“How does Fitzgerald ensure that Nick’s perspective is skewed, and that he is the perfect

narrator for this text?”

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald presents Nick as an unreliable narrator who often describes
characters with biased perception. In particular, Nick declares that he is “inclined to all
judgements” in the beginning but is soon shaped by different biased perceptions to different
characters. In depicting Tom, Nick blames his infidelity with Ms Myrtle by saying that he
possess” sturdy physical egotism” that “no longer nourished his peremptory heart.”, thereby
showing his negative viewpoints towards Tom’s moral corruption. In contrast, he addresses
Gatsby as one who are “worth the whole damn bunch put together”, which presents his
positively biased perspective towards Gatsby. Overall, it is evident that Nick contradicts his
initial claim of keeping single standards towards everyone and think that “reserving judgement
is a matter of infinite hope.” Although this goes against the conventional image of reliable
narrator without any bias and emotional judgement, this fits perfectly to the intention of
Fitzgerald who tries to reveal the duality of American Dream and invites readers to get involved
into the internal conflict of Nick who “was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and
repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”