How do Nick’s judgments of the characters of The Great Gatsby illustrate his character? Or do they not and does Nick remain an ambiguous character?
In the commencement of the novel Nick suggests this story is one of the “intimate revelations of young men [which] are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions” (2). This immediate suggestion that The Great Gatsby is not about Gatsby at all fosters the reader’s curiosity of the narrator himself. Also at the commencement of the novel, Nick describes himself as tolerant and nonjudgmental. This brief introduction into his character solidifies the platform that the rest of the novel contradicts. Nick’s thoughts of, his interactions with, and relationships with his counterparts conflict with the initial description of his own character. While the events of the novel dictate Nick as judgmental and having a bias, therefore intolerant, the reader cannot draw a final conclusion of Nick’s character. The persona of Nick Carraway remains ambiguous not only because his actions and thoughts throughout the novel contradict his initial description of himself, but also because he assumes the role of an unreliable narrator; this lack of reliability forces the reader to wonder how distorted his descriptions and opinions are.
Mary-There is an eminently viable topic here, of course. The challenge will be to set it up so that it will fit into the for/against kind of structure I'd like you to follow. How about something like: "What (kind of) information about himself does Nick provide directly? What (kind of) information about himself does he provide the reader only indirectly-revealing in an attempt to conceal, as it were?" A challenging but fun topic.
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