I think Fitzgerald used transgressive sexuality to make the homosexual undertones seem less alien: If at every turn there is a sordid affair or a drunken girl flaunting her sexuality, a little guy-guy love does not make the readers uncomfortable. Had he not included the flood of sexual themes, we may not have been so willing to accept Nick as a reliable, "normal" guy. The added fact that we see the story from Nick's perspective further normalizes the idea of a non-heterocentric society.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
A view from the closet (Tim)
From Tyson's analysis of The Great Gatsby, it is hard not to miss the obvious hints of Nicks bicurious viewpoint and narrative perspective. I think it was hard for us to notice without Tyson's help because all of the gay signs are coming from the first person. That means that a well groomed, homosocial guy that is obsessed with Gatsby (himself rather flamboyant) would normally raise some flags, but because we see the story from Nicks perspective, its easier to miss. Nick's sexuality appears"almost puritanical" (Tyson, 349) in attempt to both cover his homosexuality and to lead us readers away from the conclusion that Nick was in the closet. Nick also has frequent heterosexual flings to cover for his repressed homosexual feelings.
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I fully agree with your points. Coming from the perspective of a heterosexual reader, it is easy to relate to and empathize with Nick, despite his homosexuality. I believe his heterosexual flings could play a large role in this. If homosexuals want to see the ideals of sexual equality spread throughout society via literature, it is texts like these that will really do the job.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, I will leave you with a question. Do you feel that Nick is intentionally going on "heterosexual flings" (whether that intentionality is conscious or not) to "cover for his repressed homosexual feelings," or could he just be bisexual?