The Great Gatsby (Blog 1)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is a picture I found of Gatsby's mansion in West Egg
in the 1974 film of The Great Gatsby.

As I first began reading chapter 1 of  The Great Gatsby, I quickly noted the change of narration from this novel to The House of Mirth.  Edith Wharton wrote her book using third person omniscient point of view; on the other hand, Fitzgerald chose first person point of view.  While some may argue that it allows for a biased character, I personally prefer first person point of view because it allows readers to better understand the feelings and emotions of the narrator.  Nick Carraway, the narrator, is very different from Lily Bart in The House of Mirth.  I really like Nick so far; he is much more humble and appreciates what he has.  The first thing he mentions in the novel is a piece of advice that his father gave him as a young boy.  "'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all of the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had'" (Fitzgerald, 1).  I liked this quote because it shows that Nick was raised to be aware and gracious for the luxurious life that he gets to experience.  I am hoping that having a first person narrator in this novel will help reveal more about the characters.  The one that I am most curious about is Gatsby, which is for obvious reasons.  The first is obviously because his name is in the title, so he must be pretty important to the story.  The second is that Nick lives next door to Gatsby's impressive mansion, and Nick seems to be very against Gatsby's way of life.  This is because Gatsby is so lavish with his belongings, and Nick was raised not to live that way.  Nick demonstrates this in his words and the reasonable house that he owns in West Egg of New York.  Hopefully Nick continues to reveal more about the currently mysterious Gatsby!  Also, I feel like I am going to enjoy this book more than the last one!