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Sunny He
Zachary Davies
ENG4U1
date
One may easily tell the truth from a lie by observing the liar's eyes and voice. However, it could be harder for readers to judge characters' honesty in a book. An honest and reliable narrator is like a refrigerator keeping all the characters, details etc. fresh and juicy. He or she is the essential key to ease the process of better understanding each character for readers in a book. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway as a narrator is honest and reliable altogether because he reserves all the judgments from characters in general, he presents original plots or conversations and leaves them to readers to digest, and these good qualities of Nick can be descried by comparing others' dishonesty in the book.
First of all, reserving all the judgments from characters can be considered as an honest narrator. Specifically, Nick accepted a good parenting in his younger age, which helps him to be a decent person afterwards. It can be proved in the book where Nick's father told him: "Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had all of the advantages you've had."(F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1) By following this rule, Nick is inclined to narrate the plots in an honest way in order to let the reader to judge each character. This advice, which he has been turning over in his head ever since illustrates that he is reliable for the fact he does not judge people without knowing their inner qualities. If Nick gave out first impressions of each character, people would not trust Nick because giving out first impressions can obviously lead to negative perspectives to readers and are never reliable. For instance, he only narrates the fact that Tom Buchanan is cheating on Daisy Buchanan rather than judges how immoral Tom is. It can also be proved by him using Jordan's perspective of being a bridesmaid at Daisy's wedding. It gives a slightly deeper and different view not only into the relation that Gatsby and Daisy's past relationship but also what kind of person Daisy is. Compared with telling all the "truth" from his perspective, he keeps all the judgments that may mislead readers, which makes him an honest narrator.
Next, in an honest and reliable manner, Nick Carraway presents original plots or conversations between characters. As a narrator, Nick is more like a bystander who vividly details most the plots or conversations. For instance, he documents all the rumors about Gatsby's past. Jordan's friend Lucille said, "Somebody told me that thought he killed a man once." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 44) Lucille followed that statement with, "It's more that he was a German spy during the war." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 44) Moreover, Nick' reliability can be shown by him bringing readers to the scene where Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan fight for Daisy in the Plaza Hotel, and how Daisy's response releases how selfish and careless she is. His depictions of these people are honest because he reserves all the judgments and describes characters' true color, like Daisy's selfish and careless killed Myrtle and also indirectly killed Gatsby. He does use his honest mindset to genuinely document each scene happening in the book in order to treat readers rather than affects their judgments.
Finally, comparing other characters' dishonesty in the book, Nick, as a narrator, is reliable and honest. In fact, Nick has high morality and decency while others do not. For example, "I was one of few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited-they went there." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 43) Majority went there without an invitation. It shows those people have low morality and are dishonest. On the contrary, the more dishonest of those guests is, the more reliable the narrator can be contrasted. Moreover, Nick says: "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, 60) It is surely the truth. Firstly, he does not know many people because he is new in where he is. This fact which narrows down the number of the people he knows so that it makes the comparison of honesty between the narrator and others more clearly and easily. In addition, this fact can provide more direct info to readers to examine Nick's statement about himself. There are several most significant liars throughout the book. For instance, his friend, Tom Buchanan, has an affair with George Wilson's wife- Myrtle Wilson. Jay Gatsby gets his wealth in a illegal business. Daisy Buchanan also cheats on his husband. Even Jordon barker for whom Nick has a soft spot is also a liar. None of them is honest which makes Nick a relatively honest narrator.
All in all, the reason that The Great Gatsby is so great is that there is a reliable and honest narrator supportively standing behind the scene to defend readers' right-knowing the truth. By reserving personal perspectives, presenting original plots or conversations between each character, and comparing dishonest individuals surrounded him, Nick is an honest narrator per se. He did a successful job to be one of the few honest people that not only he but also the reader has ever known.
Essay Prompt
Nick says:" I am one of the few honest people that i have ever known." when you consider his role as narrator, do you believe that he is honest? are his depictions of others honest? is Nick a reliable narrator?
