“I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon; so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it” (29).
Within the first paragraphs of The Great Gatsby, Carraway depicts himself to be unreliable as he subtly expresses that the novel is not at all about Gatsby, but rather is his intimate revelation, which he claims is “plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions” (2). He further establishes his lack of reliability when he precedes his description of the gathering at Tom’s New York apartment by asserting that “everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it.” While the gathering provides the reader with insight into the characters of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the reader has to question whether Carraway has embellished the affairs and actions of the evening, which would, in turn, screw the perception of the characters.
Mary--A nice perception on your part. Keep this claim in mind later as you read (Nick might drink in a later chapter--you decide if he's drunk or not).
ReplyDelete(Also, I think you meant "skew" for "screw"...though it's an interesting substitution.)