How important is the narrative role of Nick in F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby?

Nick’s participation in The Great Gatsby is mostly that of a spectator and occasional prompter in revealing information to the reader. In this sense, he is of no importance to the plot or to the reader, as he adds no intrigue. The vicarious nature of Nick’s narrative contributes to the view of Nick as a liminal character – in spite of his self-aware approach that makes it, in many ways, less of a narrative role than an authorial role.

However, in a very different way, Nick is the most important character as it is through him that the reader is permitted a privileged, if skewed, glimpse into the truth of this society. Nick’s role as the narrator, therefore, can be seen as that of a bridge between the reader and Gatsby, as it is necessary for the reader to gain a more than superficial insight into Gatsby himself. Despite his secondary characterisation, Nick uses narrative structure, as well as language, to influence the reader’s view of other characters, and it is because of this control that Nick’s narrative role is so fundamental to the novel.