18 Nick Carraway Quotes from the Classic Tale the 'Great Gatsby'

Nick Carraway's warm personality and illuminating way with words were perfectly captured in both F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel and Baz Luhrmann's movie adaptation, brought to life by Tobey Maguire. Here are some of his best quotes from the novel and the film.

Nearly a century later, F. Scott Fitzgerald's legendary novel is still a pleasant read, filled with many beautiful quotes from its vibrant characters, including Nick Carraway. While the tale is centered around the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his obsession with reuniting with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway plays a vital role in the book's touching plot.

In 2013, director Baz Luhrmann reimagined F. Scott Fitzgerald's timeless piece of writing with the spectacular, star-studded film adaptation of "The Great Gatsby," which saw Tobey Maguire bring Nick Carraway's character to life. Further further for 18 of his most captivating lines from the film and the novel.

Nick Carraway's quote, "I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." | Source: Amodays

Some of Nick Carraway's Most Insightful Words

"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 anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'" — Nick Carraway

"Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope." — Nick Carraway

"A sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth." — Nick Carraway

"People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away." — Nick Carraway

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." — Nick Carraway

Nick Carraway's quote, " I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth." | Source: Amodays

"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired." — Nick Carraway

"I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth." — Nick Carraway

"I am one of the few honest people I have ever known." — Nick Carraway

"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

Nick Carraway's quote, "His smile was one of those rare smiles that you might come across four or five times in life." | Source: Amodays

Nick Carraway Quotes Perfectly Executed by Tobey Maguire

"Possibly, it had occurred to Gatsby that the colossal significance of that light had vanished forever." — Nick Carraway

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and people. And then retreated back into their money and their vast carelessness." — Nick Carraway

"I remember how we had all come to Gatsby's and guessed at his corrupting while he stood before us concealing an incorruptible dream." — Nick Carraway

"Gatsby looked, in that moment, as if he had... Killed a man." — Nick Carraway

"His smile was one of those rare smiles that you might come across four or five times in life." — Nick Carraway

Nick Carraway's quote, "You can't repeat the past." | Source: Amodays

"Young men don't just drift cooly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island." — Nick Carraway

"You can't repeat the past." — Nick Carraway

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." — Nick Carraway

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Nick Carraway's quote, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." | Source: Amodays

Baz Luhrmann has received high praise for his rendition of "The Great Gatsby," brought to life by Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Leonardo DiCaprio. So whether you're a fan of the film or the novel, Nick Carraway's captivating personality has been perfectly captured in both.

The plot of both the film and the novel is filled with many twists and turns, but above all offering a very poetic view on life. For more quotes, here are 41 'Afterlife' Quotes: Grief, Dark Humor, and the Muddy Path toward Healing.