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Importance of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

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Importance of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator,
Nick Carraway, tells a story in which Jay Gatsby tries to attain happiness through wealth. Even though the novel is titled after Gatsby, Nick analyzes the actions of others and presents the story so that the reader can comprehend the theme. Throughout the novel, Nick is the vehicle used to gather all of the pieces together to learn about Gatsby. Nick is the only character that changes in the novel from the beginning to the end.

Nick is the literary device that is employed to learn about Gatsby, which ultimately tells the theme of the story. …show more content…

Without Nick, Gatsby's true colors would not be shown and his behavior would be left not pondered. His presence from the beginning to the end of the novel is imperative. Nick's uniqueness parallels his importance in the novel.

Nick is very unique and different from all of the other characters in The
Great Gatsby. Most of the characters symbolize reckless people during the "rip roaring twenties" that only want to be in the "fast lane" and do not give a damn about others. Nick sticks out of this crowd like a "sore thumb". Geographically, Nick was raised in the "friendly" middle-east, while the book takes place in the "snobby" east. Tom, which is a representative of the rich, casually has an affair with Mrytle while with Daisy. On the other hand, Nick does not get involved with Jordan extensively because he has not broken relations with his old girlfriend in Chicago. He promises himself that "there
(is) a vague understanding that (has) to be tactfully broken off before I (am) free"(Fitzgerald 64).

As a result of Nick's and the other character's differing values, he is considered an outsider. Only several times is Nick invited to rich gatherings. When he is "partying" with the rich, he resents the fact that they merely drink and gossip. Nick's uniqueness is probably best illustrated by
Gatsby's funeral. Even though Nick knew Gatsby the least amount of time of all of his

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