In class we discussed what we learn about Nick in the first three paragraphs, these are the things we came up with:
- he has an unusual admiration for Gatsby 'there was something gorgeous about him.'Although we get the sense that his description of Gatsby seems truthful we are likely to suspect this honesty and his words could also be stained by jealousy which sprouts from him saying 'he was exempt from my reaction' he loathes Gatsby for resisting his true nature. - he contadicts himself as he says he doesn't make judgements yet judges Gatsby 'I'm inclined to reserve all judgements'we are overwhelmed by his dishonesty, the fact that he has any judgements to 'reserve' portrays that he is outright lying to the reader, which makes him an unreliable narrator. - He is pretentious and finds he is above all 'a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth' - He is cold/unemotional and detests people confiding, he has intimacy issues and even the thoguht of intimacy is enough to occupy him with 'feigned sleep' Makes us assume that his disconnection with the reader is due to his intimacy issues as he does not want that familiar trust between reader and narrator. - His seperation makes him a self concious narrator, he probably believes he is not making the mistake of living the story intimately with the reader the reader is likely to feel inferior throughtout the whole novel.
- We get the impression that he is still vulnerable when he confesses 'in my younger and more vulnerable years' it seems that experience has changed him and he is still haunted by his past which explains his pensiveness. - He idolises his father as he repeats advice his father has given to him 'my father snobbishly suggested, and I, snobbishly repeat' which shows he respects his father and his snobbish ways. - He seems to be obsessed with money/status and prefers the world to be perfect to his standards and the way he desires it to be 'world in uniform.' - He is well educated and pretentious about it 'hostile levity.' - We fail to focus on his vulnerable disposition as it is hidden behind his protagonistic character he shows us glimpses of this vulnerability like 'I am still a little afraid' 'I wanted no more riotous excursions' he seems to have been wounded in the past possibly having been let down by people he has bothered to allow into his life.
What effect does this have on our reading of his character?
- He is a self concious narrator so it makes us wonder why Fitzgerald is using this technique. What makes Nick so important? - Narrators do not frame the story yet he becomes our central focus in the story. - Narrator: advances a sense of ambiguity/uncertainty, foregrounds the subjectivity of the vision and demonstrates a wider contingency in terms of knowing/understanding - self reflexive?
Interpretation of Nick Carraway's charater:
ReplyDeleteIn class we discussed what we learn about Nick in the first three paragraphs, these are the things we came up with:
- he has an unusual admiration for Gatsby 'there was something gorgeous about him.'Although we get the sense that his description of Gatsby seems truthful we are likely to suspect this honesty and his words could also be stained by jealousy which sprouts from him saying 'he was exempt from my reaction' he loathes Gatsby for resisting his true nature.
- he contadicts himself as he says he doesn't make judgements yet judges Gatsby 'I'm inclined to reserve all judgements'we are overwhelmed by his dishonesty, the fact that he has any judgements to 'reserve' portrays that he is outright lying to the reader, which makes him an unreliable narrator.
- He is pretentious and finds he is above all 'a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth'
- He is cold/unemotional and detests people confiding, he has intimacy issues and even the thoguht of intimacy is enough to occupy him with 'feigned sleep' Makes us assume that his disconnection with the reader is due to his intimacy issues as he does not want that familiar trust between reader and narrator.
- His seperation makes him a self concious narrator, he probably believes he is not making the mistake of living the story intimately with the reader the reader is likely to feel inferior throughtout the whole novel.
- We get the impression that he is still vulnerable when he confesses 'in my younger and more vulnerable years' it seems that experience has changed him and he is still haunted by his past which explains his pensiveness.
ReplyDelete- He idolises his father as he repeats advice his father has given to him 'my father snobbishly suggested, and I, snobbishly repeat' which shows he respects his father and his snobbish ways.
- He seems to be obsessed with money/status and prefers the world to be perfect to his standards and the way he desires it to be 'world in uniform.'
- He is well educated and pretentious about it 'hostile levity.'
- We fail to focus on his vulnerable disposition as it is hidden behind his protagonistic character he shows us glimpses of this vulnerability like 'I am still a little afraid' 'I wanted no more riotous excursions' he seems to have been wounded in the past possibly having been let down by people he has bothered to allow into his life.
What effect does this have on our reading of his character?
- He is a self concious narrator so it makes us wonder why Fitzgerald is using this technique. What makes Nick so important?
- Narrators do not frame the story yet he becomes our central focus in the story.
- Narrator: advances a sense of ambiguity/uncertainty, foregrounds the subjectivity of the vision and demonstrates a wider contingency in terms of knowing/understanding - self reflexive?
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