F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby demonstrates what Marie-Laure Ryan, H. Porter Abbott and David Herman state about what narratology should be. These theorists emphasize the importance of conflict, human experience, gaps and consciousness, among many other elements, in order for a story to be considered a narrative. The Great Gatsby shows these elements throughout the book in an essential way. This makes the reader become intrigued and desperate to know what will happen next. The Great Gatsby is unpredictable throughout the use of gaps, consciousness and conflict. Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s narrator, relates Jay Gatsby’s story in a manner that is at once concise and indirect. These two qualities are not at odds with each other; in fact, the more concise one is, the more one must leave out. Matthew J. Bolton points out in his article “A Fragment of Lost Words”: Narrative Ellipses in The Great Gatsby that “[e]very narrative has elisions” (Bolton 190). These elisions are known as gaps within a story. Without gaps, the story will become drawn out, making the readers bored while reading. The objective is to get the readers to desire what is about to happen next. If the reader is not intrigued, the objective will not be reached. Because he himself is so closely involved with the story he tells, Nick has an interest in leaving gaps between his narrative discourse and the “real” story. This is especially true when Daisy, Nick’s cousin, asks Nick about a rumored engagement. To which he responds: “Of course I knew what they were referring to, but I wasn’t even vaguely engaged. The fact that gossip had published the banns was one of the reasons I had come East. You can’t stop going with an old friend on account of rumors, and on the o... ... middle of paper ... ...'ys Party: The System and the List in Contemporary Narrative by Patti White 47.4 (1993): 269-271. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014. Preston, Elizabeth. "Narrative." Implying Authors in "The Great Gatsby" 5.2 (1997): 143-164. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014. Rohrkemper, John. "College Literature." Allusive Past: Historical Perspective in "The Great Gatsby" 12.2 (1985): 153-162. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014. Ryan, Marie-Laure. “Toward a Definition of Narrative.” Herman 22-35. Schreier, Benjamin. "Twentieth Century Literature." Desire's Second Act: "Race" and "The Great Gatsb'ys": Cynical Americanism 53.2 (2007): 153-181. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014. Westbrook, J.S. "American Literature." Nature and Optics in the Great Gatsby 32.1 (1960): 78-84. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014. Will, Barbarba. "College Literature." "The Great Gatsby" and the Obscene World 32.4 (2005): 125-144. JSTOR. Web. 16 Apr 2014.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,1996. Print.
Gibb, Thomas. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby" The Explicator Washington: Winter 2005. Vol. 63, Iss.3; Pg. 1-3
Schreier, Benjamin. "Desire's Second Act: 'Race' and the Great Gatsby's Cynical Americanism." Twentieth Century Literature 53.2 (Summer 2007): 153-181. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Kathy D. Darrow. Vol. 280. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Sutton, Brian. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Explicator 59.1 (Fall 2000): 37-39. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Raleigh, John Henry. "F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: Legendary Bases and Allegorical Significances." F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Arthur Mizener. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963. 99-103.
Gross, Dalton, and Maryjean Gross, eds. Understanding "The Great Gatsby": A Student Casebook to Issues,
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
...ald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
In the opening chapters of ‘The Great Gatsby’ the elusive protagonist ‘Gatsby’ is only mentioned fleetingly and from many different perspectives. Gatsby’s reputation precedes him making it difficult for the reader to form a clear view of his true ch...
In novels containing interweaving plot and varying scenes, the author's selection of point of view becomes a primary factor in its impact and effectiveness. The Great Gatsby is such a novel which demonstrates this point most evidently. While Fitzgerald's decision to view the plot through the eyes of Nick Carraway presents certain limitations, it provides the means to relate the tone and message of the novel as whole.
Batchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Hickey, Angela D. "Critical Examination: The Great Gatsby." Rpt. in Masterplots: Revised Second Edition. Vol. 5, Frank Magill, ed. California and New Jersey: Salem Press, 1996. 2651-2
“The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays a world filled with rich societal happenings, love affairs, and corruption. Nick Carraway is the engaged narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a member of Gatsby’s circle. He has ambivalent feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s magnificent capacity to hope. Using Nick as a moral guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to illustrate the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve this, Nick’s credentials as a reliable narrator are carefully established and reinforced throughout the story.
Sutton, Brian. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby." Explicator 59.1 (Fall 2000): 37-39. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 157. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Douglas, Ann. The Women of The Great Gatsby. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1995.