Nick Carraway as a Narrator

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Although Nick Carraway tries to be a forward and reliable narrator, he has many biases and tries too hard to defend his credibility. He is uninterested in others’ affairs and tries to seem like a saintly figure, claiming he will not criticize anyone. He is too proud in the fact that he is honest, and seems to repeat this fact often throughout the novel, as if he is trying to corroborate his honesty with the reader and maybe even himself. He also lies to Jordan about not thinking he is honest, even when he clearly had this exact notion in his head. Nick makes a respectable effort to be a trustworthy narrator; however he seems to guard his reputation as he tells the story. Nick tells doesn’t leave out any major points in the story, but he does not always tell the truth. He says that he was only been drunk once before, yet he drinks alcohol many times throughout the course of the novel. At Myrtle’s party, Nick explains: “I had been drunk just twice in my life and the second time was that afternoon” (33). This is most likely untrue, because he drinks liquor several times later on in the book. The reason for Nick being ashamed of the fact that he has been drunk before is most likely due to the fact that in the year 1922 the prohibition was still going on. Prohibition outlawed the consumption and distribution of alcohol, so if Nick revealed that he has been this law before, the reader might no longer believe that Nick is a sophisticated and believable person. Nick also stretches the truth when he states that he withholds his judgment from others, because his father advised him not to criticize other people. At the exposition of the novel, Nick claims: “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had’” (1). He wants the reader to believe that he is a role model figure,
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