The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald

As I said before, the narrator of this novel is very different from Wharton in The House of Mirth.  Written in first person, The Great Gatsby tells the story from the point of view of Nick Carraway who is close friends with Jay Gatsby.  Throughout the first couple chapters, Nick described his life and acquaintances which set the stage for Gatsby for the remainder of the novel.  Differing greatly, the narrator in The House of Mirth is omniscient and tells the story in third person, giving thoughts and feelings of different characters, not just Lily Bart.  Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald both share some qualities in their writing such as flashbacks, beautiful diction, and varying syntax [but that's for another post]. 
      Now a little about Nick Carraway.  I really liked Nick from the very beginning.  He is really funny, sometimes sarcastic, and intelligent.  I appreciate his decisions and choice of friends, although the novel does not go very in-depth with his various relationships.  Anyway, I love the little "bromance" blossoming between Gatsby and Nick because it seemed like he really needed a close friend, even though he had those huge, extravagant parties seemingly every weekend. I really like Gatsby too because he loves Daisy, even after all those years, and he is cutely nervous and embarrassed around her.  "Oh, God," "This is a terrible mistake...a terrible, terrible mistake," and "Don't talk so loud" (Fitzgerald, pages 87-88.)  This was really sweet as Gatsby seemed so calm and collected all the time except when he was around Daisy.  Nick was also sweet during this scene when he talked Gatsby through his nervousness and really supported him like a good friend should.  [Whoops, I guess this is in chapter 5, so I'm going a little out of order on the posts.]