Unveiling the Narrator: Exploring Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby

It is important to keep a few things in mind about the structure of the novel and about Nick himself. It is through his observations that our opinions of the other characters are formed. Some of his opinions, particularly those of Gatsby, are biased and therefore flawed. He is still a character and is important to the novel in many other respects, as well as being the narrator.

Although there are some similarities between Fitzgeralds world and the fictional one in The Great Gatsby, we should keep in mind that although the basis for the novel could have been founded on aspects of his own life, that there are also many dissimilarities as well, and that not every author speaks indirectly to us through the voice of the narrator, although with the novel in question, it remains a distinct possibility.

We trust Nick Carraway in his role as the narrator. We read the story from his perspective. Therefore, how we perceive the other characters is based on his opinion. This applies not only to the people, but also to events and phenomena as well. Our impression of the novel and its happenings are largely dictated to us by Nick, because he is our eyes as well as our ears in this fictitious world.

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In telling us his story about the great man, Jay Gatsby, he goes to quite a length in establishing a credibility which is essential for the story. His reflection on his upbringing, particularly his advantages, as his father called them, those being his spiritual and moral values only work to build upon his credibility. For example, by saying that his upbringing provided him with the moral fibre and that consequently he is, inclined to reserve all judgments, about other people provides us with the impression that Nick with give us an accurate, level-headed insight to the story. Ironically enough, this really isnt the case.

He makes an exception to that statement when he judges Gatsby, whom he says has an, extraordinary gift for life, a romantic readiness. In making the preceding statement, he overlooks Gatsbys bootlegging and his association with Wolfsheim, who is rumored to have fixed the 1919 World Series of baseball. So this tells us that Gatsby is not perfect as well which appeals to us because it makes him appear more human, which adds realism to the novel.

It is also furthermore apparent that the only source of true affection in the novel stems from Nick in his regard for Jay Gatsby. He admires his qualities such as Gatsbys optimism, his outlook on life, and also for his ability to dream and to live as though his life was such. These feelings for Gatsby cloud his judgment of the man and as a result of this our impressions and grasp on Gatsbys character is biased and obscure at best.

So, we see that Nick Carraway is the type of person who perhaps means well, but that he has slightly biased opinions which are then transferred over to us, manipulating our point of view to suit Fitzgeralds thoughts. That is of course, however, the role of most narrators, isnt it? We are pretty much forced to come to the same conclusion that Carraway reaches, because there really isnt a person, narrator, or what have you, that provides an unbiased approach to the novel. As all of our impressions are formed by Carraway, all of our opinions could be as inaccurate as Carraways, which is not to say that theyre definitely inaccurate, but merely to suggest that he could be mistaken on a few accounts.

Fitzgerald has chosen a narrator who is very much an average person. This affects the novel in a number of ways, most noticeably by increasing the realism, and by drawing additional attention to it. He went against the grain, so to speak, beyond the norm when he created the character/narrator Nick, but the effect of doing so proves to be beneficial to the storyline in quite a number of aspects.

Sources:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Collier Books Macmillan Publishing Co., 1986.
2. Fitzerald, F. Scott. Introduction. The Great Gatsby. By Charles Scribner III. New York: Collier Books Macmillan Publishing Co., 1986.
3. Gallo, Rose A. F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Ungar, 1979.
4. Daley, Linda. Text Talk. Internet Source, 1997.

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