Essay On Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

694 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary criticism of the great gatsby

In his renowned book, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald achieves one of his greatest technical inventions in the form of the narrator Nick Carraway, a character who embodies a critical, moral judgment that contrasts sharply with the wild and crude/despicable personalities of Gatsby’s world, a world choked by the arrogant rich and exploited by the party-going crowd. Through Nick’s observations, the reader explores both the struggles and the aspirations of the mysterious Gatsby, a strangely anti social figure with a tragic past and a hopeful dream. According to his own words, Nick is a person “inclined to reserve all judgment” (1). He is desperately honest, and goes to great lengths to try to prove that he trustworthy. However, despite numerous attempts to convince the audience otherwise, he is not a reliable narrator, for the former claim does not hold true. In the beginning of the book, when Nick is first introduced, he gave an anecdote concerning the advice he received from his father. Nick claims to have been taught to not critic others. Being from a wealthy and well-established family, he had enjoyed privileges that countless others could not. Therefore, “all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that [he has] had” (1). However, it is soon apparent as the story progresses that Nick expresses strong opinions about the characters he meets. Tom is mean, Daisy is shallow, Jordan is dishonest, Myrtle is wild, George is empty and spiritless. Throughout the book, Nick develops a sense of detest towards the party goers like Klipsringer who show up uninvited at Gatsby’s house to drink his liquor. When Nick is finally invited to one of the parties, he emphasizes that he “had been actually invited” (41) in an almost surprise... ... middle of paper ... ...f the book, Nick starts out by telling the reader that his family is a well-established and wealthy one. However, in page 19, when Daisy and Tom Buchannan asked about his engagement, he said that he does not have any plans for marriage because of his lack of money. Regardless, he refuses the Gatsby’s employment offer because of his own pride and humility. Ultimately, the inconsistencies in Nick’s narration make him an unreliable narrator. However, Fitzgerald creates Nick this way on purpose in order to create an intensified sense of mystery. Oftentimes, Nick is confusing by design. The use of an unreliable narrator engages the audience and encourages the reader into seeking out the truth. Because of the systematic use of confusion in The Great Gatsby, the plot structure develops in such a way that major details are not revealed until the latter half of the book.

Show More
Related

  • The (Un)Reliable Narrator

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway. Nick tells the story of the things he experienced when he moved to New York City to work in the bonds business. The reader is told the story, which includes Nick’s perception and opinion in certain events. The reader wants to believe that Nick is a reliable narrator and he seems to be one, in the beginning. Nick describes himself as “one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald, 59). Although, Nick thinks this of himself, there are many things in the story that hint otherwise. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick is not a reliable narrator. This is seen through his negative judgments of others, his friendship with Gatsby, and because he does not know everything about Daisy and Gatsby.

    Read More

  • The Emerfection Of Being Human In The Great Gatsby

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Uma Kocherlakota Mrs. Cristen Cassler AP English Literature and Composition 16 September 2015 The Imperfection of Being Human There is only one thing which every philosopher who speculates about the human condition can agree on, and that is the idea that humans are complex, imperfect beings who may not always understand themselves. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, attempts to reveal this idea about human character by fashioning the narrator, Nick Carraway, into a complex character. He does this by highlighting Nick’s contrasting opinions of and interactions with life amongst the rich, and showing that Nick’s character is not as infallible as he himself would like to believe. Through his contrasting judgements and actions, along with honesty and dishonesty, Fitzgerald paints Nick as the quintessential third party and shows that one’s appraisal of one’s own traits can often be incorrect. It is clear, throughout the novel, that Nick thinks highly of his own tolerance and conduct, his “sense of fundamental decencies,” believing that his are superior to those around him (Fitzgerald 2).

    Read More

  • Moral Ambiguity In The Great Gatsby

    206 Words  | 1 Pages

    The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides the reader with a character that possesses qualities both challenging to understand and difficult to endorse. These characteristics show themselves through the character’s desire and passion to pursue his dream. Jay Gatsby, an elusive, persuasive, and sometimes deceptive man displays such contrast in his moral foundation that leaves the reader questioning his true motives at nearly every action. There is an argument to be made that Gatsby is both great and not so great, making him the epitome of moral ambiguity. For example, Nick, another major character, who happens to be the narrator of the story, first describes Gatsby in the opening chapter of the novel as someone who he both

    Read More

  • SELF- IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR NICK CARRAWAY

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    As much as generous and honest Nick Carraway is, he still needs a few important improvements in himself. Nick went to Yale, fought in world war one and moved to East of New York to work in finance. After moving to New York, Nick faces tough dilemmas throughout the story such as revealing secrets, and witnessing betrayal. His innocence and malevolence toward others was beyond his control. He did not have the ability or knowledge to know what he should have done in the spots he was set in. He seemed lost and having no control of what went on- almost trapped- but indeed, he had more control than he could have ever known. Because of the situations he has experienced and the people he has met, such as Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy, his point of view on the world changed dramatically which is very depressing. Trusting the others and caring for them greatly has put him in a disheartening gloomy position.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Analysis

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is blatantly evident, as his view of Gatsby’s actions seems to arbitrarily shift between disapproval and approval. Nick is an unreliable and hypocritical narrator who disputes his own background information and subjectively depicts Gatsby as a benevolent and charismatic host while ignoring his flaws and immorality from illegal activities. He refuses to seriously contemplate Gatsby’s negative attributes because of their strong mutual friendship and he is blinded by an unrealized faith in Gatsby. Furthermore, his multitude of discrepancies damage his ethos appeal and contribute to his lack of dependability. Among the first indicators of Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is his extreme misunderstanding of his father’s advice.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    4). Nick’s assessment and criticism toward Jordan, Tom, and Daisy also show his skeptical and logical outlook on others around him. This tone shows Nick’s struggle between being like the emotionless and careless people around him (like Tom) or to be his own hopeful and romantic man (following

    Read More

  • Nick's Evolving Perceptions of Gatsby in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    The line of attack we use in order to identify individuals around us is an intriguing thing. Our perception is forever shifting, forever building, and affected not only by the person’s actions, but by the actions of those around them. In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby Nick Caraway’s perception of Jay Gatsby is always changing. All the way through the novel, Nick’s perception of Gatsby changes from him perceived as a rich chap, to a man that lives in the past, to a man trying to achieve his aspirations but has failed.

    Read More

  • Narrative Viewpoint in the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

    2661 Words  | 6 Pages

    Gatsby is quintessentially presented to us as a paradoxical enigma. As the novel progresses this sense of mystery shrouding him is heightened. We see Gatsby through the looking glass, we catch frequent glimpses of him, yet only through Nick’s trained eye. We are, to a certain extent, unable to judge him for ourselves. Even so Nick is eager to depict Gatsby as a multi-faceted character, one who hides behind his own self concocted images of himself. Is this the ‘indiscernible barbed wire’? Is Gatsby himself the ‘foul dust that floated in the wake of’ his own ‘dreams’?

    Read More

  • Why Is Nick Carraway Gatsby Reliable

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    We assume that this unreliability will not partake in our readings. So learning that in The Great Gatsby a character and narrator are unreliable can translate that is it important to watch for in other stories. Knowing this new ability to see a narrator’s unreliability can help us to see in American Literature, how it is American. American’s strive for big dreams and if that means they must lie to get there, then so be it. This story embodies that, with examples of how Nick strives to tell the best story he believes will attract the readers, even though it is exposed as a

    Read More

  • What Are Some Important Quotes From The Great Gatsby

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick begins the novel with wise advice his father once told him, “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”’(1). Nick starts off by reminding himself and informing that throughout the story, save your judgements to yourself and try to put yourself in his or her position. His words are also a reminder that in society today, people tend to judge too quickly and we need to remember that everyone is not in the same position as we are. There will always be someone more or less fortunate than us, and we must be grateful for what we are given.

    Read More

  • Essay On Why Is Nick An Unreliable Narrator In The Great Gatsby

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick attempts to deceive the reader at the beginning of the novel by describing himself as a man who is inclined to reserve all judgments (3). But Nick actually evaluates everyone based off his own bias judgments. He describes Jordan Baker as an incurably dishonest (57) and careless person (58). Tom and Daisy are careless people who “smash-up things and creatures and then retreat back into their money or vast carelessness” (179), according to Nick’s description. He describes Mr. McKee as feminine (30). Nick also describes George Wilson as a spiritless man (25). He is effectively not reserving his judgments. This deception and lying from Nick is another reason why he is an unreliable narrator, which goes against how Nick generally describes himself as an honest man who reserves all judgments, showing his non-objective stance.

    Read More

  • Nick Carraway - Biased Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    Nick wants the readers to believe that the way he was raised gives him the right to pass judgement on a immoral world. He says, that as a consequence of the way he was raised he is "inclined to reserve all judgements" about other people (page 5). His saying this makes it seem like we can trust him to give a fair unbiased account of the story that he is telling, but we later learn that he does not reserve all judgements. Nick further makes us feel that he is a non-partisan narrator by the way he tells of his past. We come to see that Nick is very partial in his way of telling the story. This is shown when he admits early in the story that he does not judge Gatsby because Gatsby had a "extraordinary gift for hope, a romanric readiness". This made Nick more loyal to Gatsby than other characters in the book.

    Read More

  • Nick Carraway

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick is our narrator and the voice of reason in a time and place where parties are the goals and having a good time is all that matters. Parties at Gatsby’s mansion are the rule not the exception and all who attend pay homage to their false prophet Gatsby. He is their leader the charming man living in a mansion and driving and awesome care. Too bad he has no sense of real worth. Yet nick seems to be loyal to him the whole time “They're a rotten crowd, “I shouted across the lawn. “You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.”I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end. First he nodded politely, and then his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we’d been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time” (Pg 162). Nick appears on the sidelines more than in the mix with all the drinkers and boasters and unfaithful spouses. “I forgot to ask you something,...

    Read More

  • Essay On Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is developed as a reliable narrator. His honesty and sense of duty are established as he remarks on his own objectivity and willingness to withhold judgment. However, as the book progresses and Nick’s relationship with Jay Gatsby grows more intimate, it is revealed that Nick is not as reliable as previously thought when it comes to Gatsby. Nick perceives Gatsby as pure and blameless, although much of Gatsby's persona is false. Because of his friendship and love for Gatsby, his view of the events is fogged and he is unable to look at the situation objectively.

    Read More

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

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    He becomes our eyes and ears in this world and we have to see him as reliable if we are to proceed with the story's development. In The Great Gatsby, Nick goes to some length to establish his credibility, indeed his moral integrity, in telling this story about this "great" man called Gatsby. He begins with a reflection on his own upbringing, quoting his father's words about Nick's "advantages", which we could assume were material but, he soon makes clear, were spiritual or moral advantages. Nick wants his readers to know that his upbringing gave him the moral fiber with which to withstand and pass judgment on an amoral world, such as the one he had observed the previous summer. He says, rather pompously, that as a consequence of such an upbringing, he is "inclined to reserve all judgments" about other people, but then goes on to say that such "tolerance. . .

    Read More

More about Essay On Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

Open Document