The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald
 
In today's society, many people like to follow the current
trend and want to " catch the wave". It does not matter if
things are good or bad, right or wrong; they just follow
and do them without any thinking. Therefore, there are not
too many people who want to be a normal, thoughtful or
neutral person. In the novel, " The Great Gatsby", by
Scott Fitzgerald, the character named Nick Carraway, is
such a person. He is a neutral narrator who analyzes
everything and tries to relate things as accurately as
possible. He advised Gatsby to stay away from Daisy, he
proved that Gatsby was not a murderer, and he didn't take
sides when Gatsby and Tom got into a brawl.
 
When Mr. Gatsby told Nick that he wanted to go back to his
lover, Daisy and start all over again, Nick Carraway warned
him to give it up, because it was impossible to recapture
the past. Unfortunately, Mr. Gatsby did not believe it and
tried to pursue his dream. As it turned out, it was to no
avail, as Daisy did not return his love. Not only did she
continue to stay with Tom but even at the end when Gatsby
was murdered, Daisy showed her disdain for him by not
attending the funeral. " I called up Daisy half and hour
after we found him, called her instinctively and without
hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that
afternoon, and taken baggage with them". Nick Carraway's
advice had been correct.
 
Nick Carraway's observed people carefully and did not trust
what they said, until he could prove things for himself. An
example of this can be seen when Nick went to Gatsby's
party and was told by a drunk lady that Gatsby had killed a
man before. " Somebody told me they thought that he had
killed a man once". She then continued " . . and that he
was a German spy during the war". Nick did not accept this
at face value and proceeded to check it out. After
questioning Gatsby, he found out that Gatsby was an Oxford
man and had fought in World War One. After confirming this,
Nick knew that Gatsby was not a German Spy nor a murderer.
 
Another example of Nick's ability to analyze situations can
be seen at the end of the novel when Mrs. Wilson is killed.
At first it appeared that Gatsby was to blame for the
accident because it was his car; however, after gathering
all the facts and careful consideration, Nick realized that
it could not have been Gatsby. 
 
Nick's neutrality is best exemplified when Gatsby and Tom
have an argument about Daisy and he doesn't take sides. "
I've got something to tell you, old sport- " began Gatsby.
But Daisy guessed at his intention. " Please don't!" she
interrupted helplessly." Please let's all go home. Why
don't we all go home? That's a good idea. I got up. Come
on, Tom. Nobody wants a drink. I want to know what Mr.
Gatsby has to tell me. Your wife doesn't love you," said
Gatsby. "She's never loved you. She loves me." page 131 to
page 135.
 
Nick is fair, unbiased, truthful, and an accurate observer.
He does not not readily believe what he hears and is not a
follower of others. He is a very fine narrator.