The Great Gatsby 1

Through the first three chapters of The Great Gatsby, it seems we meet four important characters. These characters are Nick, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby. Nick is the narrator, and he is the good guy. He is a kind and intelligent hero who isn't perfect, but is classified as "a rose, an absolute rose” by Daisy (14). He does the right thing, and mentions he tries to reserve all judgement, and based on his actions, I believe Nick to be a hero.
Tom is a jerk. He is a retired star football player who has endless money and absolutely no moral values. "'Now don't think my opinion on these matters is final,' he seemed to say, 'just because I'm stronger and more of a man than you are'" (7). Tom has a strong and cruel personality. He cheats on Daisy as if it were nothing, and acts as though he can do anything in the world because he is a former star. His actions and characterization leave the audience unimpressed and taken aback, so Tom is a villain.
We are not sure where Daisy fits into the story yet. She seems to have good intentions, and the audience is surely on her side when we find out she is being cheated on, but some of her actions and words are questionable. She tells Nick that she is "pretty cynical about everything" (16). If I had to classify her, she would fit mostly into the category of antihero.
Gatsby's role is foreshadowed greatly in this first section, making the audience believe he is a hero. He has a LOT of money, so much that he orders "five crates of oranges and lemons from a fruiterer in New York-every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves" (39). Despite rumors that he could have killed a man, Gatsby is written as a man of integrity and honor, classifying him as a hero.