Nick is 29 year old single man living in the 1920's.
It was uncommon for man like Nick, middle class,
wealthy and young to not be married. However
despite Nick's many grievances with love he still
romanticises Gatsby's and Daisy's relationship,
despite being disapproving of Tom and Myrtle.
This reinforces Nick's biased nature and his
unreliablity as a narrator because he is
condemning Tom and Myrtle's affair but being
supportive of Gatsby's and Daisy's.
Nick has a twisted love towards Daisy, an
infatuation/ adoration, which he also
shares for Gatsby as well. Nick disagrees
with all of Gatsby's decisions however he
remains his loyal friend until the end when
Gatsby dies. This brings in the platonic and
a Philadelphia love (love for one's brother).
Nick has numerous
relationships in the
novel
Jay Gatsby
Bootlegger, Belasco,
showman, magician,
a circus act
Son of dirt poor farmers, helplessly and obsessively
in love with Daisy, besotted with the American
Dream
Gatsby's obsession with the American Dream
is what kills him in the end: 'Gatsby turned out
all right in the end, it was what preyed on
Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of
his dreams.' Gatsby channels his infatuation
with becoming wealthy through loving Daisy.
He believes that if he can make her love him
again he will be able to prove to everyone that
he has been accepted into the society as
wealthy man who lives independently.
Gatsby's love is doomed from the start, his
uniform hides his status from Daisy when they
first meet and he puts on a intricate disguise
so that she will fall in love with him. When he
moves across the bay from her in West Egg he
tells everyone that he works in the drug store
business when he is in fact a bootlegger and
does illegal dealings with Meyer Wolfshiem.
Gatsby wants to rewind the clock as if the last
five years haven't happened. In most romance
literature there is a reference to wanting more
time to be with one's lover.
Jordan Baker
Jordan is a free, independent, modest young woman
who isn't interested in love and marriage of even relying
on a man (some would day she is Daisy's opposite, Daisy
being trapped by her marriage whereas Jordan has
much more freedom and independence). Jordan is only
shown to be interested romantically with Nick during
the novel and even then she moves on quickly after
they break up and becomes engaged. This presents to
us that in fact women did men despite their grievances
against it. Context: The 19th amendment was passed in
1919 which gave women the power to vote in elections.
This was a huge step towards equality of the genders
and this is why the 1920's was a much better decade for
women because the vote had given them more freedom
and reliablity.
Daisy Buchanan
Beautiful
'innocent'
Manipulative
Delicate
Cold-hearted
Tom Buchanan
Tom Buchanan is an adulterous, wealthy, and racist
man who believes he can act the way he wants
because in a way he has achieved the ultimate
American Dream and because he has more power
than everyone else. He punches Myrtle, his mistress,
when she speaks out of line because he views her as
beneath him in status. However he treats Daisy with
fragility and care, buying her an expensive house,
giving her a daughter and even marrying her. If we
take the symbols of Myrtle's small apartment and
Daisy's huge mansion we can see that Tom has
clearly bought the apartment for sexual relations
with Myrtle, whereas he has bought the house for
Daisy to show his loyality and how they will raise
their daughter, Pammy, in a stable environment.
(Though of course Tom isn't loyal towards Daisy at
all because he has numerous affairs on her.) Tom
views Myrtle as a sexual object, a play toy, in a
similar way in which Daisy views Gatsby as someone
who will show her love and affection when Tom
doesn't.
Wealthy
Disloyal
Myrtle Wilson
Myrtle is having an adulterous affair with Tom
Buchanan. She claims that she is in love with him
and she is attempting to build a stable home with
him (e.g. the small apartment and the dog. The dog
represents loyality and how Myrtle wants to make
their relationship more serious and important
because normally you don't have a pet together
unless you are in a serious relationship). Myrtle
dreams of living the wealthy lifestyle which Tom
leads and when they are together she falls into this
fake persona where she yells at servants and says
nasty things about her lowly husband:'He wasn't fit
to lick my shoe.' Despite Myrtle's confidence when
she is with Tom she forgets her real status and
pretends to be something she's not. This makes us
questions whether Myrtle actually does love Tom
or is she just desperate to escape her horrid and
poor life?
Married to George Wilson
Has a sister named
Catherine: Bond between
siblings - love