Is the Great Gatsby really great? It seems so according to Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel “The Great Gatsby”. Nick has a moral background that allows him to judge Jay Gatsby accordingly. His descriptions not only created sympathy, but also made Gatsby, the outlaw bootlegger, somehow admirable. F. Scott Fitzgerald presented this ethical trick to expose people's delusions about the American dream and uses Nick to show sympathy for the efforts. In the Roaring '20s, the booming economy gives rise to the concept of the American Dream. People chase the American dream in search of happiness while some believe that wealth will solve everything in life. For the same reason, they are willing to idolize Gatsby. Hunters are inspired by men of action, just as Nick is fascinated by Gatsby before meeting him. Nick's fascination turns to idolatry after Gatsby invites him to his party. Nick describes that Gatsby had “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance, which you may meet four or five times in life (chap. 3).” This description combines Gatsby's appearance with people's expectations of a man who achieved the American dream. The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of seeing everything they have worked and fought for redefined if reality disappoints them. Just like aspirants who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spends his entire life pursuing it, of which Daisy was a major component. Gatsby's "American Dream" seems to come true when Daisy comments that it "looks like the man's advertisement (Ch7)." But Daisy ultimately betrays Gatsby and returns to Tom's arms. This is the final nail in the coffin, with Gatsby's dr...... middle of paper...he doesn't tolerate Tom and Daisy and defines them as careless people who "destroy[ed] things and creatures and then retreat [ed] in their money or in their great carelessness[...](Ch.9).” And at this point Nick, who reserves all judgement, also gives a strong opinion by defining Tom, Daisy and the upper class as "a rotten crowd". Later, he states that Gatsby is "worth a damn lot put together (ch. 8)." Is the Great Gatsby really great? She couldn't be without Nick's presence. A smuggler who aspires to extravagance and is attracted to a married woman certainly does not deserve our sympathy. The pursuers of the American dream only crave wealth, but fail to appreciate the beauty of life, and this is where the great tragedy comes. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby: Complete and Uncut. London: Wordsworth Editions, 2001. Print.