The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

The Good or the Great

The novel The Great Gatsby written by F Scott Fitzgerald was told by the point of view of Nick Carraway. Nick Carraway, the story’s narrator, has a certain place within The Great Gatsby. He is a narrator and also a key character. Not only is he the focal point of the action, but he can also lay low in the background. Because Nick is the narrator, the reader has

nothing to believe other than what he says. He fills the reader in on who people are and what their status is. He keeps a close eye on several important characters, and voices his opinion on what he thinks of them. Being the low-key guy Nick is, he likes to know everything that goes on. Nick hears things here and there when he first moved to West Egg, about the one and only Gatsby.

As a narrator Nick is reliable in certain situations and not reliable in others. For example, he cannot give an accurate story of what happened between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan before he met them. To make up for his lack of information, he turns to Jordan Baker as a source along with Gatsby himself. After having lunch with Gatsby, Nick listens to Jordan describe the history of the romance between Gatsby and Daisy. There is a disadvantage to hearing this story through Jordan's voice, for she is not a very honest character. As a matter of fact, she is “incurably dishonest” according to Nick (Fitzgerald 58). But even with him saying this he believes what she has to say.

Nick’s feelings towards Gatsby change throughout the novel. He is first interested in his neighbor because of the mysterious atmosphere Gatsby exudes. While Nick snoops around trying to find out about the man himself. While becoming good friend, he disapproves of Gatsby as Gatsby’s true character is revealed. And by the end of the novel, Nick is fascinated with him.

Nick is in the perfect position for narrating the novel as well. He