“Never criticize anyone if you don’t feel like it.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby opens with this quote from his father that Nick, the narrator and narrator of the story, received. Nick explained to Fitzgerald that his father’s words have been with him for many years. These are important traits for a narrator to accurately tell the story. Nick’s thoughts, actions, and self-description are contradictory, raising questions about his accuracy. His narrative is unreliable because of Nick’s indecisiveness and his partiality.
Scott Donaldson, an American literary critic and author, writes that Nick’s basic contempt for man is evident in his words and thoughts. He also cites Nick’s instinctive tendency to evaluate others’ physical appearances. Tom is thirty years old and has a strong, straw-haired appearance. He also has a tough mouth and a highly cilious personality. Nick also points out that Tom is a “sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner.” Myrtle is Tom’s mistress and lives in the “gray valley ofashes.” She has an “immediately visible vitality” that makes her feel like her nerves are constantly swaying. Myrtle is the sister of Catherine, a “slender, worldly young girl” who has a solid, sticky bob with red hair and eyebrows that are “more rakish than what nature allows.” Nick, who has a lot of external judgments, describes Mr. Wolfsheim with a “small, flat nosed Jew” with “tiny eyes” and “tiny head.” However, Nick is much more flexible when describing Daisy Buchanan or Jordan Baker. Both are dressed in white which is an angelic, pure hue. Nick describes Daisy with a high, captivating voice and Jordan with his eyes that seem to have a polite reciprocal curiosity. Nick’s approach to illustrating characters is evidently more forgiving than others. These convictions can be used as indicators that Nick is predisposed, and they also indicate a superficial outlook. Nick’s descriptions of Nick show a shallow mentality and indecisiveness. For example, Mrs. McKee’s description of her character is “shrill” but “languid”, “handsome” and “horrible” while Mr. Wilson’s is “spiritless, anemic” and “faintly charming” at the same. These adjectives are contradictory and Nick doesn’t have solid intuition. This also affects Nick’s credibility both as a narrator, and as a reader’s faith in Nick’s intuitive abilities. Nick’s relationship to Jordan is perhaps the most obvious indicator of his uncertainity. Jordan admits that Nick is attractive to her carefulness. But, Nick later states that he is not “slow-thinking” or “full of inner rules that act like brakes on me desires (58).) This is a clear indicator of Nick’s uncertainty. Nick’s emotions are often influenced by the circumstances presented to him. This plays a significant role in Nick’s story.
The Great Gatsby emphasizes the fact that the accuracy of the narrative is questionable in its setting and other settings. Nick is a drunken man at Myrtle’s party. He then claims that “everything happened with a dimly lit, hazy cast” (29). This makes it difficult for readers to know if Nick’s account of Myrtle’s events is accurate or not. Nick tries to read a chapter from “Simon Called Peter”, but it doesn’t make sense. Nick is also shocked to learn that Myrtle had been exposed to Mr. Wilson’s infidelity one summer day. Also, Nick can also be compared to the characters around him. The wealthy East and West Egg provinces are more morally sane than the Midwest, Nick’s home. Nick is virtuous and honest, in contrast to New Yorkers who are content to indulge in adultery and bootlegging as well as other unethical activities. Nick is adamant that he believes himself to be “one among the few honest” people he has ever met, even though he did not condemn Jordan for his lack of honesty. So, Nick’s surrounding has an impact on both his narrative and how he perceives himself. This gives the novel a falsible foundation.
Donaldson points out that Nick is a unique narrator for his inability to “carefully evite emotional entanglements.” He also explains that Nick’s tendency to be detached emotionally. In this instance, Nick is left feeling as though Daisy’s insincere remarks have “ceased to compel” him to attend the Buchanans dinner. Nick, who is indecisive as mentioned earlier, has trouble committing to long-lasting relationships. He encourages Jordan to get out of the tangle back home, where he writes letters signed “Love to Nick” to girls. However, Nick’s emotionally shallow side makes it difficult to commit to long-term relationships. Nick and Gatsby end their relationship when Gatsby is killed. This shows his reluctance for long-term commitment. However, Nick feels a “hauntingly lonely” sometimes. This is despite his preference not to be with Jordan. Donaldson observes New York City’s vibrant atmosphere and sees how “forms leaned against each other in taxis as we waited, and they sang unheard jokes. And lighted cigarettes outlined unintelligible gestes inside.” He concludes that Nick does “not reserve judgment. He reserves him.”
Nick claims that he has “tolerance,” and says so at the beginning of the book. However, the statement is a hypocritical one which continues throughout the novel. As the novel progresses, Nick’s character makes more and more judgments. The most obvious is when Nick tells Gatsby about Daisy, Tom and Jordan. He says that this was the best compliment he gave Gatsby because he “disapproved” of him from the beginning to the end (154). Nick later meets Tom in town and claims that he cannot forgive him and does not like him. (179). Initially, Nick was favorable towards Daisy. However, Nick’s attitude toward her changed when Myrtle died and Gatsby took responsibility. These events annul Nick’s claim to “reserve all judgments” as well as revealing his prejudiced nature. Nick’s dynamic character becomes less apt to act as a narrator as he critiques characters more often.
Nick Carraway is not a reliable narrator. Nick Carraway is an idealist when he comes to describing the characters in the novel. He is also often inconsistent, indecisive, hypocritical. Although he claims to fairness and impartiality, he has a tendency to judge most characters in the novel in one direction or another. Scott Donaldson states that Nick’s failings make him a perfect narrator in The Great Gatsby. Scott Fitzgerald claims that Nick’s “greatest technical achievement,” which was to invent this narrative voice “within and without” the action, is what makes the book so valuable. Scott Donaldson states, “One does NOT have to like Nick Carraway.” He tells a story that reveals something about you.
