Interpretation Of Nick As The Real Protagonist In The Great Gatsby From The Perspective Of Narratology

The Great Gatsby is the most prominent novel of famous American writer F.Scott Fitzgerald. It quickly establishes his important place in modern Americanliterature since first published in 1925 and makes Fitzgerald the spokesman of“JazzAge”and one of the representative writers of“the Lost Generation”. At first glance,the novel appears to be a simple love story, but further examination revealsFitzgerald’s masterful scrutiny of American society during the 1920s. What’s more, asan elaborative work of narrative art, The Great Gatsby effectively embodies theauthor’s promoting the development of traditional narrative techniques by virtue ofthe perfect integration of its content and form. Through using the original narrativepoint of view and the distinctive arrangement of spatial-temporal structure, Fitzgeraldcreates dramatic effects to strengthen the specific artistic appeal and highlight thenovel’s ideological content. Based on modern narratology, this thesis attempts toprobe into the novel’s narrative techniques in terms of narrative manners andexquisite arrangement of spatial-temporal structure, emphasizing Nick’s narrativefunction and exploring the point of view based on Nick and Nick’s identity inexquisite arrangement of spatial-temporal structure on this account Nick’s status ofreal protagonist is authentically demonstrated. In principle, the thesis is divided intofive parts: Introduction, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three and Conclusion.The first part serves as the brief introduction to the writer Fitzgerald and thenovel The Great Gatsby and sums up researches of this novel at home and abroad.Chapter One includes two parts. The first part mainly makes interpretation ofsome concepts about narrator in modern narratology so as to offer theory foundationfor discussion below. The second part is detailed presentation of the novel’s narrativemanners with the guidance of modern narratology referred to in the first part anddiscussion of the narrator Nick’s function in The Great Gatsby.Chapter Two mainly deals with the unique point of view based on Nick. Theimage design of Nick is a first person limited view narrator, but his image is notsimply designed as a participated narrator just to meet the needs of narrative. The uniqueness of the point of view and its narrative content both obtain meticulousdepiction. In a sense, Nick’s image is paralleled with Gatsby’s and owns distinctpersonality charm. This chapter also makes analysis on the transgression of point ofview. Such transgression is not only requirements of narrative, but also embodimentof Nick’s telling Gatsby’s story in his own story. In addition, this chapter analyzes the“experiencing self”. This kind of“experiencing I”narrative mode constructs a kind ofstrong sense of reality, as if Nick is just in the readers and say to them in a quiet strain.Such sense of reality and intimacy is what other characters lack.Chapter Three expounds Nick’s identity in exquisite arrangement ofspatial-temporal structure and analyzes Nick’s protagonist identity from time andspace, two principal themes. The first part deals with time theme. The second part isspace theme. Nick is just like a time-controller and space-changer, adjusting therhythm of time, arranging the transformation of scene and characters’appearance tolead the readers to get the whole story, more exactly, what he sees and hears, what hethinks.After the above analysis, to conclude, based on narratology, analyzing in termsof narrator identity, point of view and spatial-temporal structure, Nick is not only themoral spokesman of the author, but also a reliable, dramatic narrator with vivid image.What’s more, Nick is the one and only three-dimensional person whose personalitygradually gains development as the story unfold. So to speak, as the narrator of thenovel, Nick Carraway tells two stories separately: one is about how he goes to theEast and eventually returns to hometown in the Mid-West, the other is Jay Gatsby’sstory, which is included in the former. In a sense, Nick’s image is paralleled withGatsby’s, because of special identity as the narrator, even being more excellent thanGatsby. Through all these, Nick’s identity as the real protagonist of The Great Gatsbyfrom the perspective of naratology is fully demonstrated.