Some readers are irritated by Nick Carraway as a Narrator. What is your view of Fitzgerald’s use of Nick Carraway as a narrator? Some readers can be hugely irritated by Nick as a narrator because he can be seen as lacking insight and very unperceptive ultimately this makes the reader feel wary about trusting Nick. He cannot give an accurate account of what has happened between Gatsby and Daisy before he met them. To make up for his lack of information, he turns to other sources such as Jordan Backer and Gatsby himself.
At various points in the novel, Nick’s conversations with other characters serve to inform the reader about events that took place before Nick’s involvement in the story. In chapter IV, Nick listens to Jordan Baker describe the history of the romance between Gatsby and Daisy. However he uses direct speech and para-phrases what she has said so how do we know what we hear is accurate. The reader can bear Nicks intoxication of Gatsby to a certain extent but then it becomes quite aggravating.
Nick romanticising of Gatsby creates doubt in the readers mind, if he is so engulfed by him why would he ever seen Gatsby in a negative way. His feeling towards Gatsby change throughout the novel. He is very interested in him because of the mysterious atmosphere he receives. Nick’s opinion of Gatsby may colour his narration and therefore distorts the reader’s view of him. The reader cannot be sure whether this distorted view leads the reader to view Gatsby worst or better than he is.
He is so engulfed in Gatsby’s amazing persona that he may not give an accurate account, as he is blinded by his admiration or even love. It could be easy for a reader to become exasperated because he is always sympathetic towards Gatsby, never admitting that he has acted wrongly. He is too deeply involved in events and relationships. Therefore he is biased; he is drawn to be more sympathetic towards Gatsby, and negative and sarcastic towards Tom Buchanan.
Nick’s positive attitude towards Gatsby is shown by when he says ‘They’re a rotten crowd… You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together’ Nick compliments Gatsby and puts him above everyone else like on a peddle stool. By not treating Gatsby equal to the other characters we don’t get to see the real Gatsby as Nick is always protecting his reputation. On the other hand, he is not very understanding of Tom Buchanan. He describes him of conveying an ‘impression of fractiousness’. Nick’s contrasting views towards two main characters may have influenced the way he describes the events.
Another irritating aspect of Nick’s narration is that he is judgemental and hypocritical. He does judge people despite his statement that he is ‘incline to reserve all judgements’ Nick is a smug, self-righteous man who says ‘I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known’. Many of the description he gives of people and events may be based on his prejudices and faulty judgements. However it is also easy to see Nick as a reliable and assuring narrator through Fitzgerald’s use of narrative techniques.
He is in the perfect position for narrating the novel. Nick is the character who links everyone in place and can offer an eyewitness account of most of the events that happen to the three main characters. Therefore, he serves well as a reliable, objective narrator. The unjudgemental nature he has obtained from his father is another factor that makes him an impartial narrator. Nick is tolerant and a good listener, so the description he gives of each event and character is highly analytical and less biased than other people may be. He is not the only one talking.
If he were the only one talking, some might suspect the events to be made up by Nick himself. However, there are other people who tell Nick about the past and their emotions including Jordan and Gatsby. Therefore, Nick’s comment about how Gatsby feels toward Daisy is not entirely his imagination. He tells the readers some rumours concerning Gatsby without expressing a strong opinion on them. Nick simply repeats whatr people say about the mysterious nouveau-rich neighbour now settled in West Egg. By doing so, he provides the readers with different views of Gatsby. He is being fairly objective.
