The role of narrating and editing in The Great Gatsby
The role of narrating and editing in The Great Gatsby
Nick Caraway. The Narrator. The Editor. Throughout the novel, Nick is used in two different ways to tell the story of The Great Gatsby. He is used as the narrator; to over look and to tell the reader what happened in that summer. He is also used as a character in his own story to link all the parts together. As the writer, Nick is able to manipulate the reader into thinking and believing that everything he is saying is genuine. He is able to exaggerate and change what has happened, without the reader being suspicious of this. As we don’t hear from every other character in the story directly, we can only believe what he is saying is true.
The first lines in the novel sum up the story as well as the time it was written. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone’ he told me ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” this makes us think about why his father would tell him that, did he normally criticize people? What advantages has he had? The character and the narrator, Nick, are a mystery to the reader.
Nick narrates the story of the summer from after all the events have happened. He is looking back to the events and recalling them as he goes along. There is a beginning, middle and an end – like a typical story, but the end is first, then the beginning, middle and the end is caught up with the present. Nick is retelling the story from his memory; this could make the reader think that not everything he is saying could be accurate.
From the beginning of the novel, we start to hear Nick’s voice. He tells us a tiny snippet of his life, that makes the reader try and piece together why he is here, and why he is so interested in the other people’s lives. As we are hearing from Nick’s point of view, we only see the characters in his eyes; this makes us automatically believe what he thinks of them.
Tom Buchanan is the first character described to us: “Tom
Nick Caraway. The Narrator. The Editor. Throughout the novel, Nick is used in two different ways to tell the story of The Great Gatsby. He is used as the narrator; to over look and to tell the reader what happened in that summer. He is also used as a character in his own story to link all the parts together. As the writer, Nick is able to manipulate the reader into thinking and believing that everything he is saying is genuine. He is able to exaggerate and change what has happened, without the reader being suspicious of this. As we don’t hear from every other character in the story directly, we can only believe what he is saying is true.
The first lines in the novel sum up the story as well as the time it was written. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone’ he told me ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” this makes us think about why his father would tell him that, did he normally criticize people? What advantages has he had? The character and the narrator, Nick, are a mystery to the reader.
Nick narrates the story of the summer from after all the events have happened. He is looking back to the events and recalling them as he goes along. There is a beginning, middle and an end – like a typical story, but the end is first, then the beginning, middle and the end is caught up with the present. Nick is retelling the story from his memory; this could make the reader think that not everything he is saying could be accurate.
From the beginning of the novel, we start to hear Nick’s voice. He tells us a tiny snippet of his life, that makes the reader try and piece together why he is here, and why he is so interested in the other people’s lives. As we are hearing from Nick’s point of view, we only see the characters in his eyes; this makes us automatically believe what he thinks of them.
Tom Buchanan is the first character described to us: “Tom