Them Great Gatsby EssaysThe Whole Damn Bunch of Them in The Great Gatsby
Nick's final compliment to Gatsby was "You're worth the whole damn bunch of the them." This is statement is true because compared to the carelessness of Tom and Daisy; Jay Gatsby was a great man. Another reason why the following statement is true is because in the end of the novel the reader can realize that Gatsby was the one person in the novel (Nick as an exception) that stayed true to him.
Nick admired Gatsby in the end because of the way Gatsby lived his life. Gatsby had a dream, and that dream was to be with his true love Daisy.
Although Nick might not have agreed that living your life for someone else is not the best of ideas but at least Gatsby was determined. Which was what Nick grew to admire in Gatsby. Gatsby never cheated anybody, he never lied to anyone, he never killed anybody like rumors suggested, and he just lived his life the best way he knew how. True that Gatsby was a bootlegger but back in the 1920's being a bootlegger was almost "accepted" how else were men going to get their alcohol in those days.
Nick admired Gatsby's honest determination in winning Daisy back. All of Nick's other friends lied or cheated to each their goals or to higher their status. For example, Jordan Baker Nick's girlfriend who is a golf champion. Jordan Baker cheated her way to the top of the golf championship by moving the golf ball when people were not looking. Nick knew this and Jordan's dishonesty was one of the major reasons why Nick broke up with Jordan when he did. In the movie when Nick delivers that line, he looks up at Gatsby with respect for friend because he did things the right way, he looked at him with relief because things were starting to go Gatsby's way and he looked at him with admiration because Gatsby had gained his prize the moral and the decent way.
Being careless is something that seemed to be second nature to Tom and Daisy. The two would create a problem then leave it behind, move on, and let other people pick up the pieces. This can be proven by the stories of Tom and Daisy moving all the time. Also in the end of the novel Tom and Daisy leave their home without saying goodbye and do not even attend the funeral when they were the cause of his death.
Nick knew this about his cousin Daisy and this is why Nick believed that Gatsby was worth all of them put together. Compared to Tom and Daisy Jay Gatsby was a great man. Gatsby kept to his own business, unlike Tom. Gatsby never had "his people" spy on Daisy to find out where she was he did it himself. Gatsby's way was throwing extravagant parties in hopes that Daisy would one day attend. Which is opposite of Tom, who had "his people" find out all the dirt and information on Gatsby that they could.
Tom did not like Gatsby, and finding out about Gatsby's personal life was the way that Tom planned to ruin him. Gatsby also cared about his true, few and close friends. Gatsby cared about Daisy and he lived his whole life trying to prove it, trying to be the man she wanted Gatsby to be. Gatsby also cared about Nick and he showed this by being Nick's friend and treating him well.
Gatsby's behavior toward his loved ones is very much unlike Daisy's. Examples of this are when Daisy killed Myrtle with the car and she did not even bother to stop, she just kept on driving not caring that she destroyed a life. Daisy also left Gatsby in the first place when they were younger because Gatsby was not rich enough for her, and thirdly, the best example would be Daisy not showing at Gatsby's funeral. Daisy would have heard about the funeral because it was all over the newspapers, and knowing how much he loved her, and how much her cared about her, she did not go to the funeral.
Compared to Tom and Daisy's carelessness why wouldn't Gatsby be worth them. Nick realized that Gatsby was a better person than Tom and Daisy put together.
Gatsby stays true to himself by staying true to Nick, to Daisy, and even to Tom. As mentioned in the beginning Gatsby never really lied to anybody, he was always honest with himself, staying true to himself. Gatsby's intentions were to meet with Daisy through Nick and he never lied about that fact. Nick always knew that one of the reasons why Gatsby was his friend was that Gatsby wanted to reunite with Daisy and Nick was the one who could make that happen. Gatsby's love for Daisy remained real and true throughout his life. He never stopped loving her because she left him in the beginning for the reason that he was poor.
He never stopped loving her because she married Tom, and also he never stopped loving her because she had a child with Tom and did not tell him from the start. Gatsby was also honest with Tom. As soon as Gatsby got the chance to tell Tom that he and Daisy loved each other he did, even against Daisy's wishes. Gatsby never wanted to lie about his feelings for Daisy.
Gatsby was the only character in the novel (besides Nick) that was honest to him and to the others.
His goal in life was to be with Daisy and all he wanted was to fulfill this goal. That remained true through out the novel.
In conclusion Nick's statement is true. He was "worth the whole damn bunch of them" because he was admired by Nick, because compared to the rich and careless Tom and Daisy Gatsby was a great man and finally because Gatsby remained true to himself and the others.
The only fault Gatsby found was that he did not live long enough to fully enjoy being "The Great Gatsby".
