The Great Gatsby #1

From my first reading of The Great Gatsby, I have gathered that Nick and Gatsby are heroes, Jordan is an antihero, and Tom is a villain. From the very first page, Nick characterizes himself as a non-judgmental person by saying that he is  “inclined to reserve all judgments.” He later goes on to explain that he is also very honest. Both of these traits are perceived as being extremely important in our society, so the audience views him as the epitome of a hero. Gatsby is still somewhat of a mystery at this point. Little is known of him, but rumors are circulating about his past. However, the narrator portrays him in a relatively positive light, so the audience thinks of him as a good person. Unlike Nick, Jordan is not honest at all and is a known cheater. Yet, the narrator continues to characterize her positively for the most part. On page 45, he says that Jordan nods in "a cynical, melancholy way", but he never classifies her as being evil. Last, but not least, is Tom. Tom is the obvious villain in this story because of his physical state and personality. He takes advantage of his power and acts as if he owns the world. He, clearly, does not care about the well being of others and seeks to improve only his own life by pushing others down.