Carraway As A Narrator
Carraway
Someone who is defined as unreliable often are deceiving and misleading. Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby is a perfect example of an unreliable character. Right from the beginning of the novel, he bluntly described himself as someone who doesn’t judge anyone, yet he judges everyone that he meets. Not only that but he lies to people so he could avoid the awkwardness of the unseemly. Others may say he is reliable by that he stayed loyal to Gatsby throughout the entire novel, but his feelings toward Gatsby changed. In the end, it is evident that Nick is a dishonest narrator. Right from the start, Nick judged every single person that came by him. Without even knowing the person, he judged them on how they looked, dressed, and also how they acted. What makes him unreliable is the fact that he says he doesn’t judge anyone, yet he clearly does. According to Scott Donaldson, he thinks this makes him deceptive narrator also. “But he does not suspend judgment. In fact, he judges, and condemns, practically everyone he meets in the course of the novel” (Donaldson 104). Instead of waiting and getting to know another character, he has his mind set on who they are. Therefore giving us a wrong impression and misunderstanding a character. When Tom brings Nick to meet his “girl”, Nick already has his opinion of her. “Though I was curious to see her I had no desire to meet her” (Fitzgerald 28). Nick already didn’t like Myrtle because she was Tom’s mistress. Hence making us believe Myrtle is the bad person in this situation, but in reality Tom is the bad guy. Given this information, makes me think twice whether to trust Nick or not. In order to rely on someone, they need to be telling you the truth. Nick constantly lies to people so awkward situations don’t happen. He doesn’t tell his honest opinion when he’s asked for one. He would rather lie and be a snob just to avoid the ugly truth. His morals in life don’t include honesty. “Decorum ranks extremely high on his
Someone who is defined as unreliable often are deceiving and misleading. Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby is a perfect example of an unreliable character. Right from the beginning of the novel, he bluntly described himself as someone who doesn’t judge anyone, yet he judges everyone that he meets. Not only that but he lies to people so he could avoid the awkwardness of the unseemly. Others may say he is reliable by that he stayed loyal to Gatsby throughout the entire novel, but his feelings toward Gatsby changed. In the end, it is evident that Nick is a dishonest narrator. Right from the start, Nick judged every single person that came by him. Without even knowing the person, he judged them on how they looked, dressed, and also how they acted. What makes him unreliable is the fact that he says he doesn’t judge anyone, yet he clearly does. According to Scott Donaldson, he thinks this makes him deceptive narrator also. “But he does not suspend judgment. In fact, he judges, and condemns, practically everyone he meets in the course of the novel” (Donaldson 104). Instead of waiting and getting to know another character, he has his mind set on who they are. Therefore giving us a wrong impression and misunderstanding a character. When Tom brings Nick to meet his “girl”, Nick already has his opinion of her. “Though I was curious to see her I had no desire to meet her” (Fitzgerald 28). Nick already didn’t like Myrtle because she was Tom’s mistress. Hence making us believe Myrtle is the bad person in this situation, but in reality Tom is the bad guy. Given this information, makes me think twice whether to trust Nick or not. In order to rely on someone, they need to be telling you the truth. Nick constantly lies to people so awkward situations don’t happen. He doesn’t tell his honest opinion when he’s asked for one. He would rather lie and be a snob just to avoid the ugly truth. His morals in life don’t include honesty. “Decorum ranks extremely high on his