The Great Gatsby opens up with the narrator, Nick Carraway, establishing his Ethos in order to give the reader a sense of establishment being present. He does this by talking about his moral compass that was passed onto him by his family, specifically his father. To hold true to the values passed down, the narrator's father tells the audience of a quote that changed his perspective of the world for the better, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.” What the narrator also does, is setup the settings for the story (New York City and Long Island). He opens himself up as being a bondsman giving the reader more personal knowledge on himself, and explains how he wants his own life to be more intriguing; the narrator decides to live in a house that sides along the "mysterious Mr. Gatsby or Jay Gatsby" who lives in a ginormous mansion. In a different moment of time, Nick Carraway decides to visit Daisy Buchanan, who is the narrator's cousin. Also met is Tom Buchanan (Daisy's husband) and Jordan Baker (Daisy's childhood friend), both of whom Nick grows closely as the book progresses. Later on, it's opened up that Tom has been having an affair with a mistress when Nick and Jordan find out. Daisy is told of this but disregards it as she does not want the situation to unravel and ruin a great marriage/life. Near the end of the chapter, you see Mr. Gatsby coming outside of his mansion but the narrator is hesitant to call out. I believe that Nick does not want to get in the way of Gatsby and therefore he leaves him be, and as a result Mr. Gatsby simply disappears into the night.
The way I see it, Nick Carraway is essentially intimidated by the people he has met, however he is in awe and fascination with the mysterious Gatsby. There is reason to believe that the narrator wants to be just like Gatsby, but Nick just does not have the money and influence to make it happen. He also feels intimidated because of Tom Buchanan, as he has a lot of money too. The chapter helps to build up the base for the majority of these characters with Tom being a large, provocative person and seemingly mean to others. There is also Jordan Baker who Nick is inferred as being infatuated with, and Daisy who just wants a "perfect" life in some aspect. Actually, to outsiders, Daisy and Tom look like a perfect couple but really they have dark secrets lying inside of them which do not make them perfect.
The way I see it, Nick Carraway is essentially intimidated by the people he has met, however he is in awe and fascination with the mysterious Gatsby. There is reason to believe that the narrator wants to be just like Gatsby, but Nick just does not have the money and influence to make it happen. He also feels intimidated because of Tom Buchanan, as he has a lot of money too. The chapter helps to build up the base for the majority of these characters with Tom being a large, provocative person and seemingly mean to others. There is also Jordan Baker who Nick is inferred as being infatuated with, and Daisy who just wants a "perfect" life in some aspect. Actually, to outsiders, Daisy and Tom look like a perfect couple but really they have dark secrets lying inside of them which do not make them perfect.