Chapter 2

[Jake]

As seen on page 32, Nick is clearly not firm about telling others that he needs something. Nick had to leave, but he was pressured into staying by Mrs. Wilson and Tom. Will Nick develop a forceful side throughout the book, or will he remain spineless?

[Geoffrey]

Spineless. He´s very passive throughout.

[Dawn]

He remains passive. I feel it proves essential to the dynamic between him and Gatsby. Also, it plays to the social class distinctions Fitzgerald tackles in the book.

[Geoffrey]

Yes, he´s upwardly mobile, eg a social climber, and defers to the whims of the ¨noble class¨.

[Gary]

Jake wrote: "Will Nick develop a forceful side throughout the book, or will he remain spineless? "

Are you asking for spoilers? Sure, it's an old book, but I'd hate to ruin it for you....

In any case, Nick's passivity and character are something of a conundrum of the piece. Is Nick as close as Fitzgerald could get to a 3rd person narrator, or is he some subversive influence on events--a subtle, symbolic figure whose presence forms the *real* purpose FSF had behind his story?

Personally, I think the former is closer to the truth. Nick is often called passive or weak by readers, and I can't say that they are incorrect in that assessment, but I think FSF meant to portray a character as far outside the narrative as possible--and still remain realistically human and reliable as a narrative voice. He's as close to the reader as a first-person POV narration can get; an "every-man observer" who still conveys the "realism" of the 1st person.

Carraway often gets labelled weak. But, really, he's weak in the same we, as readers, are unable to influence the story. He's an observer. So is the reader. If he's helpless to influence events, the reader is as well--and that might be part of the theme of the novel.

[Gary]

Ellen wrote: "By the time the story gets rolling, a lot of us have forgotten the introductory paragraphs."

Nick is also kind of dismissive about his own activities. His "romance" with Jordan is a weird kind of non-starter, for instance. And in certain places I think we're hearing FSF's voice rather than that of his narrator. The closing paragraphs of the novel being the most obvious.

[Karen]

Nick drives the story- I find him fascinating as he is torn between his admiration for Gatsby and his suspicion, I love the subtlety of this. He is passive regarding his interactions with the other characters, but as narrator he leads us. At least for me, and I based my review on Nick's point of view.

[Monty J]

Gary wrote: "He's as close to the reader as a first-person POV narration can get; an "every-man observer" who still conveys the "realism" of the 1st person."

James E.Miller,Jr., has this to say in his essay concerning Fitzgerald's "Stylistic Approach to First Person,"

...Fitzgerald achieves a realism impossible to an "omniscient" author or even to a limited third-person POV: through Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald places the reader in direct touch with the action eliminating himself, as author entirely.

Later he quotes from Fitzgerald's notes to The Last Tycoon in the same article:

[Fitzgerald speaking] "...by making Cecilia, at the moment of her telling the story, an intelligent and observant woman, I shall grant myself the privilege, as Conrad did, of letting her imagine the actions of the characters. Thus, I hope to get the verisimilitude of a first person narrative, combined with the Godlike knowledge of all events that happen to my characters."

Herein is the best explanation I have found concerning Fitzgerald's use of such an extended first-person technique in The Great Gatsby.

[Geoffrey]

Gary wrote: "Jake wrote: "Will Nick develop a forceful side throughout the book, or will he remain spineless? "

Are you asking for spoilers? Sure, it's an old book, but I'd hate to ruin it for you....

In any ..."

And yet Nick arranges the meeting between Daisy and Jay.So when you write that he is powerless to influence events I would have to heartily disagree.

[Geoffrey]

Gary wrote: "Ellen wrote: "By the time the story gets rolling, a lot of us have forgotten the introductory paragraphs."

Nick is also kind of dismissive about his own activities. His "romance" with Jordan is a ..."

And the closing paragraphs are absolutely horrible and pretentious.

[Geoffrey]

Gary wrote: "Ellen wrote: "By the time the story gets rolling, a lot of us have forgotten the introductory paragraphs."

Nick is also kind of dismissive about his own activities. His "romance" with Jordan is a ..."

Which would argue for his latent homosexuality and non interest in the fairer sex.