Why do you think Fitzgerald chose to introduce Gatsby in this way?

Question

Chapter 1 question of the book the Great Gatsby

Answer 1

The mystery surrounding Gatsby before we meet him adds to his charm. It is similar to the beginning of Shakespeare’s‘ Othello’, we get many different stories and names for him–‘ bootlegger’;‘ nephew or cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s’;‘ something funny about a fellow who’d do that’;‘ regular Belasco’ and‘ I’ll bet he killed a man'. This forces us, in effect, to‘ reserve all judgment’. It would be difficult to introduce Gatsby as candidly as Nick, for we would almost certainly disapprove of him. That’s the drive in this book, to find out the truth about Gatsby because, like Nick, we are skeptical of what he says or what is said about him. Nick is unlike the other characters of the book; he is not one of the‘ careless people’. He has a conscience, he is not selfish– he has decency, which is well demonstrated in his efforts for Gatsby’s funeral. His down to earth character shows how superficial Daisy and Tom are. Tom and Daisy are ruthlessly practical, where Gatsby is a hopeless dreamer. Nick guides us between these two extremes, a detached observer whilst being involved in the action–‘ I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life’.