In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
Related Characters: Nick Carraway (speaker)
Explanation and Analysis:
In the novel’s opening lines, Nick Caraway recounts this important piece of counsel from his father. He presents himself as a character who is simultaneously privileged and empathetic.
This statement establishes, first, the high socioeconomic status enjoyed by most of the protagonists in the novel. Though Nick is far from the wealthiest character, his ties to old money and academic pedigree as a Yale graduate bring him into contact with the élite of both West and East Egg. Yet this line also immediately creates a level of distance from those élite: Nick is aware of his position and actively seeks to treat those from all walks of life with respect. He thus establishes himself as not only an accepting character, but also a relatively impartial narrator.
Fitzgerald gives us, then, a character who is both inside and outside of this privileged social sphere. At times he is fully enamored by the culture, while at others he points out the flaws in its decadence. The implication here, after all, is that many others with similar “advantages” as Nick are far more critical of those who hail from different social backgrounds. The more accommodating perspective that will pervade the novel, this line implies, comes from an early piece of “advice” from Nick’s father—indicating that his views are shaped by key developmental experiences.
“And I hope she’ll be a fool — that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Related Characters: Daisy Buchanan (speaker), Pammy Buchanan
Explanation and Analysis:
Daisy reflects while Nick visits her on her relatively despondent state of mind. As an example, she tells the story of her daughter’s birth, during which she exclaimed this disconcerting wish for the child.
This passage gives excellent insight into Daisy’s character and relationship with Tom. Her desperation at the moment of her daughter’s birth was partly caused by his absence—which is characteristic of his generally selfish and neglectful nature. Yet Daisy’s hope for her daughter is, intriguingly, not that she has a supportive husband or can take care of herself. Rather, she wishes her to be a “fool”: someone who is too simple or ignorant to correctly perceive what is happening around them. The implication, here, is that Daisy wishes she herself could be a fool, for it would allow her to enjoy the luxuries of Tom’s life without being aware of his unfaithful behavior or the hollowness behind the extravagance.
Fitzgerald thus presents Daisy as not only confined by Tom but also by her own conceptions of what it means to be a woman and a wife. She is, rather ironically, herself a fool for not having realized how narrowly she defines a good female identity. The passage shows how Fitzgerald perceived gender roles to have functioned in the American twenties: men, in his account, saw themselves as bread-winners expected to be chasing the American Dream, while women like Daisy and her daughter were told to be no more than “a beautiful little fool.”
