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Who was the best character and the worst character in the Great Gatsby? Write a paragraph or more than a paragraph.

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User Derfder
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Answer:

ExplanationThe Great Gatsby is filled with complex and flawed characters, but if I had to pick a best and worst character, I would say Nick Carraway is the best and Tom Buchanan the worst.

Nick, despite his flaws and naivete, functions as the moral compass of the novel. He is obsessed with idealism, justice, and decency, which are in short supply among the other characters. His voice provides the novel's critique of the empty materialism, careless love, and selfishness that pervade the Jazz Age society in which he has become immersed. In contrast, Tom Buchanan is arrogant, brutish, and bigoted. He views people and relationships as contests to be won, not living things deserving of care. His performative masculinity masks a deep insecurity and pettiness.

Tom drags his wife Daisy and mistress Myrtle into his loveless and selfish orbit, caring little how their lives are affected by his recklessness and cruelty. While Nick witnesses the corruption of his era, Tom represents that corruption in human form. Though a deeply flawed character himself, Nick emerges as the conscience of the novel, a striking counterpoint to the moral bankruptcy of Tom Buchanan. The contrast highlights F. Scott Fitzgerald's critique of the era in all its hollow vanity and greed. Overall, Nick Carraway inspires through his yearning for decency, while Tom Buchanan repels through his sheer moral turpitude.

User Quynh
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