One of the qualities of Nick that stood out to me the most in this novel was that he acquired many secrets and bits of information that he kept all to himself. He meets Tom’s mistress but does not mention anything to Daisy about it, and he knows the truth behind who killed Myrtle Wilson but also never says anything. It is hard to tell if this is a good quality or bad quality in him. He describes himself as tolerant, open-minded, quiet and a good listener and “inclined to reserve all judgement,” as a result people often tell him their secrets. Even though Nick is the main character in the novel it seems at times that he is a secondary character. He is never the centre of the action and instead prefers to comment on it. These qualities make him an unsuitable fit for the New York lifestyle. Unlike many of the other people living in the city at this time, Nick finds this lifestyle grotesque. Like Daisy, Nick has also come from a family of money but unlike Daisy he has managed to obtain a conscience, and a common decency about him. His character guides us in between the two extremes of the different classes of West and East Egg. He never truly belongs to either class, therefore, he can never fit into the New York lifestyle and moves back out West at the end of the novel.
Unlike the other characters Nick also isn’t defined by his money. Gatsby offers him a job where money is promised and he denies it, even though his job in the stock business is not earning him much money. He looks deeper into all the characters and does not simply view and define others by their money. “It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life” (p.49). Through this quote it becomes clear to the reader that Gatsby himself is appealing to Nick and not just his wealth. Nick does not like or dislike people based on their class and wealth. He looks deeper into people making him a much more dynamic character than all of the others.
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