Nick, Jordan, Tom, and Daisy come from the same social set. Daisy and Nick are cousins while Tom and Nick are college friends. Jordan and Daisy are girlhood friends. Tom and Daisy have heard rumors from others in their set that Nick is engaged, although this is...
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not true. Most significantly, snobbish Tom accepts Jordan and Nick as social equals and fellow "Nordics."
Tom and Daisy, however, are vastly wealthy, with polo ponies and a mansion, while Nick and Jordan depend on the largesse of relatives. Nick is being bankrolled by his father to start a career in finance, and Jordan lives with an aged relative in New York City. Nick rents a modest home next to Gatsby's mansion and goes to work in New York City everyday on the train.
Nick and Jordan show that acceptance into Tom and Daisy's social set is a function of class—education and background—rather than wealth. They are "in," while the wealthy Gatsby is too nouveau riche for acceptance, at least in the eyes of Tom.
Nick is ever-steady, the observer, the person people can confide in. Jordan is impressively cool and unflappable. Tom is a brutal buzzkill, the type who can ruin any gathering, while Daisy is a charismatic drama queen, always charming but never reliable.
Nick Carraway is the moral compass and narrator in Gatsby. While he
comes from respected family, he is determined to make his own way in the social
world, as well as the business world. He lives in West Egg, yet has the social
clout to live in East Egg.
Tom Buchanan is "old money". The ex-golden boy who relies on his inherited
social standing to maintain his respectability. He cheats on his wife, is a
blatant bigot, and never possessed an ounce of integrity.
Daisy Buchanan lives the dream life, as Tom's wife, yet is disillusioned with
the reality of marriage, and the plight of a woman. She is shallow, yet
vulnerable.
Jay Gatsby, is a man desperate to appear to be a man of culture and class.While
he has accumulated wealth-his house, cars, and clothes are seen as tacky. He
emulates those he decides are the models of who he wants to be.
Nick is well-off, but not part of the wealthy social class that Gatsby, Tom and Daisy belong to. Tom and Daisy have always been very wealthy, and thus their personalities are shaped by it. Tom is loud and his morals are all biased from being wealthy. He is brash and uncaring towards others. Nick on the other hand, is the moral center of the novel. He withholds jugdement from others and tries to do the right thing. Gatsby, is just trying to fit in with the wealthy that he has become. His personality is clearly one of determination (chasing Daisy all of those years) yet he is also a pretender, he fakes being who he is to get into Daisy's society.