Friendship in The Great Gatsby
The one thing I admire most about the plot and story of The Great Gatsby
is Nick and Gatsby's friendship. The last thing thing Nick tells Gatsby was
"You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." (Fitzgerald 154).
To talk to a friend like that about how much they mean to you, and what you
think about them is something that sometimes even best friends don't say to each
other. Nick was being completely unbiased and judged based on only what he saw
and experienced which makes him a great person. Gatsby knows this too and that's
why he takes his Nicks words very sincerely.
A friendship built in that little time with that much trust and
flexibility is very rare. Nick and Gatsby's friendship seems to have benefitted
Gatsby throughout the novel too. In the very beginning, he spoke to Nick only
to get to Daisy but then started spending time with him because he genuinely liked
him.
Gatsby and Nick both don't seem to have problems with social status in their friendship, they are the one pair in the book who doesn't immediately judge the other by their wealth. All of Gatsby's other friends were wealthy and wanted to be with him because of his wealth, and Gatsby wanted to be with them because of their connections with Daisy. Nick slowly started to admire Gatsby’s efforts to get where he was, Gatsby started to admire Nick’s nature and honesty. Their friendship is very dynamic despite how short it was and probably one of the most real relationships in the novel.
I found this post really interesting, especially because I saw Nick and Gatsby relationship like a roller coaster, and to see a different perspective on their relationship is genuinely eye opening, considering how you compared their relationship to other ones in the novel.
ReplyDeleteHi Veeksha! I like how you discussed how Nick and Gatsby’s friendship grew to be incredibly dynamic in such a short period of time. It never struck me how un-filtered Nick is and how he openly reminds Gatsby of his worth. Their friendship, which is not discussed very often throughout the book, is simply pure and wholesome. I think this is something we can take away from and implement in our friendships and relationships!
ReplyDeleteAt first I didn't really take Nick's comment as a sort of compliment because of how the others behave and were generally viewed by Nick. However, after reading your post I can see how Nick and Gatsby were meant to be close friends. I think that they got along so quickly and without any judgment or problems like the other relationships was because they both know what it's like to not be rich. Nick isn't as rich as Daisy and Tom and Gatsby had to work to become wealthy on his own. I think this similarity between the two and difference from the other relationships is what brings Nick and Gatsby so close more than anything else.
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