Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
The function of Narrators in Gatsby + Poetry - Coggle Diagram
The function of Narrators in Gatsby + Poetry
In the Great Gatsby, Nick's narration acts as a lens through which we see women's subjugation within a patriarchal system, as Shakespeare ventures to condemn the perpetuation of draconian gender conventions, which are innately embedded into the male gaze.
Nick's simultaneous reliability and unreliability evoke complex moral debates in the audience. They cannot just use Nick's analysis and perception as their moral guide throughout the novel but are instead forced to come to their own conclusions, seeing past the thinly veiled corruption of Nick's narration.
Perhaps Fitzgerald does this to reveal how corrupt values of hedonism, gendered power dynamics, and consumerism have infiltrated every aspect society. Even Nick, who claims to be morally upright and guided by set principles, deviates from these. His entire narration is defined by paradox. Fitzgerald suggests that in order for love to truly thrive, these toxic standards must be wholly abandoned.
Nick Carraway is an
intradiegetic narrator
, meaning he himself is within the narrative. This places him directly within the action, perhaps causing us to trust his views more. However, this trust is dispelled by the fact that he does not ever accept responsibility for any of the events of the novel, but views himself as an outsider, devoid of accountability.
Nick's narration gives Fitzgerald a voice, allowing satirise the loss of morality in American society, in turn condemning a society fundamentally driven by hedonism, consumerism, and wealth.
“with Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine”
“Jordan’s golden shoulder”
Materialism and wealth- he only values her for her social standing and reputation within society. Without this, she lacks any weight. Fitzgerald critiques the objectification, thus disempowerment, of women within society.
"The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though on an anchored balloon."
This idea that they lack substance- women are only awakened and afforded purpose in the male gaze. When they are not in this state of appeasing men, but relaxed and not putting on a facade, they lack any identity.
Ironic that a balloon- something free- is anchored. The limited freedom awarded to women, something which Nick simultaneously acknowledges and is complicit within.
The Flea
The idea that desire is more powerful love, as the speakers narration serves to illuminate the corruption and love and power dynamics with male desire. Love has been conflated with instantaneous gratification and carnal pleasures. Serves to underpin loves intangibility in respective society.
"we are met and cloistered in these living walls of jet"
'cloistered' denotes the architectural beauty of a church, the flea has become a symbol worthy of worship. the lexis is also evocative of structural support, perhaps revealing how society is founded in male virility and the idea that to uphold the sanctity of marriage they must engage in sex. male desire lies the foundations for 'love' in society.
The conceit of the flea. Metaphysical poetry. The flea seen as an icon of the male gaze because unlimited access to women- serves to depict mens most carnal desires, and the need for these to be satiated.
The narrator also uses apostrophe, silencing the woman and not allowing her autonomy. He makes this long speech to justify his lust, and attempts to convince her to indulge in these carnal pleasures. REFERENCE TO CONTEXT: experience of lust would be very different for women as they were not supposed to be sexually autonomous but were only supposed to be wives, objects of male lust.
"It sucked me first, and now sucks thee. And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be"
The lexical choice 'mingled' depicts how they are forever intertwined. Further, it could suggest that there is no end and no beginning anymore- in this transaction the women is stripped of her autonomy, and denied of her identity. The male speakers determination to attain her physically results in her total and complete disempowerment.
The collective pronoun 'we' is evocative of male entitlement, as the speaker projects his desires onto the woman.
The syntax of 'it sucked me first, and now sucks thee' depicts the consequences of sexual intercourse for men and women. For men, they obtain transient pleasures before moving on to the next conquest. Conversely, for women the effects are ongoing, as denoted by the present tense continuous verb 'sucks'.
To His Coy Mistress
Apostrophe- he is speaking to a silenced woman. This idea that male dominance is entirely overpowering and intoxicating, rendering women powerless and stripping them of their autonomy.
He urges the woman to abandon logic and embrace time, a typical example of a 'carpe diem' poem and this idea that male egotism utilised time to justify its entitlement and the vastness of womens commodification.
The use of the syllogism- if, but, so- using a logical structure to justify an illogical argument, male gaze seen as the pillar of morality. This idea that the unchecked historic power afforded to men in a patriarchal system allows them to weaponise vastly important concepts such as time to justify their arguments.
"Thou by the Indian Ganges Side..... I by the tide of humber would complain."
Indian Ganges is a pure, holy river. She is holy and pure and that is the only thing that he values her for, commodification of women within the male gaze.
Tide of humber is a highly polluted river. Men strip women of their purity (virginity), taking away the only power they hold in a society steeped in patriarchal dominance.
In his projection of reality, they are far apart. He does not truly love her but only wants to use her as a vessel for his carnal desires, and the need for instantaneous gratification.
"Thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run."
The use of the imperative 'will'--> In the speakers projection of reality the woman is a willing participant, male entitlement + dominance.
Male arrogance and the belief that she will want to outrun time with him. He accepts that time is a factor which they will never be able to ignore- celestial imagery of the sun denotes the omnipotence of time as a construct- but he will go to any lengths to try and delay its impacts.
The speakers arrogance and determination depicts the detrimental effects of the unchecked and historic power afforded to men in a patriarchal system- with women disempowered and stripped of their autonomy.
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
In his final narration, Nick acknowledges the cyclical nature of the human condition. Humanity is fickle and weak, will always fall victim to the same cycle of destruction, tragedy, loss of love, when trapped within draconian views on women and intoxicating ideals of consumerism and hedonism. The unjust importance placed upon the pursuit of pleasure and masculine dominance is thus shown to spiral into tragedy.
Boat's against the current- current is something natural and is guided by science. This idea that is the nature of mankind to establish arbitrary power dynamics, thus humanity is fundamentally self destructive. Fitzgerald makes comment on the human condition and
Underscores the theme of time within the novel. Nick's narration is only one example of tragedy resultant from a hedonistic, patriarchal society.