MBTI Type: ISFJ

Nick just gets swept up into the middle of everything, rather than being an active participant in his own life, although he did run away from his old “boring” life in order to find a more exciting one on Wall Street. He was writer, but gave that up as impractical to focus on doing the ‘normal’ and ‘expected’ thing instead, of working for a living. He’s also more focused and grounded than Gatsby, because he understand that time changes people, you need to move on from the past, and stop trying to recreate it, because you can’t go back. But writing is the only way he can make sense of what has happened when in rehabilitation and to vindicate Gatsby and clear his name. Nick has a more realistic idea about Daisy than Gatsby does, and understands that she and her husband are people who aren’t to be trusted; they use and abuse and then abandon people, which he finds reprehensible from a Fe standpoint. Nick also compromises his own morals to get people to like him, and goes along with their plans to please them. He protests on the part of Daisy when Tom has an affair—showing his thoughts automatically go to her, and whether this is appropriate or not. He tells Gatsby after inviting him and Daisy to tea to get back in the other room, leaving her alone is “being rude.” He also becomes quite angry when those who participated in Gatsby’s parties and benefited off his wealth ‘abandoned him’ and refused to show up for the funeral; and his anger is only exorcised after he writes his book, setting the record straight on his friend’s reputation. He likes to analyze things and insists that he’s being honest, but it’s never quite entirely sincere. He figures out without being told Daisy was behind the wheel of the car that killed Myrtle, even though he initially accused Gatsby (reversing his assumption in a matter of seconds). He has a metaphorical way of looking at things, in how he muses on the ‘green light’ at the end of Daisy’s dock, and how Gatsby sees it as being just out of reach.

Enneagram: 9w1 so/sp

Nick is forever being ‘pulled along’ into other people’s stories, and making decision that compromise his levels of discomfort just to keep other people happy. Even though he worries about introducing Daisy and Gatsby (“she is married woman”), he still does it to please Gatsby, and then participates in their affair by being a third wheel to everything that goes on in the house—hanging out with them, drinking with them, and being friends with them, knowing full well they are having an affair. He rationalizes this away as them deserving happiness, and out of his increasing fondness for Gatsby. He also gets dragged along to Tom’s mistress’ apartment, feels uncomfortable with this (“Daisy is my cousin!”) and tries to leave, only to get talked into staying and getting drunk with all of them. These little compromises of his morals eat at him some, but he shows most of his super-ego 1 wing in the later events of the novel—being appalled when he thinks Gatsby has killed Tom’s mistress and driven off without stopping the car, and then again, when he harshly judges Tom and Daisy for being selfish people who ‘eat others up and spit them out’ when they are done with them, after they leave town rather than pay their final respects to Gatsby.

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