The most intriguing novels, in my opinion, develop from an internally focused narration. When the plot unfolds through a single perspective, the reader becomes submerged in the personality, the lifestyle and the mind of the narrator. While we may have the ability to decipher the enigmatic characters surrounding Nick, every inference stems from HIS recollection of events. Our perception of the characters and situations are limited and defined by this particular perspective. We know only what Nick knows, but we are invited to surmise much more.
Nick, however, is attempting to reconstruct a detailed account of the summer of 1922, in 1924. By most standards, a difficult task to carry out. Yet despite the impracticality of such an undertaking, there is no immediate concern regarding its feasibility. As readers, we tend to invest a decent amount of trust in the idea that the story we are reading is in fact accurate. This trust can be misguided when placed in an internally narrated setting.
From a character standpoint, we come to understand that Nick, by way of pushing natural mental capacity to its limits, fails to properly recount or include certain details. However, he neglects to preface any situation with a statement of his uncertainty. The inherent trust that we established in Nick is therefore tarnished.
From a broader analytical view, Fitzgerald utilizes the imperfections and limited abilities of the mind to direct and control the narrative. This is what makes the narrative discourse of ‘The Great Gatsby’ so interesting. Fitzgerald not only incorporates innate human flaws into Nick’s character, but manages to subtly bring them to the forefront without any explicit notation.
The gaps in Nick’s memory translate to strategically placed lapses in events. These withheld bits of information (such as what occurred between the time Nick awaited his 4:00 a.m. train in Pennsylvania Station and the beginning of chapter three) are never VITAL to the continuation of the novel, as they have little bearing on the other characters we have ‘familiarized’ ourselves with. Rather, these gaps force the reader to deduce certain character traits that are never mentioned, and often denied, ultimately raising doubts about Nicks character.
There is also a broader example of Fitzgerald’s carefully crafted narrative discourse relating more to the plot of the novel than to Mr. Carraway. Though also arising through Nick’s perspective, Fitzgerald leaves much to the imagination by creating situations that Nick does not fully witness. This again forces the reader to ‘fill in the gaps’ with presumptions of who, what, when, where, why and how.
Fitzgerald simultaneously progresses both, the conception of Nick’s personality and the narrative of the summer of ’22 through two separate methods, though both rooted in the internal narration provided by Nick Carraway.
‘The Great Gatsby’ is now widely recognized as a great American novel for good reason. Fitzgerald’s intricately woven words depict human nature at it’s ‘finest’, and in much more detail than it appears on the surface. Whether examining the ethics and motives of 1920′s America or the psychology that gives birth to a ‘sense of self’, Fitzgerald masterfully crafts a depiction of the struggle to adapt, accept and allow for change.
