think that money could buy happiness. Gatsby’s though process is a prime example of that: he thought that he could win over Daisy by impressing her with his extravagant parties. The fact is, Daisy, being materialistic herself, probably would have been won over, had she not been already married to a rich man. That materialism is what leads to the character’s corruption. Gatsby was so materialistic that his morality was completely lost – he was led to break the law, gambling and bootlegging, in order to satisfy his materialism. Nick however, went unaffected by materialism. Nick was moral, and had more values; he valued hard work. After all, the reason he moved to the East was in search of work as a bond salesman. When Gatsby asked Nick if he was interested in "side money," which Nick believed was gained by illegal means, he refused because it would have been immoral. Also, as stated earlier, Nick did not feel the need to impress other people with what he owned, or with a high-culture personality. Because Nick was not materialistic like the other characters, he remained uncorrupted, and his morality was not lost in search of money and power. Finally, Nick was unbiased and slow to judge, making him the most reasonable and intelligent character, and showing that he is not naive like the others. Nick tells about his father’s advice to him, "Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had all of the advantages you’ve had." (Page 1) Nick then says, "In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up man curious natures to me, and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores." (Page 1) One example that supports his words is just before Nick met Gatsby, when he heard rumors about Gatsby’s past. Jordan’s friend Lucille said, "Somebody told me that thought he killed a man once." (Page 44) Lucille follow...
