Importance of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

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Importance of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator,

Nick Carraway, tells a story in which Jay Gatsby tries to attain happiness

through wealth. Even though the novel is titled after Gatsby, Nick

analyzes the actions of others and presents the story so that the reader

can comprehend the theme. Throughout the novel, Nick is the vehicle used

to gather all of the pieces together to learn about Gatsby. Nick is the

only character that changes in the novel from the beginning to the end.

Nick is the literary device that is employed to learn about Gatsby, which

ultimately tells the theme of the story. Throughout the novel, flashbacks are

inserted, courtesy of Nick, to reveal piece by piece about the mysterious Gatsby. Nick patches the pieces of the puzzle together regarding Gatsby's past and lack

of a future. Nick is like the box of a puzzle; the puzzle is impossible to put

together without it. Without Nick, the reader's opinion of Gatsby would be

drastically different. The reader's opinion would be swayed by the idea that

Gatsby becomes rich via bootlegging alcohol and counterfeiting bonds. Nick

persuades the observer that Gatsby is "...worth the whole damn bunch (rich class)

put together"(Fitzgerald 162). Even though Gatsby aspires to be part of the upper echelon, he, fortunately, is different from them. Nick also analyzes Gatsby's behavior

in order to provide the reader with details and a summary of the great man. At

the end of the novel, Nick comments on Gatsby's life by stating that "(Gatsby)

had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seem...

... middle of paper ...

...ald 172).

Throughout the novel, Nick is instrumental as voice that tells the

reader about Gatsby. "Nick is "both within and without, never really assimilating

like the rich" (Chambers 41). Most importantly, Nick is the only character in the novel that changes. Nick Carraway is the main character of the novel. Without Nick, the important allegorical message would not be illustrated: Money cannot buy love or

peace of mind.

Works Cited and Consulted:

Berman, Ronald. "The Great Gatsby" and Fitzgerald's World of Ideas. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 1997.

Chambers, John B. The Novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. London: Macmillan/New York: St Martin's P, 1989.

deKoster, Katie, ed. Readings on "The Great Gatsby." San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster Inc., New York: 1991.

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