THE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN

THE GREAT GATSBY

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2005 05 10

Catalogue
Abstract 1. Introduction 2. The new and unique point of view 2.1 The Point of View of I as Witness 2.2 The Transgression of the Point of View 2.3 The Shift of the Point of View 3. The Exquisite Arrangement of Spatio-temporal Structure 3.1 The Narrative Time 3.2 The Spatial Structure 4. Conclusion Bibliography 3 3 4 5 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 15

Abstract

As a perfect work of modern narrative art, Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, with the union of its content and form, fully presents the authors effort for the development of traditional narrative techniques. Through using the new and unique narrative point of view and the exquisite arrangement of spatio-temporal structure, the author creates dramatic effects to strengthen the specific artistic charm and highlight the novels concept content. This article explores the narrative features in The Great Gatsby in terms of I as witness, the transgression and the shift of the point of view to demonstrate the special and distinct techniques in the point of view and also analyses the exquisite arrangement of spatio-temporal structure of The Great Gatsby from the perspective of narration key words.

Key words: the point of view, narrative person, spatio-temporal structure, narrative time, The Great Gatsby

THE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE GREAT GATSBY

1. Introduction
The Great Gatsby is considered not only the most prominent work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, but also one of the most outstanding novels in Modern American Fiction. The detail on art world in the novel profoundly reveals the hollowness of the American worship of riches and the unending American dreams of love, splendor and gratified desires. It is a symbol for an age. On the art form, it characterizes clarity, imposing and proficient and still enjoys high reputation about it now. Born in Saint Paul, Mirnesota, in 1896, Fitzgerald was the only son of a socially prominent and genteelly poor family. With the financial aid of relatives he entered Princeton University. In 1917, he left before graduating to serve in the US Army in Alabama, where he became engaged to Zelda Sayre. After his discharge from the army in 1919, he took a job with an advertising agency and worded on short stories and a novel at night. Eventually his first novel, The Side of Paradise was accepted for publication and appeared in March 1920. It was an instant success and brought Fitzgerald fame and wealth. In the same year Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre were married. They plunged into the gaudy, wealthy society of their generation. The couple lived so extravagantly that they frequently spent more money than Fitzgerald earned. In order to earn more money, Fitzgerald continued to write. In 1922 he published his
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second novel, The Beautiful and Damned, and a collection of short stories, Tales of the Jazz Age. In 1925, Fitzgerald managed to complete The Great Gatsby. It was a critical success but a commercial failure. His next novel, Tender Is the Night (1934) was received coldly mainly because America was deep in the Great Depression and nobody wanted to read about expatriates in France. Battered by the failure of the book and Zeldas mental breakdowns, he drank to excess and grew seriously ill, died in 1940. The Great Gatsby is a story about American dreams. Nick Carrawlly, a young man from the Middle Western American, leaves home to East American for live. During his adrift life, he knows the fictions protagonist Gatsby and eyes the whole process of Gatsbys tragedy. Nick uses a special narrative form to describe a story of this poor Mid-Westerner Jay Gatsby. The young Gatsby loves Daisy who has married Tom Buchana, a brute of a man, for his various criminal activities, including bootlegging, seeks out Daisy and Tom. Drawn by his wealth and his devotion, Daisy becomes his mistress. When as a hit-and-run driver she kills Myrtle, a wife of a garage man and Toms mistress. Gatsby tries to protect her. He is shot when Tom in a fit of jealousy betrays him falsely to Myrtles husband. At his death, all of his so-called friends abandon him. In this novel, Fitzgerald gets the context and form to connect perfectly. Through using the new and unique narrative point of view and the exquisite arrangement of spatio-temporal structure, the author creates dramatic effects to strengthen the specific artistic charm and highlight the novels concept content. All these things appear fully the authors effort for the development of traditional narrative techniques.

2. The New and Unique Point of View

The point of view means the narrators perspective to tell stories, and the readers basic rule to judge the world in stories (Li Jianxin 2003:105). It prescribes narrators scope to narrate, often used with narrative person. The narrative person not only makes clear tellers position but also demonstrates the narrative way the teller takes. Before the 20th century, fictions narration was always adopted sole narrative person to tell stories, using first person or third person. As far as the point of view, omniscience almost monopolized the narrative market. From the beginning of the 20th century, novelists eyes on fiction tended from its traditional
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society and ethic values to artistic performance (Wu Weiren 1990:162). The narrative of modern fiction is not content with sole narrative person in whole fiction and broke out it to take two or multiple foci of narrative person. So it turned up some new phenomena in narrative features like the transgression and the shift of the point of view. The Great Gatsby, as a bright pearl in the world literature, embodies the narrative features of modern fiction and also reveals Fitzgeralds mature artistic skill.

2.1 The Point of View of I as Witness

The whole story of Gatsby is based on Nicks memories, using the first person I. Nick is not only the teller of the story, but also a key character in the story. He is a witness of many things. This narrative way is called I as witness (Pilip Sterik 1967:125) in Pilip Steviks The Theory of the Novel. It makes the story more reasonable and infectious and creates harsh critics and deepened connotive meanings (Wu Weiren 1990:219). As a morality criticizer, Nick instead of the author judges every character in the story including him himself. This way of narrative strengthening storys reality and theme, makes the story as an integral whole and invulnerable. In the novel, Nike is both in and out of the story (Xu Dai 1992:105). Because of his multiple positions, he is in the story. Nick is the protagonist Gatsbys neighbor; Daisys brother once removed; Toms classmate in college and the sweetie of Daisys close friend, Jordan. He is a tie, which joints many contradictions and conflicts between characters and a key figure in the complicate relations net, being everywhere and everything. Fitzgerald lets him use curious eyes to view Gatsbys actions and holds sympathy to suppose Gatsbys thoughts. This creates distinct art effects. Nike is out of the story because those contradictions and conflicts are no business to him. He can take an objective and calm attitude to value them. Through Nike eyes, readers learn everything happened in the story. Nike shows the charm and glamour, the degeneration and disgracefulness in the upper class in front of readers. As a witness who has strong flexibility and broad and various information (Pilip Sterik 1967:125), he can observe Gatsby actions standing far from him and get lots of information about Gatsby identity from peoples guesses and gossips in the party. He also can witness the desolate sight after Gatsbys death, which makes a comparison with Gatsbys flashy live during his lifetime. This tragic effect cannot be taught by other narrative ways. Using I as witness to narrative the story, Fitzgerald let readers feel things directly in the
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story. But as a writer he hides himself behind the case. This non-individualistic technique makes the novel get a true effect (Booth 1997:302). Besides, using a character in the story as the narrator and the first person to tell the story let readers experience personally. All of these make the story more vivid and persuasive.

2.2 The Transgression of the Point of View

Though I as witness can bring vivid and persuasive effect on readers, it has some shortcomings. The narrator can only describe things which he knows but cannot walk into other characters minds and gains their thoughts. This hinders the narrator to reveal characters inner being avoiding readers to learn their figures more clearly. Thus, the narrator must transcend his narrative limits to present things. This phenomenon is called the transgression of the point of view. In The Great Gatsby, when Nike has a perspective to Gatsby, Daisy, Tom and other characters in his or others opinion, he has surpassed his narrative limits as a first person narrator. There are many obvious cases about such transgression. In chapter five, after the statement of the sight of Gatsby and Daisys reunion after five years, Nike comments Gatsby using the tone of first person I.

As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsbys face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of five or freshment can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart (Fitzgerald 1982:128).

In this comment, the statement Almost five years! likes Gatsbys heart saying. It is Nikes supposition to Gatsbys inner being. Normally speaking, Nike cannot know it as a first person narration. Thus, the narrator transcends his narrative limits here. But after this transgression, the narrator leads readers into Gatsbys mind and lets readers catch Gatsbys emotion changes. In this way, readers feel reasonable about Gatsbys feelinga faint doubt
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had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness and faithful about the narrators comment. In chapter six, when Nike pictures a date of Gatsby and Daisy before five years, he himself is something like a vidicon to show Gatsbys actions firstly. But later, he states Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place about the tree (Fitzgerald 1982:148). From here, there appears the transgression of the point of view. The narrator leaps out his narrative limits to make a perspective to the characters inner being. Because when he narrates like a vidicon, he cannot go into characters mind to learn about theirs thoughts. Again, through the transgression the narrator successfully joints Gatsbys ideal ambition and his pursuit for Daisys love closely, making readers know clear that Daisy is Gatsbys chasing lover, more important, she is the avatar of Gatsbys dream. Such special narrative skill appears again in the following paragraph. In the beginning, Nike tells things also like a vidicon. But when he says He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God (Fitzgerald 1982:149), he is becoming a omniscient narrator who knows everything because these are Gatsbys inner being, others cannot learn. But from thenin next sentences then he kissed her. At his lips touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete (Fitzgerald 1982:149), the omniscient narrator goes back again like the vidicon to tell things. After these twice transgression of the point of view, the narrator again finely lets reader know well about Gatsbys contradictive feelings at that time. Truthfully speaking, if there are not these transgressions, readers could only observe Gatsby as a looker-on. They are not able to appreciate the content of Daisys symbolic meanings for Gatsby and Gatsbys contradictive feelings in the process of getting this symbolic thing. In fact, the main line of Gatsbys beautiful dream for his pursuit and his contradictive feelings on this road go through all along The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald highlights this line by the transgression. It is very important for developing the novels theme.

2.3 The Shift of the Point of View

Unlike the transgression of the point of view, the shift of the point of view is another special figure in The Great Gatsby. The latter is legal while the former is illegal. It is an
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expedient measure to use the transgression little range and temporarily when needed. But when the narration needs from one point of view to another largely for a long time, the transgression is incompetent but only the shift of the point of view can do. In The Great Gatsby, the shift mainly presents in the first person narration, though limited in essence, tending to be omniscient or partially omniscient. In chapter two, when the narrator pictures Toms mistress, he uses the shift of the point of view. It is a rumor for Nick about Tom having a mistress, so when he states about this event, it is reasonable for him to use the omniscient narrative. But quickly, the omniscient narrative tends to the first person narrative Though I was curious to see her, I had no desire to meet herbut I did. (Fitzgerald 1982:31). Here, this changes result on the development of the storys plot for The Great Gatsby is about the story of Gatsby not of Tom. Thus, in order to not be far away from the center event and let readers attention focus on the latter narration, the narrator must change the narrative eyes to avoid enlarging readers observation. In chapter seven, where the narrator Nike presents Daisy and Gatsbys emotional reactions after Gatsby and Toms direct conflict, he firstly uses the eye of I to observe Gatsby, Daisy and Tom, then instead by the eye of he. It is to say that the point of view tends from the first person narration to the omniscience. Through this change, the narrator makes readers know clear that after Toms malicious attack, Gatsbys dash is shortened and Daisys emotional direction changes accordingly, from Gatsby to Tom again. As a symbol for Gatsbys pursuing ideal, Daisys gradual cowering means Gatsbys pursuit disperses little by little until nothing. The narrator and readers all know it, but Gatsby himself knows nothing about it, more exactly speaking, he is unwilling to know it. From this point, his shift makes up for the point of view of first persons shortcoming. More important, it usefully adjusts narrative distance effectively satirizes Gatsbys hopeless pursuit and reaches a satiric effects. In the same chapter, there are also some phenomena of the shift of the point of view in the event of Daisys driving killing Toms mistress Myrtle. When the event happened, Nike was not at hand. His narration about the event is not his experience but from a character in the story named Michaelis description. In order to tell this story, Nike gives up his eyes but makes use of the characters and then lets readers observe the whole story through the characters eyes. This shortens the narration distance and builds a feeling of experience personally for readers and also reinforces the narrative truth.
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The similar shift phenomenon also appears in other place in the novel. Here does not to present one by one. One more which needs to mention is that the shift from one point of view to another is the narration requirement for observing characters inner being, developing storys plot and producing narrative truth. Such requirement fulfills by these changes in The Great Gatsby. All of these turn up Fitzgeralds novels narrative features.

3. The Exquisite Arrangement of Spatio-temporal Structure

The exquisite spatio-temporal structure is another narrative technique in The Great Gatsby. As to the temporal narrative arrangement, the novel follows the seasonal cycle in time sequence but adjusts the speed and order of particular time, thereby characterizing itself by the non-linear development of story, a strategy widely adopted in modern fiction. As to the spatial arrangement, the contrast of East and West, East and West Eggs, and New York and Foul Dust in the novel, constitute the beyond-geographic-sense metaphors, which reveal and highlight the theme of the novel.

3.1 The Narrative Time

The narrative time is one of the most important research parts for narrative theorists. The traditional narrative works press on the description and reproduction to the truth of real life, lacking some temporal arrangement skillsomission, abbreviation, extension, pause, flashback and so on, while the modern fiction broke away from the form of linear narration, beginning to extend or shorten the narrative time. Fitzgerald was lived in 1920s which was called the transformation from traditional fiction to modern fiction (McMichael 1980:64). In his novels, there are some new points on the narrative time. Like other modern fiction, The Great Gatsby reflects authors concerns on the time. In the novel, Fitzgerald arranges the narrative time skillfully. The whole story is based on Nikes memories for the experiences in the East with two years time-span. It is almost omission for Nikes life when he came back from east. Unusually, Nicks Easts experience exactly completes a seasonal cycle. According to Northrop Fryes literature meanings in seasonal cycle, for instance, spring means revival and refreshing (Wu Zhizhe 1997:90). In the novel, Nike goes to East restlessly after coming back from the war field. It is just in the spring at that
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time. Nike feels that he himself is becoming an exploiter and has a new life and hopes in a new area. There are some senses of relaxing and joyful between the lines. Summer is a season at zenith of power (Wu Zhizhe 1997:90). It is used to celebrate hero. In the summer, Nike acquaints with Gatsby. And through all the summer nights, there are parties in Gatsbys blue gardens. Gatsby takes an incomparable way to arrange his feasts and also takes an incomparable permanence to pursue his dream. At last, he meets Daisy wish-fulfilled and wins her favor. Though Nike does not make any comment as a stranger, he names Gatsby the son of God (Fitzgerald 1982:153) in a narrative. Nikes favor for Gatsby spirit coincides in temporal metaphors. Autumn is the stage of heros comedown and dying process (Wu Zhizhe 1997:90). When the author arranges Nike and Gatsbys farewell, he mentions of Gatsby disappeared among the yellowing trees (Fitzgerald 1982:216), then Gatsby is killed in his pool, above him the touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water (Fitzgerald 1982:217). Finally, Nike goes back to West. Winter is the stage of hero dying tragically (Wu Zhizhe 1997:90), corresponding to Nikes mood of disheartening to the East and going back home after Gatsby death. When the author handles the text processing, he does not arrange the narrative time equally, but effectively adjusts the speed, extending one season, one day or one point during his narrative. For example, the first three chapters are mainly about three nights. Chapter one is the night of Nikes visit to Daisy and Tom. Chapter two is mainly about the night of Nike and Tom and his mistress in New York. Chapter three is the description of the night of Nikes attendance in Gatsbys feast. Nike calls these three nights they were merely casual events in a crowded summer (Fitzgerald 1982:25), but in the story, these three nights takes up a large description from page one to page seventy-five while other time is omitted. This change of the speed of narrative time brings a particular narrative effect. The extending description of these three nights reflects authors perspectives and thoughts for three kinds of people. Another feature on the arrangement in narrative time is the order of particular time. In The Great Gatsby, the author firstly lets Nike catch a lot of gossips about Gatsby, giving the character a mysterious veil and producing a suspension, then Jodans saying about Gatsby and Daisys love story, adding a romantic color for characters. Finally, he uncovers the characters veil little by little, opening Gatsbys various vicissitudes gradually before readers view until his death. Such order disorganizes the time sequence of narration, making the structure of the
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fiction has an internal tension. In the description of Nike and Gatsbys association, the time directs to now while in other peoples description about Gatsbys experiences, the time directs to past. This two different time directions go through each other and alternate constantly, disorganizing the linear development of story. Let us make an analysis and compare the time sequence between in the story and in the narrative words. Here are things about Gatsby in the story: A. Gatsby boyhood (in chapter 8); B. Gatsbys life when he was in 17 in Dan Codys yacht (in chapter6); C. Gatsby met Daisy and fell love with her (in chapter4,6,8); D. Gatsbys experience of visiting Daisy after the war (in chapter8); E. Gatsby took part in Wolfsheims illegal business (in chapter8); F. Gatsbys end. The normal time sequence is AB-C-D-E-F-G. But after the authors artful handling, the order presents C-BC-DCF-E-A.

3.2 The Spatial Structure

The spatial structure is very profound and abstract in The Great Gatsby. The contrasts of East and West, East and West Eggs, and New York and Foul Dust in the novel constitute the vivid spatial framework. The early culture of America arose from Eastern Colony. After the Independence War, American was independence in politics from Britain, but also contacted with them in culture and ideology. Along with the culture extending to Middle Western, the Western Culture presented a new activity and attracted many dream-cherishing exploits because there were more chances and large free space to them. Thus, East and West are not only two opposite geographic meanings, but also two different cultural meaning. In The Great Gatsby, Nikes experience from West to East then back to West is not so much the changes in space as the seeking for the source of spirit and culture. Nike is from West in a wealthy family, his familys prosperity corresponded to the development of West. Nike calls this area where is the dream place for many Americanthe warm center of the world (Fitzgerald 1982:3). But after the Great War, he loses heart for it and wants to skip from her. At that time, East has finished the Industrial Revolution. The property in East gives Nike a new hope. He believes that he is becoming a settle like his ancestor. Nevertheless, after witnessing Gatsbys tragedy, he again feels sorry about his nations civilization and back to West. The recurrence of place and action forms the spatial lock, no way to break out.
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The contradiction between East and West also embody in the conflict of the East Egg and West Egg which releases Gatsbys tragedy and highlights the theme. From the beginning, the author tries to make metaphors to East and West Eggs. Their physical resemblances are both like the egg in the Columbus story (Fitzgerald 1982:6) but their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size (Fitzgerald 1982:7). Tom and Daisy live on the East Egg who are born in rich and powerful families and social status while Gatsby is on the West Egg who is born in a humble family but cherishes dream and longs for success. The author arranges an important symbol in the novel that is the green light played an important role in the process of modeling the protagonist Gatsbys character. At the end of chapter one, when Nike goes back home in the evening and sees that Gatsby stares at the green lighthe stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily, I glanced seawardand distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock. (Fitzgerald 1982:29) This green light means the dream and hope to Gatsby, which he adheres constantly all his life to pursue and seek hard. However, the green light is of puzzled, dangerous and destructive. When Gatsby closes one more step to it, he also nears to destruction and death. The green light arranges at the end of the novel exactly proves this symbolic and ironic meaningGatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year reached before us. It eluded us then, but thats no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther And one fine morning (Fitzgerald 1982:24) Another important symbolic temporal location is New York and Foul Dust. As a modern city, New York is the center of modern civilization. But between this center and West Egg, there locates a certain desolate area of land named by the author the valley of ashes, which is full of symbolic meanings. This is the place that where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke (Fitzgerald 1982:30). Wilson and his wife Myrtle live in this valley of ashes. Wilson believes Toms words and shoots Gatsby, then suicide; Myrtle degenerates herself as Toms mistress and finally dies under Daisys driving. These two tragedies express the darkness of the modern civilization center. The author connects the depiction of space with characters feelings and fully releases the narrators disappointment and disgust to this modern civilization center.
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4. Conclusion
To sum up, Fitzgerald is skillful and creative enough to use kinds of distinctive narrative techniques to enrich the depth of the novel and emphasize the theme. Through using the new and unique narrative point of view and the exquisite arrangement of spatio-temporal structure, he successfully makes the novel more charming and splendid in Modern American Fiction, even in the World Fiction. The famous critic Thomas Stearns Eliot who is known as his rigor on literature values appreciated The Great Gatsby as the first step on American fiction after Henry James (Poupard 1984:149). Such high comment enough lights us to recognize correctly the novels literature values and the prominent status in American fiction history.

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Bibliography
[1]Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Press, 1982. [2]Pilip Sterik. The Theory of the Novel. New York: The Free Press, 1967. [3]McMichael, George. Anthology of American Literature. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co. Inc., 1980. [4]Wu Weiren. History and Anthology of American Literature (2 vols.). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1990. [5]Poupard, Dennis & James E. Person (eds.). Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (14 vols.). Detroit & London: Gale Research Inc., 1984. [6]W. C.: , 1997 [7]: , 1997 [8]: , 1992 [9]: 2003

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