Nick in The Great Gatsby is a first-person narrator who is directly involved in the action. He's not one of the main players, but he's not just a distant observer, either. As an involved narrator, his perception is not totally objective. His perceptions, observations, prejudices, opinions filter everything he writes.
Nick tends to be judgmental and opinionated, for instance. When he opens the novel by announcing that he always reserves judgment and does not make first impressions, this indicates that he sees himself as superior to others. One doesn't have to concentrate on not judging others, if one doesn't judge others.
He reveals his judgments about Tom repeatedly during his narration, and even his first impressions express opinions, such as the first time he sees Jordan Baker and indirectly characterizes her as lethargic and stuck up.
That said, Nick is considered by most to be a fairly reliable narrator. There are those who see his portrayal of Gatsby as a "white wash," and feel Gatsby is really a pompous jerk and a crook with no redeeming qualities, but this is a minority view.
His view of events does not seem highly suspect, though it does seem to promote the Midwestern values he comes to the story with.
No comments:
Post a Comment