Who Is The Narrator Of The Great Gatsby?

An Analysis of Nick Carraway as a Narrator

The Great Gatsby is a highly renounced work of F. Scott Fitzgerald from 1925.  This is a book and novel which tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man who intends to get back his lover, Daisy.

In this story, we see symbolism and strong themes like corruption, society, love, cheating and more.  But today, we will discuss one of the most prominent characters in the great Gatsby, Nick Carraway who is the narrator of the story.

Nick Carraway – Character Overview

Nick is the antagonist and the narrator of the story “The Great Gatsby”.  He has come from the West to New York to work in bond businesses.  Nick is not wealthy, unlike other characters portrayed in the story, but he is highly intrigued by their lifestyles.

Nick seems to be the accurate choice because he knows all the characters well to give us an idea while also allowing us to make our interceptions about them.  Also, he is a good confidante of people.  People come up and talk to him because he is sympathetic, fierce, and seems to be non-judgmental.  People open up to him easily.

Nick is Daisy's cousin, and he has come here to be rich and experience their lifestyle.  However, throughout the story, he gets pulled between two thoughts.  One is how he adores and looks up to the fun and fast-paced lifestyle of the rich, but he also finds it to be fake and grotesque.

One example of this is when we see his admiration for Jordan Baker.  He likes her for her sophisticated acts, but somehow, these acts also seem to be rude and unfair towards others, as if posing higher authority.

People from the East come to the West to fulfill their dreams of getting rich.  Nick lives in a neighborhood where rich people surround him, and one of them is Gatsby.  He is curious to know about their lives and their key to success.  Nick's inquisitive character and observing personalities make him a good narrator choice.

 Seeing both sides and being well antiquated to both parties and having an open mind with a friendly attitude makes him the right choice.  However, he does not seem pushy about his ideologies on people's events and actions.  We see most statements with irony, leaving for the audience to decide.

Nick's role as a Narrator

There are many debates surrounding whether Nick is the best narrator choice.

Nick is supposed to be the narrator, and in the beginning, we see him stating that he is “inclined to reserve all judgment." but throughout the story, we see him making a judgment based on different people and their situations and choices.

He is the window, leading us to the lives of elite people, but he is also involved in the event.  For example, he is the reason why Gatsby and Daisy met.

This makes him subjective and objective and makes us wonder if he is the right person to narrate the story.

Nick is observant and intelligent and can easily see through people's actions and intentions, which gives us more clarity on numerous occasions.

It is mainly due to Nick's narration that we see the narration changing from realistic truth to cliffhangers, foreshadows, and acts, making it a modernist work of art. All this makes the story very dramatic while also unfolding events and climaxes, which makes it exciting. View Examples

Nick’s Narration

Nick's narration is popular for his storytelling attributes and how deeply he indulges us with the character.  His vivid deceptions help us paint an exact picture of the story, which makes it worthwhile.

Some of his well explained works include:

"And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.”

“I wasn’t actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity.”

“Reserve judgments are a matter of infinite hope”.

“There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.”

"He looked at her like all women want to be looked at by a man."

“They’re a rotten crowd. You are the whole damn bunch put together”.

With Nick's simple words, we could understand the character and get an idea about the characters thoughts, lifestyle, and interception.  His well-said difference between the West and east coast gives us a clear picture of how lifestyles on both sides differ, which is enough for the audience to paint their own picture.

Nick’s narration is also one of the major reasons why the readers came across the topics of justice, the American dream, fake socialite lifestyle, and corruption prevailing in the upperclassman families.

Conclusion

Gatsby is one of the most popular works in history and it would be wrong not to give Nick any credit for that.  Nick's storytelling is reliable while also being unreliable because he is involved with the stories, meaning he might have some judgment which makes us sometimes question the events.

However, his narration is beautiful and not complex.  All the events are well described along with perfect character portrayal.

Nick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being educated at Yale, goes to New York to learn the bond business.  He is honest, tolerant and highly patient who has reserved judgment.

Irrespective of his values, Nick does not judge others, making him a comfortable charterer to confide in.

It is no brainer that he is not as wealthy as others, but somehow is still curious about their lifestyle.  However, his mind is still contradicted, thinking how corrupt their life is.  Although Nick's characters might seem a misfit in the present scenario, he may have been introduced for us audience to resonate and build a perspective on the lives of upperclassman families.

 Overall he did great juristic to his narration and description of characters, which did allow the reader's to focus on highlighted themes which were the main motivate of the writer.