He states that he is “full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires” (72). “Fundamental decencies” (2) determine his thoughts and behavior. His father taught him “to reserve all judgements” (1). His family is conscious of tradition – a picture oft he “actual founder of my line” (3) decorates his father’s office – and he was brought up in a rather conservative way. Carraway grew up in the Midwestern part of the United States, in a city “where dwellings are still called through decades by a family’s name” (212). However, Nick Carraway, himself, is not a direct member of New York society and he is therefore not representative of what he describes. He is drawn to her sophistication and vivacity just as he is repelled by her lack of consideration for other people and her dishonesty. Throughout the book, this inner conflict is symbolized by Carraway’s romantic relationship with Jordan Baker. On the other hand, he finds this particular lifestyle damaging and grotesque. On the one hand, the narrator is attracted to the fun-driven, fast-paced lifestyle of the city. It creates a powerful internal conflict that does not resolve until the end of the novel. Insofar as Nick Carraway plays a role inside the narrative, he shows strongly mixed reactions to life in New York. Carraway generally assumes a secondary role throughout the novel as he prefers to describe and comment on events rather than dominate the action. Gatsby, in particular, comes to trust him and treats him as a confidant. They do so because the narrator is tolerant, sympathetic and understanding as he points out in Chapter I. The narrator knows things because people are willing to confess to him. He knows all the characters well enough to be present at the crucial scenes in the novel. He is the cousin of Daisy Buchanan, he was in the same senior society as Tom Buchanan at Yale, and he rented a house right next to Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway seems to be the perfect choice to narrate the novel. Therefore the narrator’s point of view and his credibility should be examined. Carraway’s position as the narrator, placed between the reader and the narration, gives him the only authoritative role of interpretation. The reader cares about Gatsby because the narrator does he wants to find out more about Gatsby because the narrator does he is angry that no one comes to Gatsby’s funeral because the narrator is. The reader might identify more with the story than it is the case when an omniscient third-person narrator is used. The I of the narrator becomes the I of the reader who is, like Carraway, left wondering who Gatsby is, why he gives these huge parties and what his background and past may be. Rather than imposing himself between the reader and the action, a first-person-narrator can bring the reader closer to the action by forcing him to experience the events as though he was the narrator himself. Because Nick Carraway is experiencing events and telling the reader about them in his own words, the plot becomes more believable. The story becomes more realistic by means of using an first-person-narrator. The Great Gatsby actually functions as a personal memoir of Carraway’s experiences with his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby in the summer of 1922. The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick Carraway’s eyes his thoughts and perceptions color and shape the story. However, Nick Carraway is not only a character taking part in the story, he is also the I-narrator that the author uses to recount his story. ![]() ![]() ![]() Carraway lives next door to the wealthy Jay Gatsby in a district of Long Island called West Egg. He hopes to find a sense of freedom and identity in New York. He finds his hometown to be stifling and decides to move to the East Coast in the early 1920s to learn the bond business. Carraway was raised in a small town in the Midwest. Paul who graduated from Yale University and served his country in the First World War. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. ![]() Nick Carraway is one of the major characters of F.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |