The Use of Characters, Symbols, and Narrator in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

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From the beginning of the The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald uses the narrator, symbols, and the characters. Using the narrator, symbol, and characters throughout the novel makes up the book that is popular today. The Great Gatsby is a straightforward story. It slowly creates and shows the characteristics of Gatsby. Nick presents the book through his eyes and his description of what is happening makes the book feel longer than it is (“Gatsby”, Kenneth). Nick describes what he sees and gives the reader his insight. He describes the room that he meets Daisy in during the first chapter. He also describes the dresses Daisy and Jordan wore and this provides us with what his eyes would see (Fitzgerald 12 of 178). Nick’s descriptions and opinions help the reader get in to the book and create their own opinions. The Great Gatsby is many smaller stories connected by the narrator, Nick Carraway. The beginning is three short stories that happen weeks apart. The story Nick is telling all happens in one summer, but he adds in his past and what he learns about Gatsby's past (“Gatsby”, Kenneth). Fitzgerald uses Nick Carraway as the narrator throughout the book. Nick is the connection between the book and the people reading. He connects the side events with Gatsby's story, and connects Gatsby's story to the reader (Doreski). Nick interrupts the story and adds his own perception to the story that he is a part of. Usually this would make the story less smooth but he connects the different stories in to one complete story (Roulstson and Roulston). Nick uses an unofficial tone to share Fitzgerald's formal book to the readers. He recalls the story of Gatsby as a character and a narrator (Roulstson and Roulston). Fitzgerald uses Nick as a n... ... middle of paper ... ...t: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Lisca, Peter. "Nick Carraway and the Imagery of Disorder." Twentieth Century Literature 13.1 (Apr. 1967): 18-28. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Murray, Douglas. "Not-so-great Gatsby: The cult around Fitzgerald's most overrated work feeds the illusions of upper-crust Americans." Spectator 11 May 2013: 19. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. Roulston, Robert, and Helen H. Roulston. "The Great Gatsby: Fitzgerald's Opulent Synthesis (1925)." The Winding Road to West Egg: The Artistic Development of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Lewisburg, Penn.: Bucknell University Press, 1995. 155-169. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 176. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.

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