As the Great Gatsby opens, the narrator, Nick Carraway is revealed. His credibility as a well-trusted narrator is established when he describes his background of hailing from a middle class family, educated at the Ivy league school, Yale and fought in WW1. His background forms a reliable view as he is described to come from a wealthy family with moral values of perseverance, hard work, and good judgement. This presents himself as a reliable narrator. It’s important that Nick’s family (which is not rich, but financially comfortable) taught him these beliefs, as it paints him as a correct and respectable man, and thus encourages us to view him as a trustworthy and honest narrator. Therefore, we can expect anything Nick says to be reasonable, including his criticism of people which is described in the statement; "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world have not had the advantages that you've had." Trusting the narrator is critical in this story because it is told by a objective third person point of view where is he recalling past adventurous tales of Gatsby, making it easier for the audience to believe his experiences. In the beginning he stresses the fact that he has good judgement, "a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person.." stating that strange mind is usually shunned, so when it finds a person that doesn’t judge, it’s likely to latch on to that person. Nick is essentially saying that because he’s nonjudgmental, he attracts a lot of attention from annoying eccentrics, for example, at a party. In a contradicting stance, he judges Tom by saying he has "arrogant eyes." This evidence perhaps shows that he is contradicting within the identity of himself.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2015
Categories |