What impression do we form of Nick in the first chapter of 'The Great Gatbsy'
What impression do we form of Nick in Chapter One of The Great Gatsby?
Nick Caraway is the first character to be introduced in The Great Gatsby, whose position of narrator establishes a sense of significance and integrity in novel. Nick writes in Western America, having lived briefly in New York during 1922. In the first chapter he begins to address that he encountered difficulties surrounding moral absence during his time in the East, adopting a retrospective viewpoint.
One of the first impressions we receive of Nick is that he is a reflective character who tries to be respectful, humble and non-judgemental. We can gather this from as early as the opening line, where he quotes his father: “whenever you feel like criticising anyone… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Nick can be seen to possess great sensitivity and observability as he writes he “understood that he [his father] meant a great deal more than that”. Moreover the fact that Nick has withheld this memory subtly indicates the importance with which he regards the quality of open-mindedness, also suggesting that he is a kind and self-aware.
The self-consciousness with which Nick writes is undeniable, and shows that he is deeply thoughtful and introspective. For instance, after claiming that he tries not to judge people, he confesses that he ‘snobbishly’ believes in an imbalanced distribution of ‘decency’. In other words, he sees basic manners and values as things which are not bestowed among all people, which could be seen to convey arrogance but in a way shows that Nick strives to be as honest and modest as possible, leading us to find him more reliable. He also admits to being vulnerable and naïve as he expects people to think like him. As well as humbleness contributing to his trustworthy demeanour, Nick is shown to be humorous – for example he jokes that he had pretended to be asleep if he did not want people to confide in him. His wit breaks
Nick Caraway is the first character to be introduced in The Great Gatsby, whose position of narrator establishes a sense of significance and integrity in novel. Nick writes in Western America, having lived briefly in New York during 1922. In the first chapter he begins to address that he encountered difficulties surrounding moral absence during his time in the East, adopting a retrospective viewpoint.
One of the first impressions we receive of Nick is that he is a reflective character who tries to be respectful, humble and non-judgemental. We can gather this from as early as the opening line, where he quotes his father: “whenever you feel like criticising anyone… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Nick can be seen to possess great sensitivity and observability as he writes he “understood that he [his father] meant a great deal more than that”. Moreover the fact that Nick has withheld this memory subtly indicates the importance with which he regards the quality of open-mindedness, also suggesting that he is a kind and self-aware.
The self-consciousness with which Nick writes is undeniable, and shows that he is deeply thoughtful and introspective. For instance, after claiming that he tries not to judge people, he confesses that he ‘snobbishly’ believes in an imbalanced distribution of ‘decency’. In other words, he sees basic manners and values as things which are not bestowed among all people, which could be seen to convey arrogance but in a way shows that Nick strives to be as honest and modest as possible, leading us to find him more reliable. He also admits to being vulnerable and naïve as he expects people to think like him. As well as humbleness contributing to his trustworthy demeanour, Nick is shown to be humorous – for example he jokes that he had pretended to be asleep if he did not want people to confide in him. His wit breaks