Narrative perspective plays a very big role in The Great Gatsby - Nick's role as the narrator

Alex Day 10-12-2001

The Narrative:

Narrative perspective plays a very big role in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ As we the reader comprehend the whole affair through the eyes of Nick Carraway
Nick brings us closer to the action by forcing us to experience events as though we were Nick. The I of the novel becomes ourselves, and we find ourselves, like Nick, wondering who Gatsby is, why he gives these huge parties, and what his past and background may be. By writing from Nick's point of view, Fitzgerald is able to make Gatsby more realistic
Nick Carraway's first-person viewpoint, allows the reader, on the one hand, to see how the narrative is being constructed and, on the other, to participate in Nick's sense of discovery as the separate strands of the narrative take on meaning.
Because we are viewing people with Nick’s eyes, we tend to like who he likes and to dislike who he dislikes. This would not be a problem if we could believe one of his earlier statements “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements.” and “I am one of the few totally honest people I know.” Later in the novel Nick turns out to be very judgemental and partial. For instance, Nick overlooks the moral implications of Gatsby’s bootlegging and shady dealings but he comes down rather harshly on Jordan Baker for cheating in her golf tournament. With Nick we like Gatsby but criticise Jordan, Nick seems to extend a level of friendship and tolerance towards Gatsby that he is unprepared to extend to anyone else.

Structure.

The novel starts in the present, giving us, in the first three chapters, a glimpse of the four main locales of the novel: Daisy's house in East Egg (Chapter 1); the valley of ashes and New York (Chapter 2); and Gatsby's house in West Egg (Chapter 3). Having established the characters and setting in the first three chapters, Nick then narrates the main events of the story in Chapters 4 to 9, using Chapters 4,5, 6, and 7 to gradually reveal the story of Gatsby's past. The past and present come together at the end of the ...

Structure.

The novel starts in the present, giving us, in the first three chapters, a glimpse of the four main locales of the novel: Daisy's house in East Egg (Chapter 1); the valley of ashes and New York (Chapter 2); and Gatsby's house in West Egg (Chapter 3). Having established the characters and setting in the first three chapters, Nick then narrates the main events of the story in Chapters 4 to 9, using Chapters 4,5, 6, and 7 to gradually reveal the story of Gatsby's past. The past and present come together at the end of the novel in Chapter 9.

Nicks narrative returns to the present of his writing, so up until chapter 9 (P. 155) nick has been re-explaining what happened two years ago. “After two years I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the rest of that day, only as an endless drill of police and photographers and newspaper men in and out of Gatsby’s front door

Why does F. Scott Fitzgerald use nick as the narrator?

His position in relation to the other characters gives him a perfect vantage point from which to tell the story—he is Daisy's cousin, 's old college friend, and Gatsby's neighbour, and all three trust and rely on him.
He is seen as the mid point between old & new wealth (East & West Egg) His view of these two worlds is not corrupted because he belongs to neither. So he can offer the reader an unbiased insight into both
He is more of an observer, though he is involved in the lives that the story focuses on, he is not usually directly involved.
He relates the reader his perception of the events that occur around him, he fits into the story so smoothly without really being an intruder.

Nick as a Narrator

Whatever Nick did not see or not hear may be distorted, and we may miss out some details altogether. For instance, at the apartment Tom and Myrtle go to in New York City, he is drunk, and so we may miss some detail about the characters and actions there. This also could be true for some other instances, such as parties, where he may also be slightly drunk. But he is extremely careful throughout the novel, never to tell us things that he could not have known. If he was not present at a particular occasion, he gets the information from someone who was. I.e. from Jordan Baker, who tells him about Gatsby's courtship of Daisy in Louisville; or from the Greek, Michaels, who tells him about the death of Myrtle Wilson. Sometimes Nick summarizes what others tell him, and sometimes he uses their words. But he never tells us something he could never know.
Although nick is a well fitted for the role, as a narrator he is deeply flawed. He uses such words as: "I suppose", "I suspect", "I think", "possibly", "probably", "perhaps", "I've heard it said", "I have an idea that", "I always had the impression", "As though" and "as if." But we trust nick just as the other characters do.