Homosexuality In The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a magnificently written story about the loss of love, the problems of American wealth, and the reality of life. With these themes in mind, it is important to remember that in our complex reality, not all men are only sexually attracted to women as some would commonly assume. The character of Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby can be characterized as sexually ambiguous and emotionally insecure. On the one hand, Nick Carraway is a person who came from an upper middle class family and is attracted to Jordan Baker, and on the other hand, he demonstrates a sexual attraction toward Jay Gatsby that is hidden due to his strict upbringing as a child. Added to this, he portrays himself as a bit feminine, all
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For example, when Nick privately confessed to Jordan Baker, "I must have felt pretty weird by that time because I could think of nothing except the luminosity of [Gatsby 's] pink suit under the moon" (Fitzgerald 150), it shows that he does in fact have an attraction to Jay Gatsby. Whether or not it is a sexual attraction, it shows that Nick hides and feels sinful of what he considers unacceptable and dangerous desires, which have been conditioned by society and social interaction. Also, in the beginning of the novel, Nick states, "There was something gorgeous [about Jay Gatsby]" (Fitzgerald 6). In addition, Nick realizes that a man is most powerless among other men when one admits to an inner emotional life, such as when Tom Buchanan expressed his sadistic righteousness over Gatsby during his confrontation of him and Daisy. Nick 's immediate response to Tom Buchanan 's humiliation of Jay Gatsby was sympathy for Gatsby and fear for himself. Nick feared that if he expressed his sympathy for Gatsby or fear for himself, it would weaken his own pose of masculine invulnerability and also leave himself open for ridicule by Tom Buchanan. It was after this incident that Nick become exclusively devoted to Gatsby and showed a bias in the description of Gatsby 's character. Toward the end of the novel, Nick transformed the character of an emotional bootlegger that acquired his wealth through organized crime into a mythical American hero with a heart of gold. It is these events that reveal Nick 's attraction to vulnerable men. Vulnerability is what Nick views as "gorgeous" about
For example, when Nick privately confessed to Jordan Baker, "I must have felt pretty weird by that time because I could think of nothing except the luminosity of [Gatsby 's] pink suit under the moon" (Fitzgerald 150), it shows that he does in fact have an attraction to Jay Gatsby. Whether or not it is a sexual attraction, it shows that Nick hides and feels sinful of what he considers unacceptable and dangerous desires, which have been conditioned by society and social interaction. Also, in the beginning of the novel, Nick states, "There was something gorgeous [about Jay Gatsby]" (Fitzgerald 6). In addition, Nick realizes that a man is most powerless among other men when one admits to an inner emotional life, such as when Tom Buchanan expressed his sadistic righteousness over Gatsby during his confrontation of him and Daisy. Nick 's immediate response to Tom Buchanan 's humiliation of Jay Gatsby was sympathy for Gatsby and fear for himself. Nick feared that if he expressed his sympathy for Gatsby or fear for himself, it would weaken his own pose of masculine invulnerability and also leave himself open for ridicule by Tom Buchanan. It was after this incident that Nick become exclusively devoted to Gatsby and showed a bias in the description of Gatsby 's character. Toward the end of the novel, Nick transformed the character of an emotional bootlegger that acquired his wealth through organized crime into a mythical American hero with a heart of gold. It is these events that reveal Nick 's attraction to vulnerable men. Vulnerability is what Nick views as "gorgeous" about