Thursday, November 5, 2009

Is Nick Carraway an honest person in The Great Gatsby?

Nick Carraway certainly believes he is an honest person, and, in my opinion, he is. Nick seems to be telling readers the truth when he tells this story; he shares a great deal of information that reveals his emotional vulnerability, such as when he and Jordan speak for the last time. He admits he was "Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, [he] turned away." A dishonest person would be likely to hide such things. 


Also, when Nick sees Tom Buchanan for the last time in the text, he initially refuses to shake Tom's hand, saying, "You know what I think of you." In addition, Nick seems to understand the complexity of his feelings about Gatsby: although Gatsby represents everything Nick dislikes, Nick still ultimately thinks Gatsby is better than the rest of the shoddy "Eggs" crowd. I think Nick feels a little helpless against the Buchanans' power, but he is still relatively honest.

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