In The Great Gatsby, the first chapter introduces us to the narrator, Nick Carraway, as well as acquaints us with the fact that he is narrating the story after it's occurred, a perspective that will color his interpretation of statements, events, and people because he knows how it, and they, all turn out in the end. This point of view is called first person objective.
Further, the chapter introduces us to the setting of...
In The Great Gatsby, the first chapter introduces us to the narrator, Nick Carraway, as well as acquaints us with the fact that he is narrating the story after it's occurred, a perspective that will color his interpretation of statements, events, and people because he knows how it, and they, all turn out in the end. This point of view is called first person objective.
Further, the chapter introduces us to the setting of the novel—and the difference between East Egg (the more fashionable of the "Eggs" where people with old money, like Tom and Daisy, live) and West Egg (the flashy and less fashionable Egg, where people with new money, like Gatsby, live)—as well as all the major players: Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan. We especially learn a lot about the lives of Daisy and Tom, including the fact that Tom has a mistress and that Daisy is very unhappy and disillusioned with her marriage and adult life.
In addition, Nick relates some advice his father gave him many years before: "'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one [...], just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'" We learn, then, that not so very long ago, Nick was relatively nonjudgmental, and this is likely the reason all of the other characters were so willing to let him in on their secrets. None of them are good people—they are actually sort of terrible in their own ways—but Nick gets an intimate view into their lives because he has tried to live by this advice. Whether or not he continues to live by this advice remains for the reader to see.
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