Monumental Changes in The Great Gatsby

             Scott Fitzgerald, chronicles the demise of a wealthy New York scammer – Jay Gatsby. The book focuses on Gatsby and his foolish attempts to get a married woman. But, two unaccounted characters are Nick Caraway and George Wilson. Fitzgerald uses these seemingly small characters to convey how an individual's can affect another individual. .
             In The Great Gatsby, Nick is portrayed to be Gatsby's best, and only, friend. He arrives to the West Egg and lives in a humble home compared to Gatsby's lavish mansion. In the novel, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to develop Nick Carraway as a character. Nick acknowledges in the beginning of the book that he is, "slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires" (p. 47). These "brakes" place him as an insider and outsider in multiple situations. For example, in the scene with Tom and his mistress, in his New York apartment; Nick finds himself as an insider because he is related to Tom, by way of Tom's wife Daisy. However, he restricts himself as an outsider, by not fully participating in the festivities of the shamelessly wealthy, and the class-blurred poor. Although he rarely participated in these activities, they fascinated him, especially those of the mysterious Jay Gatsby. .
             Nick first had an encounter with Gatsby at one of his talk-of-the-town parties, in which Nick was the only one to receive a formal invitation. Gatsby kept his presence minimal, keeping Nick even more curious about him. Nick unknowingly is lured into becoming a part of the shamelessly wealthy, by way of Gatsby. Like a maternal figure, Gatsby fed Nick just what he wanted, acceptance. Doing so, Nick began to trust Gatsby; in which Gatsby slowly eroding Nick's personal values. As Nick became closer with Gatsby, he embraced the lifestyle he once attempted to avoid. Gatsby used Nick to become closer to Daisy; Nick bought into Gatsby and was lured into Gatsby's green tinted blindness.