The Great Gatsby Study Guide

The Great Gatsby opens up with a comment by the narrator on some advice given to him by his father, advice which conditioned his relationship to many people during his young adulthood. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages you've had." It is obvious, from the very beginning of the book, that the narrator, Nick Carraway, is well aware of his membership in the upper class of society and defines his outlook based on that position. His father is a successful hardware company owner, a business supervised by three generations of Carraways since its inception during the Civil War. Young Carraway, a graduate of Yale, has decided to move upwards into the bond business, an aspiration common among young men in his society. (read more)