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Andres Castellanos

Mrs. Storer

English 3 Honors: American Literature

March 2, 2020

An Owl-Speckled Narrator

Persuasion often works in subtle ways that are effective upon those who it is destined for

without their knowledge of it; in fact, it creates an opinion and posture in favor of the side of

which they are being swayed. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, the reader

experiences this persuasion through Nick Carraway, the narrator and secondary character

throughout the novel. Through his eyes, the reader learns the story of Jay Gatsby, a newly

wealthy man in the 1920s living in West Egg, New York, who engages in a romantic affair with

East Egg's Daisy Buchanan, wife of Tom Buchanan. Throughout the novel, the reader can infer

how Nick's emotions and mentality skew his perspective as a narrator by poorly depicting Tom's

character, Daisy's indifference, and Gatsby's death; thus, affecting the image of the story as a

whole and emitting a viewpoint where only Gatsby is given sympathy and mercy.

Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is shown as he belittles and mocks Tom through his

depictions of him. This is first seen at the beginning of the story when Nick is at the dinner party

with Daisy, Tom and Jordan, as he distinguishes Tom’s conversations above all, because "There

was something pathetic in his concentration as if his complacency, more acute than of old, was

not enough to him anymore" (Fitzgerald 16). Nick differentiates a certain factor of Tom’s speech

abilities that ceases the possibility of any positive ideas he may have on Tom. His tone leaves the

reader to infer how he no longer takes into account what he says but the way he says it.

Therefore, any future good opinion or judgment that may be given by Tom Buchanan will be
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ceased and not displayed within the novel. As a result, implying that Nick is a biased narrator. In

fact, he continues with his mentality of Tom even by the end of the novel, when he reencounters

Tom after Gatsby’s death and neglects to greet him properly; however, he revaluates his

decision: “I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were

talking to a child” (Fitzgerald 191). Nick debates with himself whether or not to greet Tom

throughout the scene and completely undermines the validity of Tom’s claims. Therefore, the

reader is persuaded into thinking that Tom’s arguments should not be taken seriously because of

the way he says it, not because of the facts, thus conveying how Nick may not be a reliable

narrator. However, it is not only Tom who is overlooked throughout the entire novel, but Daisy

is also portrayed in a demeaning way.

Nick evokes the reader’s sympathy and mercy towards Gatsby by constantly hinting at

the fact that Daisy is indifferent to the situations around her and only obsessed with herself. For

instance, when Nick reunites once again with the same group of friends, he notices the tension

within the room except from one person: “Daisy went to the mirror and stood with her back to

us, fixing her hair” (Fitzgerald 134). Nick deliberately includes the description of her back turned

to them in order to convey to the reader how Daisy is also at fault by not caring for the current

situation and tension in the room. The reader is left to infer how Daisy is indifferent to the

actions of the two men because of what Nick decides to write in the story. Therefore, directing

the culpability towards her rather than the one who is directly ripping apart their marriage more

than it is: Gatsby. Above all, this can genuinely be seen after the car incident, when Nick

inundates Gatsby with questions about the event and their reason behind leaving Myrtle to die,

“He winced. ‘Anyhow—Daisy stepped on it. I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t so I pulled

on the emergency brake. Then she fell over into my lap and I drove on” (Fitzgerald 154). Despite
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the entire conversation Gatsby and Nick had, the latter deliberately only includes the previous

quote in order to symbolize how Daisy is careless about her actions and without fear of the

possible outcomes that may happen. This is mainly due because she will still have someone to

protect her like Tom or their security in case something were to happen to her in retaliation with

the accident; however, Gatsby will be left alone with no one to protect him and no one to be

with. Thus, conveying a sense of sympathy and mercy towards Gatsby rather than who truly

deserves it, Myrtle. In addition to Daisy’s indifference, Gatsby’s death and funeral are also

depicted differently through Nick's eyes.

Lastly, Nick maintains a firm posture toward the death of Gatsby in which he subtly

compares the former’s death with the attitudes of those alive, without considering the facts and

objectivity. For instance, as the day of the funeral arrives, Nick recalls how only a few people

went, including the owl-speckled man who spent most of his time inside Gatsby's library;

however, he asserts, “I never seen him since then. I don’t know how he knew about the funeral

or even his name” (Fitzgerald 186). Nick depreciates the presence of those at the funeral and

remains upset and mad for those who did not bother to show up at the event. His tone conveys

how Gatsby was far too important and truly appreciated life for only three people to come and

celebrate his life. Therefore, he complains about the lack of presence at Gatsby’s funeral because

there were not any people Nick knew, instead of appreciating those who did attend. Lastly, after

reuniting with Tom and hearing his justifications of the misfortunes that had recently happened,

he contemplates and utters, “I couldn’t forgive him or like him but I saw that what he had done

was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused” (Fitzgerald 191). Nick

selfishly acknowledges how the true murderer of Myrtle was Gatsby since he was in the car that

hit her and did not bother to return and help. Therefore, Tom's decision to tell George who hit his
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wife is not an act of hatred but rather an act of justice. However, Nick includes these demeaning

adjectives and excuses to subtly convey how Tom’s actions were just excuses and erroneous.

Thus, demonstrating his unreliability as a narrator to objectively deliver the facts and respectfully

listen to both sides of the argument.

As seen through The Great Gatsby, the reader can interpret how it is always necessary to

remain clear and objective when reporting an event since this may result in confusion and

overlooking of facts. Nick’s position as a narrator affects the image of the story and emits a point

of view where only Gatsby is given sympathy and mercy by poorly depicting Tom’s personality,

Daisy’s indifference, and Gatsby’s death. It is always necessary to remain objective when

analyzing facts and depicting other people because, if not, one can often be wrongfully

portrayed.
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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. PENGUIN Books, 2019, www.planetebook.com/free-

ebooks/the-great-gatsby.pdf.