"... I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn." (Fitzgerald 2)
Jay Gatsby is the main character in The Great Gatsby, however he is not the narrator of the story. The Great Gatsby is written from the point of view of Nick, a man who the reader learns very little about. Nick is not a main character in the story; in fact it could be argued that he has little to no involvement in the story at all. So why is the story written from his perspective?
The beginning of the novel is the only time we really learn anything about Nick. We learn that his nature is to reserve judgment on people, and to be tolerant of people's faults. This is an interesting setup for the story, as all of the characters have noticeable faults. Because of his tolerant nature, Nick is able to portray these characters free from judgment, with an unaffected point of view. Nick is an outsider in this story because he is the only character that has no previous close connection to any of the other characters. Therefore, Nick provides a unique point of view on the characters and their lives. Though Nick is involved with the events in the story, he views them as an outsider. " I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life. Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them together." (97) The Great Gatsby is not Nick's story; it belongs to Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Myrtle, and Jordan. Nick remains detached, yet involved.
In the quote at the beginning of this response, Nick states that he doesn't wish to become involved in any more people's problems and lives, but that Gatsby intrigued him, and ensnared him into his life. Nick never liked Gatsby, but there was something about him, some intoxicating quality, that drew Nick to Gatsby, and brought him into his life. I think that is why Nick is the narrator: he felt the need to tell Gatsby's story, a story that perhaps only an outsider could tell.
In the quote at the beginning of this response, Nick states that he doesn't wish to become involved in any more people's problems and lives, but that Gatsby intrigued him, and ensnared him into his life. Nick never liked Gatsby, but there was something about him, some intoxicating quality, that drew Nick to Gatsby, and brought him into his life. I think that is why Nick is the narrator: he felt the need to tell Gatsby's story, a story that perhaps only an outsider could tell.
“… it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. No- Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” (2)
Do we become much like Nick in that sense? How might this impact the audience, regardless of time period or culture? (the use of this type of narrator reminds me somewhat of the film the Talented Mr. Ripley. We cannot help but want to be a part of Dickey's life, and when we are not allowed in, like the main character, we feel left out.)
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