Sunday, May 17, 2009

7. Nick's Feelings

What is the progression of Nick’s feelings toward the Buchanans and people like them. What does Nick learn from his summer at West Egg?
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4 comments:

  1. Eduardo M.July 26, 2009 at 2:51 PM

    At the beginning, Nick is a very good friend of the Buchanans and has a good opinion of them. Since he still did not meet Gatsby here, he had no way to compare them with anyone. During the trip to new york (Fitzgerald 32), he had no choice but to put up with them, though it is evident that he had somewhat of a bad opinion of them when Tom brought his lover Myrtle along. He began to see moral disintegration with the aristocratic class. Later when he met Gatsby, he learned of the difference between aristocrats and dedicated workers and saw how the aristocrats gossiped and put other people lower than them and how loyal and committed people like Gatsby were. What Nick learned that summer, in conclusion, is how the background of a person has nothing to do with their character and personality, or rather, how humble beginnings and struggle create character and dedication, while inherited wealth and easy living create weak people morally and personalities that are useless to a working society or small circle of relationships.

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  2. Ana CristinaJuly 27, 2009 at 9:39 AM

    I agree with Eduardo when he says that Nicks feeling toward the Buchanans changed. Yet I don’t think they changed as drastically as he says they did. Nick never had a good opinion of then, not even at the beginning. When he left their house he said that he “was confused and a little disgusted” (Fitzgerald 25). I think that even in the beginning Nick saw The Buchanans moral flaws, but he did not judge them. As the book progressed and he met Gatsby, Nick started to see just how bad the Buchanans really were. I also disagree with the idea that Nick only saw Gatsby as a dedicated and loyal person. Nick also saw the flaws in Gatsby. Gatsby was not a saint and Nick saw this “I disapproved of him from beginning to end” ( Fitzgerald 162). Yet in the end Nick saw that the lesser of two evils was Gatsby. In the end Nick respected Gatsby “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 162) and he saw the evil in Tom and Daisy “they’re a rotten crowd” (Fitzgerald 162).

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  3. UnknownAugust 3, 2009 at 11:01 AM

    I agree with both Ana and Eduardo. Nick’s feelings did change from the first time he met them. From the beginning Nick did not really revere the Buchanans and people like them. He thought of them as shallow and cynical. Even though Daisy is his cousin, Nick did not really think of them as morally pure. When he first visits their house, Nick notices how shallow his cousin and her husband are. Also, he notices that Jordan Baker is not exactly respectful, or she just doesn’t make an effort to care. “…Miss Baker’s lips fluttered, she nodded at me almost imperceptibly and then quickly tipped her head back again...” After this, he says he “a sort of apology arose” to his lips. (Fitzgerald 13) Nick hints about his feelings towards the Buchanans. He is annoyed at Tom and his sense of greatness. When Nick tells them about his job as a bond man in a certain company and Tom decisively remarks that he has never heard of them, he is annoyed. Nick notes that the trio does not care to listen to what anyone has to say, continuously interrupting each other. Like Ana notes, he sees their moral flaws from the beginning. When Daisy talks about finding out that she had given birth to a girl, she says “All right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best ting a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’” (Fitzgerald 21) She continues to say how she knows and understand everything. Then she says “Sophisticated-God, I’m sophisticated!” Nick goes on to say that “It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort…”(Fitzgerald 22) By the end of his visit, Nick is somewhat confused about the Buchanans. He says “…the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms-but apparently there were no such intentions in her head.” (Fitzgerald 25) He says that Tom’s having a woman in New York was not very surprising.
    Throughout the book, Nick begins to learn more and more about the Buchanans. Although he had a glimpse of their immorality, he now learns exactly how immoral they really are. Tom continues to meet his mistress and even shows her off to him. Daisy stays with Tom, while rekindling her romance with Gatsby. Neither shows any signs of wanting to get a divorce. They are both only interested in materialistic matters. Even in the end, Tom lies to Wilson and says that Gatsby killed his wife, instead of being honest. Nick realizes that the thrill in Daisy’s voice, the enthralling enigma of her voice, is just money. In the end, Nick is disgusted by the Buchanans. Like Ana said, the only compliment he ever gave Gatsby was saying “They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 162)

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  4. UnknownAugust 7, 2009 at 7:44 PM

    I agree with Ana. Nick's feelings toward the Buchanans and people like them doesn't change as much. He never liked them so much. Since the beginning, he saw that the aristocracy had weak moral values, and that they were disrespectful. As time passes, Nick notices how immoral this family is. Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle while Daisy has affairs with Gatsby. As he meets Gatsby, who has better morals and values than the Buchanans, he realizes that the Buchanan family is bad compared to Gatsby. As you can see at the end, Gatsby does not tell about Daisy's involvement in the accident. He actually dies for her cause. After what Gatsby has done for Daisy, she simply leaves and escapes with Tom, letting no one know about it. Nick then notices how horrible that family was.

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