How Does Fitzgerald Tell the Story in Chapter 1 - Great Gatsby
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 04/26/2012 01:40 PM
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Write about some of the ways Fitzgerald tells the story in Chapter 1
We are introduced to one Nick Carroway almost as soon as the book commences, and from first glance, its obvious that Fitzgerald is telling the story from the future. Furthermore, Nick explains to us that his Father was a judgemental man, however he is in fact not. Despite telling us this he goes on to rudely describe his father and friends alike in a very judgemental way himself. By telling the story as though it has already occurred, Fitzgerald has created the illusion that his protagonist has already experienced the events that are unfolding. This ensures that Nick is a retrospective narrator throughout the book, as well as a somewhat bias story teller. Nick has also already met these people, and formed his own personal judgements of them, meaning that he is going to act as a bias narrator, giving out perhaps inaccurate information to the reader.
The chapter also outlines a few aspects of Nicks life in New York when he lived there in 1922 and his life in West Egg. The purpose of the chapter is to mainly introduce the characters of the book and set a tone for the rest of the book (e.g. ideas of social class, characterisation of Gatsby). The chapter is also crucial in conveying the relationship between Tom and Daisy Buchanan to the reader. Furthermore, the housing that is presented makes a huge statement about the sort of wealth that is being thrown around in terms of class. This is due to the fact that Nick's home, an inexpensive rental looks very poor in comparison to Daisy and Tom's home which is an ancient representation of old money. This is seen with Gatsby as well, as his house is a huge, fake mansion which is merely purchased in order to fit in with people's idealisation of Gatsby. Not only does this ostentatious manor present Gatsby's new wealth, but it also creates a symbol for his personality, in that as I said he simply purchases all of these items in order to create a big-shot alias...
We are introduced to one Nick Carroway almost as soon as the book commences, and from first glance, its obvious that Fitzgerald is telling the story from the future. Furthermore, Nick explains to us that his Father was a judgemental man, however he is in fact not. Despite telling us this he goes on to rudely describe his father and friends alike in a very judgemental way himself. By telling the story as though it has already occurred, Fitzgerald has created the illusion that his protagonist has already experienced the events that are unfolding. This ensures that Nick is a retrospective narrator throughout the book, as well as a somewhat bias story teller. Nick has also already met these people, and formed his own personal judgements of them, meaning that he is going to act as a bias narrator, giving out perhaps inaccurate information to the reader.
The chapter also outlines a few aspects of Nicks life in New York when he lived there in 1922 and his life in West Egg. The purpose of the chapter is to mainly introduce the characters of the book and set a tone for the rest of the book (e.g. ideas of social class, characterisation of Gatsby). The chapter is also crucial in conveying the relationship between Tom and Daisy Buchanan to the reader. Furthermore, the housing that is presented makes a huge statement about the sort of wealth that is being thrown around in terms of class. This is due to the fact that Nick's home, an inexpensive rental looks very poor in comparison to Daisy and Tom's home which is an ancient representation of old money. This is seen with Gatsby as well, as his house is a huge, fake mansion which is merely purchased in order to fit in with people's idealisation of Gatsby. Not only does this ostentatious manor present Gatsby's new wealth, but it also creates a symbol for his personality, in that as I said he simply purchases all of these items in order to create a big-shot alias...