I believe, because Gatsby at that point seemed remote from his wealth, and his remembered lower class actions make his mansion seem bigger to Nick.

Anyhow, that doesn't really relate to the thesis - which is excellent by the way - but it could be a neat topic to explore in the essay.

[Egad!]

I need help!! I am supposed to give examples of how different characters use their money as a shield from their problems and stuff like that. Any ideas? I would really appreciate it!

[protagonist]

nick is narrator and he only observes the people th events.Gatsby on the other hand lost in his dream word I think because he lived the last of his five years to find Daisy and he continues to love her but Daisy I think she hasn't a character like gatsby and choose to marry with Tom rather than waiting gatsby.At the end wew can see that she isn't honest about the accident.as a result she ignored gatsby and caused his death...

[JBI]

Some critics argue Nick is really the book's protagonist, and the story isn't just the fall of Gatsby, but the growth of Nick. They argue that the final climax of Nick's development, is when he finally decides to take a stand against his perceived wrongs in humanity, at the moment when he realizes it is his birthday. The ending too, after telling Gatsby he is worth the whole lot of them, and then eventually his discussion with Tom at the end would further develop this theory.