Nick Carraway's Significance in The Great Gatsby
Nick Carraway is a necessary character in the novel for many reasons. We see how his interacting with the other characters brings about a few traits, which make the story a pleasure to read, and I must say, to write about. Nick lends us his talents to bring us a more realistic story, a larger database of which to draw our information about the characters, and thus better characterization in the novel. The first benefit of having Nick narrate the story is giving us a more realistic story. His point of view, that of a relatively objective observer, allows us to see the story through very accurate eyes. Through Fitzgerald's stroke of genius, the novel draws us into itself, and the I that Nick uses to relate to himself becomes the I or 'eyes' that the reader uses to see the story. A part of this, Nick's believability, lets the reader identify or sympathize with his values. Gatsby's wealth or the riches of Tom and Daisy do not easily sway Nick. He is a tolerant person, but not overly so. An example of this is seen as Nick puts up with Tom's racism and bigotry, but in the end he tells Gatsby that he is "worth the whole" dang "bunch put together". He is very honest, but not Puritanical or narrow-minded. The objective viewpoint from w
hich Nick tells us the story adds a sense of realism to The Great Gatsby. Without Nick, the other characters would be loud and flashy, not the eccentrics that they are. Finally, Nick allows us to perceive the other characters, and see traits that otherwise would have been hidden. Jordan's seductive carelessness, Daisy's flightiness, and Tom's rage would have been hidden or warped out of shape without Nick's inside information. We see him reminding Jordan to be careful while she is driving, and though she doesn't, we can see the carelessness at which she lives her life. She says she surrounds herself with people who won't crash into her. This shows that she has no sense of accountability, and Tom and Daisy promote those sorts of attitudes in her and in the people they interact with. It is through Nick that we see how Daisy is a trapped, caged woman. She is stuck in a marriage that she doesn't want and in a world where she has no chance of being free and independent, although she is smarter than she appears. Nick also shows us how Tom's emotions get the better of him. He is shameless in what he does, and who he does it with. With Myrtle, he goes out on the town and to parties with no concern of the consequences of his actions. He and Daisy leave at the end of the novel because they
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Approximate Word count = 869
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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