Narrator Lies -- to Himself: Essay

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However, Fitzgerald creates a narrative conceit whereby Carraway praises Gatsby, but Gatsby's ridiculousness as well as his charm shines through. For example, Gatsby attempts to seduce Daisy with his collection of shirts bought in London by his "man" -- the scene is both touching and ridiculous as Daisy says "It makes me sad because I've never seen such -- such beautiful shirts before" (Fitzgerald 74). Daisy is clearly weeping because she understands how hard Gatsby has tried to impress her, and how much she has lost by marrying Tom.

Fitzgerald does not censor the scene and make the two lovers seem better than they are, while Nick clearly romanticizes their affair: "Possibly it had occurred to him [Gatsby] that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" (Fitzgerald 74). Fitzgerald presents Nick as a skilled observer, suggesting that Carraway leaves nothing out in terms of the details of Gatsby's courtship of Daisy, including Gatsby's foolish focus on consumer goods, and Daisy's fickleness. But Nick is only fascinated with these characters, to the exclusion of the other individuals in the novel, and often makes excuses for both of the lovers. Fitzgerald makes no excuses, and lets the reader make judgments. The reader also has the ability to reflect upon the past details of Gatsby's lavish life, as reported by Nick, such as Gatsby's fresh-squeezed orange juice every morning, and lavish swimming pool he does not even swim in, until his tragic end, details Nick chooses to forget after befriending Gatsby.

The fact that the above-cited phrase about the significance of the light begins with the term 'possibly' also subtly suggests that Carraway is projecting thoughts into Gatsby's mind, rather than recording Gatsby's actual thoughts.

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Nick cannot know what Gatsby is truly thinking, the idea that Daisy is the true love of Gatsby's life is likewise Nick's romantic projection. At the end of the novel, when Nick meets Gatsby's father and gains a truer sense of how far Gatsby has gone in 'making himself up.' The reader is given documented evidence from Gatsby's own journals of Gatsby's written efforts for self-improvement: "Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he's got about improving his mind? He was always great for that." (Fitzgerald 138)

Finally, Nick's class prejudice is always evident in the way that he presents Gatsby's father and Myrtle, Tom's lower-class lover. Nick is clearly more interested in the story of Gatsby's love interest than Myrtle who, despite her lack of glamour, is essentially committing the same social crime as Gatsby or Daisy. Tom, Daisy's husband and Gatsby's rival, is presented in entirely negative terms as a crude and boorish figure, also showing Nick's bias in the way he presents his information. All of these characters might potentially be worthy of their own novels, and of compassion, but Nick can only focus upon the romantic decadence of Gatsby because of his own bias and prejudices. Nick is a product of his class who values wealth, but he also has romantic and literary leanings that are satisfied by the courtship and apparently star-crossed pairing of Gatsby and Daisy. The book reflects both of these biases in Nick's voice, although not in Fitzgerald's overall presentation.

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