In The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator Nick Carraway presents himself as a trustworthy narrator, yet his actions throughout the story contradict this. The novel is written from the perspective of Nick in the first person as if he is the author of this novel. Nick believes he has the moral high ground because he is honest and non-judgmental, which is established in the first two pages of the novel. Fitzgerald begins the novel by portraying Nick as a morally superior narrator for the reader to empathize with, only for the reader to find out later that he is dishonest and no better than the people he is criticizing, which shows that everyone is prone to the fallacy of thinking they are better than those around them.

The novel begins with Nick trying to convince the reader that he is a good, trustworthy man. In the first line of the novel, Nick recalls his “younger and more vulnerable years,” during which his “father gave [him] some advice” (Fitzgerald 4). The use of the words younger, vulnerable, and father evokes pathos, as it paints a picture of a naive and innocent narrator. A few lines into the story, Nick claims that he is “inclined to reserve all judgment” (Fitzgerald 4). He views his tolerance and supposed non-judgemental nature as having “fundamental decencies,” which he sees as a good thing. And yet he calls himself a “victim” of being the confidant of the dull people around him (Fitzgerald 4). Nick establishes himself as the moral compass of goodness. But this is also a huge red flag as peopleʼs true nature is shown by their actions, not what they say; a good person would not tell you that they are a saint the first time they meet you.

Nick wants the reader to believe that he is righteous, but his actions throughout the novel show that he is a hypocrite. Right off the bat, Nickʼs claim of being nonjudgemental is disproven by his first description of Tom Buchanan, the husband of his cousin Daisy. He recounts Tom as having a “supercilious manner (...) [with] shining arrogant eyes” which gave him an “impression of fractiousness” (Fitzgerald 8). At this point in the story, the reader knows nothing about Tom, and so their only choice is to believe in Nick. Nick soon proves that he is not morally superior to the people around him, including Tom. He writes love letters to a girl back in his hometown, “signing them” with “Love, Nick,” and yet at the same time he is (sort of) in a relationship (although not one that he took very seriously) with Jordan Baker (Fitzgerald 47). Adding to his own arrogance, in the very next paragraph he praises himself as “one of the few honest people that [he has] ever known” (Fitzgerald 47). Furthermore, he even helped to set up the affair between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. Tom Buchanan has a mistress, Jay Gatsby is having an affair with a married woman (and trying to break the marriage), and Nick judges them for it. He disapproves of their immorality, and yet he is no different from them.

Through the character of Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald criticizes the arrogance in human nature: the fallacy of believing that you are better than those around you. Nick is not morally superior to those around him; we are not better than those around us either. We can all make the same mistake as Nick — judging others when we should be judging ourselves.

Hey, want to know one more reason as to why Nick Carraway is a liar? Heʼs dishonest about his own sexuality. Nick is a queer-coded character, and Fitzgerald uses this to strengthen his immorality (1920s homophobia am I right?), further proving him a deeply flawed character. Wait, how is Nick gay? I hear you ask. Well… After the party at Myrtleʼs apartment, he follows Mr. McKee out of the apartment… only to end up in his bedroom, with McKee naked (only in his underwear) on his bed. How do you even explain this?? There is no straight explanation for this. They left the apartment at 12 am, and Nick ends up at the train station at 4 am. What happens between those 4 hours huh?? Nick totally has a thing for Gatsby, just saying. The way that he describes his smile… yea heʼs totally pining. Also isnʼt it beautiful how the two are exceptions to one another? Nick thinks Gatsby is the only great person in the world who is not corrupted by wealth, and Gatsby sees Nick as his only friend, the only person in the world who values him as a person and not for his social status or wealth. “You're worth the whole damn bunch put together” Beautiful <3 Thereʼs a lot more but I donʼt have time to say haha byeeee