The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of the mysterious Jay Gatsby through the eyes of an idealistic man who lives next door to the eccentric millionaire. Nick Carraway arrives on the East Coast with dreams of wealth, high society and success in mind. It isn't long before Gatsby becomes one of his closest friends who offers him just the lifestyle and status Nick has been looking for. As the story unfolds, it is easy to see that the focus on Jay Gatsby creates a false sense of what the story really is. The Great Gatsby is not the tragic story of James Gatz (Jay Gatsby), but rather the coming of age story of Nick Carraway. In many ways Gatsby and Nick's journeys parallel each other, but ultimately it is Nick's initiation into the real world that wins. Nick's maturation begins with his description of his time leading up to his arrival in West Egg, “I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter century after my father, and shortly thereafter participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War” (Fitzgerald, 3). The protagonist enters the story having not lived much of his life in the normal world he wishes to successfully conquer. He goes straight from school to war, where he finds heroic satisfaction. Yet, somehow, Nick manages to maintain a part of himself that is innocent and pure despite being immersed in the horrors of war. Not long after attending his first party at Gatsby's, Nick confesses that "everyone suspects that he possesses at least one of the cardinal virtues, and that is mine: I am one of the few honest people he has ever known" (Fitzgerald, 59). Nick's level of idealism and virtuosity begins with such an innocent gesture... middle of paper... towards a young man, but the truth is that it is a glimpse into the life of a man who chooses in maintaining his virtue at the expense of his dreams. Unfortunately for Gatsby, he learns a similar lesson to Nick, but never gets the chance to move on with his life. Gatsby's death symbolizes the death of Nick's last hope in his dreams. When Nick says his last words to Gatsby, “They are a rotten mob. . .You're worth the whole damn bunch put together,” the smile he sees on his friend's face is not an acceptance of the compliment, but rather an acknowledgment that Nick is actually expressing Gatsby's thoughts about Nick as well (Fitzgerald, 154). This final moment together unites Gatsby and Nick in the dissolution of their dreams Although these men are parallel to each other, Nick's maturation and future life are always connected to Gatsby's friendship...