When I read The Great Gatsby for the first time, the narrator’s reliability didn’t cross my mind. I saw him a bit judgmental sure, and an outsider perspective yet didn’t think he could be unreliable. After my research of the book and kind of reading it a second time, I saw many pieces that I hadn’t seen my first time reading this novel.
From the beginning he made a point to be neutral, saying how his father raised him to “never judge” yet here he is essentially judging everyone. I do admit the characters do some interesting things, but he can’t be a hypocrite about it. He seems a bit obsessed with Gatsby, and says Tom is cruel as well as being contradictory by having sympathy for Daisy yet not at other times.
Nicks way of narration was not my favorite, he would skip over moments or not go into as much detail if it didn’t agree with his story he has planned out. He is very biassed, especially in idolizing Gatsby. He never fully explains how he made his money; just hints it was shady. He seems to be protecting Gatsby even after his mistakes he’s been shown to make.
I see Nick as a storyteller or viewer sharing his opinion more than the narrator of this book, considering not much is unbiased or maybe even true. He definitely shapes the story in a way that he wants rather than how it may have happened. Overall, Nick is more than just a quiet unbiased onlooker, he had become emotionally invested throughout the book which throw off his reliability as a narrator.
