Extra Tempestuous Seas Cannot be Trusted

One of the characteristics of Modernistic writing is that the narrator is often unreliable.

In The Great Gatsby, it is difficult for one to detect that Nick is an unreliable narrator.  His descriptions are thorough, his observations are seemingly unbiased, and his standpoint is rather neutral.  His skepticism towards others is implicit and often clearly justifiable.  For example, he takes a reasonable jab at his own family when he remarks on their ridiculous pride in their “tradition” of believing that they are descendants of the Dukes of Buccleuch, even though the “real founder of my line…sent a substitute to the Civil War and started the wholesale hardware business” (3).  This understandably comic remark makes Nick relatable and trustworthy, strengthening his credibility. 

                Also, Nick seems to see through the follies of his comrades.  For example, he views the antics of Tom and Daisy from a reliably omniscient viewpoint, as he is seemingly able to predict that despite their own beliefs, Tom and Daisy’s move East would not be a “permanent move” (6) because of their tempestuous and turbulent lifestyles.  He also sees through Daisy’s charming body language by remarking that “Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her” (9), and goes further with his observation to minimize the small-minded people who have made this judgmental remark about Daisy by adding that the criticism was “irrelevant” (9).  By summing up people in plain predictions, Nick seems to be superior and smarter than the other characters in the book, making him a reliable judge of the events because he is wiser.

                However, there is one flaw in Nick’s credibility: his unguided admiration for Gatsby himself.  Nick is absolutely fascinated with Gatsby as both a man and an idea.  When he first meets Gatsby, he feels that his mere smile encompasses “eternal reassurance” (48).  Also, he “exempts” Gatsby from his reaction to the common follies that took place during the Roaring ‘20s (2).  This indicates that Nick is literally taking Gatsby out from under his scope of judgement and exempting him from the scrutiny that takes place in the novel.  Therefore, because of his everlasting fascination with Gatsby, Nick is only able to provide the reader a one-sided view of Gatsby, making him an unreliable narrator.

 

(P.s. someone in class said that they wanted to read a book with an unreliable narrator so if anyone’s looking for a good read, I highly recommend the book, Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver J