Chicago '09ers: let's get to know each other!

insubvert
Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:34:29 +0000

@spazzity, ecks

I think that Nick described himself as honest and nonjudgmental to contrast with the self-delusion of Gatsby and the judgmental nature of Tom and Daisy. Gatsby changed his name, fabricated his background, and made up mannerisms to make himself into a different man. Nick, on the other hand, doesn’t really pretend to be someone he isn’t. He also accepts Gatsby, even though Gatsby comes from a lower-class background and is a bootlegger. (I think? It’s been a while since I read this book.)

It’s possible that Fitzgerald was trying to say that like Gatsby’s belief that he could ever win Daisy, the American dream itself is a delusion–an admirable one, but false nonetheless. The social structures are much more rigid than they seem. Nick is associated with honesty because he is the one who discovers this truth. I think that Nick describing himself as honest isn’t an expression of arrogance so much as it is affirming that he doesn’t believe in the mirage of the American dream.

Uh, I could have totally misinterpreted. Like I said, it’s been a while.