The Great Gatsby Chapter 1

We meet the narrator of the story, Nick Carraway. While Nick is a major character in the book, his role remains more that of observer. He is a participant in many of the story’s events, but witness and commentator are more important. The story is related as a reflection from Nick, looking back on the events of the past couple of years.  

Nick’s background:  

The book opens with Nick’s reflection on a quote offered by his father, many years prior: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone… just remember just remember that all the people in the world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.”  

We learn that Nick is fascinated, but often repulsed, by the revelations of those who tend to feel comfortable confiding in him. His apparent lack of expressing judgment seems to cause people to be very comfortable confiding in him, even when he doesn't really want to hear it.  

Nick’s background is revealed. He’s come from a prominent family in the Midwest, descendants of dukes, and heirs to a wholesale hardware empire. Nick graduated from college, but then was sent away to fight in The Great War (World War I). Upon his return from the war, he discovers that he has developed a yearning for adventure. He’s also decided that the Midwest was not likely to provide a satisfactory lifestyle, so he has chosen to move to the Eastern Seaboard and pursue an occupation in the bond business. So, in 1922, he heads east. He meets a potential roommate, and they settle on a small house in a place called West Egg, in the Long Island Sound of New York. At the last minute, the roommate backs out of the deal, so Nick is the sole renter.  

Nick notes that two formations of land make the “Eggs.” He lives at the West Egg, which is less fashionable, while the wealthier and more sophisticated elites tend to live at the East Egg. However, even though the West Egg is less vogue, it is still inhabited by a number of tenants who are wealthy. In fact, Nick’s smell and modest home is sandwiched in between two palatial properties, one of them belonging to Gatsby.  

We learn of Gatsby, or at least of his existence, and while we do not yet know of any relationship to Nick, it is revealed that Gatsby is fascinating to Nick. Gatsby apparently possesses certain undesirable attributes, but it is also quite charismatic, with a personality that draws Nick’s attention.

Nick’s cousin, socialite Daisy Buchanan, lives with her husband Tom (who Nick happens to have known in college), at the fashionable East Egg.  

Nick visits Daisy one day at the mansion she shares with Tom. Nick has always liked Daisy, but does not know her well. Tom, on the other hand, is a brutish and arrogant man with an abrasive personality that irritates Nick. When Nick arrives, he meets another guest of theirs, the beautiful and famous golfer, Jordan Baker. The four of them make small talk, and have dinner.  

During the meal, Tom accepts a phone call, away from the table. This call has come from Tom’s mistress. We learn that Tom’s arrogance causes him to do little to hide his infidelities, yet another reason for Nick to disapprove of Tom.  

Later, Tom and Daisy attempt to play matchmakers, in a bid to pair Nick and Jordan. Oddly, after the effort to encourage them to date, Daisy tells Nick that she’d heard convincing evidence that he was already engaged to a girl in the Midwest. Nick expresses his irritation at these rumors, and denies any such relationship. Nick does not commit to pursuing Jordan, but does not dismiss the idea, either.  

Tom drives back to his own home, amused and disappointed in the apparent shallowness of his hosts. When he arrives home, he sees his neighbor, who he still has not met, and knows only as Mr. Gatsby, standing out in the midst of his expansive yard. Nick remains quiet and unseen, as Gatsby curiously approaches the waters edge, and stretches his arms towards the water, in a grand and emotional gesture. Nick sees nothing to gesture to, except for a single green light, very distant, across the water.  

Analysis: 

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the character and history of the narrator, Nick. His background is upper middle class, and he is a man with integrity and values. Understanding that Nick is reasonably cultured and ethical gives us a very important perspective of the eyes that Gatsby is viewed with. While we do learn a very small mount of about Gatsby, the author’s development of the narrator is given to form a base from which the story is to be told.