The end of The Great Gatsby sees the protagonist, Nick, leaving the setting of the novel, New York City, for the Midwest, disgusted by the shallowness and falseness he found there. The passage at hand takes place near the beginning of the novel, where Nick relates his own life to Gatsby, and picks apart his own faults while showing that he understands why Gatsby ends up failing. Nick describes himself as having incredible tolerance and morals – he believes that he has the moral right, especially when considering the naïve snobs of East Egg. As a result, he “comes to the admission that it has a limit,” knowing that he cannot tolerate the poor behavior and morality of the East Eggers. At the same time, he finds one jewel in the rough in the form of Gatsby, whom he idolizes, despite everyone else feeling he is an outsider. Nick finds this ironic, stating that he represents “everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.” The passage indicates Nick’s growth as a character, a reflection on the events of the novel, and an ongoing theme of moral virtue, something reflected in the characters of Nick and Gatsby.
The tone of the book is very nostalgic and reminiscent, looking back subjectively on a larger experience in hindsight. Nick is summing up his ultimate feelings, demonstrating reflection on both himself and Gatsby, as well as the citizens of East Egg, in light of the events of the novel. Gatsby “turned out all right in the end,” something that sounds like Nick was convincing himself of that fact despite a certain defeat at the hands of those less morally virtuous than him. At the same time, he admonishes “what preyed on Gatsby,” which is presumably the same kind of societal pressure that could be found in East Egg among those economically privileged and judgmental of the poor (like Nick).
The theme present in this passage is that of personal virtue – something the East Eggers lack but which Gatsby has in spades, according to Nick. He had “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness” such as Nick has never seen in anyone else. Gatsby was able to present morality and good tidings in a world of material wealth and seedy social lives. Nick respected that, and therefore memories of Gatsby would be the only good ones he would take from his New York experiences. Gatsby carried “some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life,” meaning that he was able to detect that virtue that Nick was sorely looking for and missing in East Egg. Finding it there proved to be an incredible discovery by Nick, and one that led him, even while leaving for the Midwest, to remember Gatsby and not lump him in with the same group as the rest of the people he had met in New York.
In conclusion, the passage at the beginning of The Great Gatsby tells the reader a lot about the events they will be reading about – Nick lets them know that it will not work out for him, but despite all that, Gatsby is indeed an interesting and enigmatic figure who will shape Nick’s experience (and the reader’s) irrevocably.
