15+ Nick Carraway Quotes From 'The Great Gatsby' Explained

Luca Demetriou
Dec 12, 2023 By Luca Demetriou
Originally Published on Mar 15, 2021
Book of poetry outdoors with flower
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Age: 0-99
Read time: 4.7 Min

Nominated as America's best-loved novel, 'The Great Gatsby' talks about a story with tragedy, narrated by Nick Carraway.

"They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together," quoted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, 'The Great Gatsby', are the last words Nick says to Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway has beautifully become the soul of the whole story, portraying the journey so delightfully.

Nick is the fictional character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, 'The Great Gatsby', who is the narrator of the story. In the movie with a similar name, the character of Nick is played by Tom Maguire. Here are the best Nick Carraway quotes from ‘The Great Gatsby’.

If you like these Nick Carraway quotes from 'The Great Gatsby', do not forget to check out [Daisy Buchanan] and Tom Buchanan quotes.

Best Nick Carraway Quotes About Gatsby

Whether it be Nick Carraway quotes about himself or Nick Carraway quotes about Daisy, Nick Carraway judgemental quotes offer the readers useful insights into the background of characters. Here are some of the best Nick Carraway American dream quotes along with some of the most amazing 'The Great Gatsby' quotes.

Close up of woman reading book in park

1. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

- Nick Carraway.

2. “That’s my Middle West...the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark....I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.”

- Nick Carraway.

3. “Possibly it had occured to Gatsby that the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever.”

- Nick Carraway.

4. “I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men. Most of the confidences were unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon.”

- Nick Carraway.

5. “I bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities, and they stood on my shelf in red and gold like new money from the mint, promising to unfold the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas knew.”

- Nick Carraway.

Fascinating Nick Carraway Quotes From 'The Great Gatsby'

Whether it be Nick Carraway quotes about secrets, Nick Carraway quotes Chapter 1 or Nick Carraway quotes and page numbers, you can understand them all only after reading 'The Great Gatsby.' Here are some of the best Nick Carraway quotes from 'The Great Gatsby'.  

6. “Angry, and a half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away.”

- Nick Carraway.

7. “So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.”

- Nick Carraway.

8. “I wasn’t actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity.”

- Nick Carraway.

9. “High over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

- Nick Carraway.

10. “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.”

- Nick Carraway.

Famous Nick Carraway Quotes From 'The Great Gatsby'

'The Great Gatsby' is set in New York and revolves around the triangle of Jay Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy. It is one of the most famous books from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Read on for some of the most famous Nick Carraway quotes from 'The Great Gatsby'.

11. “He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy.

His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was...”

- Nick Carraway.

12. ““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.”

- Nick Carraway.

Great Nick Carraway Quotes From F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is the author of 'The Great Gatsby' and is widely known for this amazing story. Read on for some of the best Nick Carraway quotes from 'The Great Gatsby' for you to enjoy.

13. “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

- Nick Carraway.

14. “Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm.

- Nick Carraway.

15. "A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.”

- Nick Carraway.

16. “The intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions.”

- Nick Carraway.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Nick Carraway quotes, then why not take a look at Jordan Baker quotes, or F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes.

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Written by Luca Demetriou

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English and Drama, Master of Arts specializing in Performance: Design and Practice

Luca Demetriou picture

Luca DemetriouBachelor of Arts specializing in English and Drama, Master of Arts specializing in Performance: Design and Practice

Experienced in writing and sub-editing, Luca holds a Bachelor's in English Literature and Drama from the University of Birmingham, where he served as the culture editor at Redbrick Paper. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Performance: Design and Practice at the University of the Arts in London, showcasing his passion for the arts, performance, and history. With a keen interest in traveling, Luca enjoys exploring new cultures and experiencing diverse perspectives.

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