Friday, September 18, 2015

In The Great Gatsby, why does Nick feel responsible for getting people to attend Gatsby's funeral?

Concerning Nick's feeling responsible for getting people
to attend Gatsby's funeral in The Great Gatsby, Nick likes and
admires Gatsby throughout the novel.  He at one point says that Gatsby is worth more
than all of the other characters in his narrative put together.  He simply feels that
Gatsby deserves a strong showing at the funeral.


Nick also
believes he sees something in Gatsby that others don't.  Psychologically, particularly
if we recognize that Nick is an unreliable narrator, this gives Nick a feeling of
superiority.  He alone recognizes Gatsby's worth.  He comes off as a better person
because he gives Gatsby the worth and homage Gatsby deserves.  He believes he sees the
truth about Gatsby.


Also, the novel is in part a satire. 
Nick's emphasis on the contrast between the hordes of people that used to come to
Gatsby's party with the hordes that stay away from the funeral points to the Jazz Age
self-centeredness, shallowness, and frivolousness.   It also points to the hypocrisy of
Daisy and Wolfsheim. 


Nick's feeling responsible for
getting people to attend Gatsby's funeral also, by the way, reveals Nick's continued
naivete.  Not that he tries to get people to attend, but that he is surprised when they
don't.

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