Nick was a middle class young man who after graduating Yale and fighting in World War I, moves to New York City to learn about the bond business. The other characters in the crazy world of the rich sees him as a trustworthy person that they can rely on to keep their darkest secrets.

Quote One

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 is telling us how he tries to reserve judgement and that he is more of an observer and because he doesn’t automatically judge people by appearance when he goes and talks to them, to find what they are about, while doing this he has found a lot of people boring and uninteresting.

Quote Two

“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 was around the people of the East and their ‘violent excursions’ like Gatsby’s parties and their utter carelessness of the people he was around, he experienced a lot of materialism as he socialised with reckless and immoral people. When he moved back to the mid-west he desires the world to be in ‘uniform’ meaning he wants to be around the exact opposite of East and West Egg.

Quote Three

“…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

He is telling us that Tom Buchanan seems to have a high amount of power, using people and moving Nick room to room by an overbearing and powerful host, physically and mentally.

Quote Four

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” – Chapter Two

Nick follows Tom to New York with his Mistress Myrtle, He sees Tom cheating on Daisy with Myrtle and is explaining his feeling of being in the moment of this type of lifestyle but not really feeling like he belongs there, he is observing the whole situation from and outsiders perspective. Nick is curious but disgusted by this way of living ‘can’t look away’ sort of logic.

Quote Five

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 is explaining how he had to actually work to make a living, in the 1920s it was uncommon to call someone by their first names unless you were close friends or family. Nick by working so much would have developed a great friendship with the other clerks and salesmen. He had a brief affair with a girl in Jersey but “her brother began throwing mean looks in my direction” so by Nick saying this we can tell he is a very passive person who doesn’t like to step on other peoples toes. He is easily influenced by others opinions as he ended things with his girl after a few mean looks from her brother.

Quote Six

“I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”– Chapter Three

In chapter three Nick tells us that he is one the most honest people he knows. Throughout the novel he mentions about how he is very trustworthy and ‘reserves judgement’ but yet he often expresses his dislike for certain characters as he continues to follow them around. He is the only opinion that we have of the story, so in truth we aren’t getting the perspective. All characters if they had the chance to tell the story would have told it differently, but out of them all Nick does seem the most trustworthy as he comes from a modest background and doesn’t brag apart from this quote. He comes across as a likeable character to the reader so he is easily presented as trustworthy. It is up to the reader if they trust his story and judgement or not though.

Quote Seven

“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 admits this to Gatsby in his last time seeing him before Gatsby got murdered. He is saying how he disapproves of the East Egg bunch with their materialistic ways and their sheer care for anything around them as they are truely selfish. Nick is telling that Gatsby is much better than all the people of East Egg as all his actions were out of love for Daisy, like taking the blame for Daisys murder or Myrtle, this action yet then results in Gatsby getting murdered himself because Wilson sought revenge. Nick deeply admired Gatsby because he believed that he did things out of heart. “I disapproved of him from beginning to end” this part of the quote is ironic because it related to when he said at the beginning of the novel “I am inclined to reserve judgement” because it is clear he forms very strong opinions or the main character by the end. This is proof that his time on the East Coast changed him.

Quote Eight

“I shook hands with him. It seemed silly not to for I felt suddenly as though I was talking to a child.”- Chapter Nine

Nick happens to run into Tom Buchanan in a street a while after the incident. As Tom tried to shake his hand even though Nick strongly doesn’t want to as he has not discovered how selfish he is and wants to dissociate himself from him. Tom tries to explain his side of the story about telling Wilson about how Gatsby was the one who was responsible to Myrtles death. Nick sees how truly selfish and aloof he is to anything that doesn’t effect him, this makes Nick see Toms behaviour as childish who doesn’t understand reason.

Quote Nine

I sat there brooding on the old unknown world…” –Chapter Nine

To brood means to engage in deep thought which makes one sad or worried. In Nicks case he is sitting in Gatsby’s house contemplating his death. From what Nick tells us we can understand that his character takes things deeply to heart and observes people and likes to figure out who they truely are. Everyones true colours seem to come out at the end of the novel as Nick had did this.

Nick came into the novel with a sense of innocent to the bitter, selfish and arrogant ways of the East. He was raised with a strong sense of morals and taught to work hard for what he wants. He was educated not to judge people but by the end of the book couldn’t help but judge the characters on their vile mindsets and behaviour. He was seen as the person of trust by all the characters which helped us get a greater insight to all of their personalities and true values. Gatsby was the only character he truely valued as the actions he did were out of emotion and love. At the end of the novel we can see how the East had corrupted Nick as he now formed strong opinions that he just couldn’t help because he was so disgusted by their lifestyle and sheer lack of care for the world. Their only care was the American Dream, the novel tells us how wealth can corrupt our minds.