Essay On Nick The Narrator In The Great Gatsby
Cameron Kennison
Estep
English III
9 March 2017
Is Nick Actually Reliable? An Analysis of the Narrator of
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Nick Carraway is the narrator in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and many may agree that Nick is a reliable narrator, but there is evidence throughout the book that suggests the opposite. A closer examination of Nick’s words may strongly suggest that he is not the neutral narrator he proclaims himself to be. Not always narrating from a neutral position, getting drunk and narrating during this episode, and lying about not being judgmental, all provide evidence to this effect.
One of the most apparent indications that Nick is an unreliable narrator is that he is not narrating from a neutral position. Specifically, he favors Gatsby over Tom. This is evident when right before Nick leaves Gatsby alone to lay out by his pool and think about what happened, he turns and yells out to Gatsby, “Your worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 154). When Nick yelled this out to Gatsby, it proved that he definitely favored Gatsby over Tom. Nick’s honesty as a neutral narrator is thrown into question as he seems to be telling the story with a slant towards the side favoring Gatsby, therefore making the reader realize he is unreliable …show more content…
So initially, readers are led to believe he is a reliable enough narrator to tell the story. But as the story unfolds, the reader begins to question this assumption through various pieces of evidence observed from the book. It becomes very apparent that he is in fact unreliable as a narrator. An unreliable narrator may leave the reader wondering if the story that is being told is really accurate or somewhat distorted, and of course this presents to the reader some unique and potentially interesting challenges, perhaps making a great book all the more
Estep
English III
9 March 2017
Is Nick Actually Reliable? An Analysis of the Narrator of
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Nick Carraway is the narrator in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and many may agree that Nick is a reliable narrator, but there is evidence throughout the book that suggests the opposite. A closer examination of Nick’s words may strongly suggest that he is not the neutral narrator he proclaims himself to be. Not always narrating from a neutral position, getting drunk and narrating during this episode, and lying about not being judgmental, all provide evidence to this effect.
One of the most apparent indications that Nick is an unreliable narrator is that he is not narrating from a neutral position. Specifically, he favors Gatsby over Tom. This is evident when right before Nick leaves Gatsby alone to lay out by his pool and think about what happened, he turns and yells out to Gatsby, “Your worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 154). When Nick yelled this out to Gatsby, it proved that he definitely favored Gatsby over Tom. Nick’s honesty as a neutral narrator is thrown into question as he seems to be telling the story with a slant towards the side favoring Gatsby, therefore making the reader realize he is unreliable …show more content…
So initially, readers are led to believe he is a reliable enough narrator to tell the story. But as the story unfolds, the reader begins to question this assumption through various pieces of evidence observed from the book. It becomes very apparent that he is in fact unreliable as a narrator. An unreliable narrator may leave the reader wondering if the story that is being told is really accurate or somewhat distorted, and of course this presents to the reader some unique and potentially interesting challenges, perhaps making a great book all the more