Unreliable Narration In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Unreliable Narration by Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby In storytelling, the truth of the events is often fragmented, which is why a dependable narrator is important. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick Carraway’s ability to present an accurate story is questioned. The personal bias of Nick Carraway is a prime example of the manipulation of the story. The integrity of Nick’s narration is also debatable, as his memory of the story is sometimes blurred through drunkenness and the time in which the story is written. Nick Carraway presents an unreliable narration that limits the perception of the story through his personal bias and his recollection of the events, thus questioning the accuracy of the story.

Several elements

Nick’s idolization of Gatsby is evident. Because of this, Nick subconsciously turns the story in Gatsby’s favour and is quick to dismiss any other character’s perspective. Nick’s favouritism of Gatsby is evident when he states “Only Gatsby, the man who I give his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction- Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have unaffected scorn,” (Fitzgerald 2). Nick’s feelings for Gatsby are complicated. Nick hates what Gatsby represents yet makes excuses for his misdeeds. Gatsby is immune to his judgements about the higher class, so much so he would center the whole story around him. Nick’s bias towards Gatsby affects the way he tells the story. As the narrator, Nick does not consider and empathize with all the characters. Nick is only willing to give Gatsby the hero role, making him more honourable than he truly is. The selective nature of Nick Carraway’s glorification of Jay Gatsby in a clear trait of unreliable narration. Nick’s personal bias is not only seen through Gatsby but also through The Buchanans. Nick reveals his true opinions about Tom and Daisy when he

Throughout the novel, Nick’s there are various social situations in which Nick consumes alcohol. These instances influence Nick’s perception of the events. Nick’s drunkenness is revealed when he admits “I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon; so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it” (Fitzgerald 29). Alcohol creates lapses in Nick’s memory that create inconsistencies in the details regarding the events that took place while Nick was under the influence of alcohol. Nick has difficulties accurately narrating the verity of what happened. To make up for these difficulties he fills in gaps in his memory with conversations, events and other specifics that may have not happened. The drunk atmosphere of Nick’s narration is not to be trusted. Therefore Fitzgerald successfully employs Nick’s compromised recollection of the story to raise skepticism about the reliability of Nick’s narration. Discrepancies are also possible because of the large amount of time between the events of the story and Nick’s recounting of the story. This is proven when Nick says “After two years I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the next day, only as an endless drill of police and photographers and newspaper men in and out of Gatsby’s front door” (163). Years have passed since Nick