Saturday, October 2, 2010
Nick Carraway
Throughout the entire book, we have watched Nick Carraway get walked all over by Ms. Jordan Baker, used by Gatsby to get to Daisy, and used by Daisy to get to Gatsby. In the final chapter of the novel, due to the loss of Gatsby, we finally hear his opinions voiced, and he is not afraid to tell people what he really thinks. "'What's the matter, Nick? Do you object to shaking hands with me?' 'Yes. You know what I think of you.'" (p. 178, conversation between Tom and Nick). And another example of Nick finally voicing his opinions is, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy" (p. 179). Yet another example is when Klipspringer called, and Nick hoped it would be Klipspringer saying he would attend the the funeral. Rather, Klipspringer avoided the request and asked for Nick to mail him his tennis shoes (the original intent of his call). "I didn't hear the rest of the name, because I hung up the receiver." (p.169). The nerve of Klipspringer to not even acknowledge Gatsby's death sent Nick into a tailspin, a never before seen quality of Nick. Before Gatsby's death, Nick was a voiceless entity; he didn't even remember when his birthday was until the actual day, and it wasn't even of importance to him. The juxtaposition between Nick's voicelessness and the voicing of his opinions leads us to wonder why? Why is it now that Nick doesn't care about cushioning the truth, or being blunt? Is it just because of Gatsby's death that Nick suddenly has a spine, or is it something else? What is making Nick act so different?
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I agree. The reader saw in the first page of the novel, that Nick did not find it acceptable to voice judgements on other people. However, as this novel progresses we find that those with money, specifically born into money, will always turn out on top. Although this category does not include Nick, I believe he is frustrated by the social climate of the time, and Gatsby's death was "the final straw", that made him realize that his voice needs to be heard. So, in this final chapter Nick does voice his opinions, and I believe that is a sign of how the experience and the summer have changed him. He is no longer the person everyone uses, but rather someone who is not afraid to stick up for himself.
ReplyDeleteI think that Nick, while he was getting to know Gatsby, got the feeling that Gatsby was not going to abuse him as much as the other characters. When he really got to know Gatsby, and as the book progressed, Nick really had to begin to take over for Gatsby, ex. when Nick invited Gatsby and Daisy over. This led Nick to make his own choices, and eventually when Gatsby dies, Nick is blaming everyone else, and in his calm rage, is speaking out.
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