If the enemy of one's enemy is a friend, Jay Gatsby must be the reader's enemy. However, this remains unclear, because Nick Carraway, a friend of Mr. Gatsby, never provides a clear point on the matter. His position as narrator of The Great Gatsby reveals Fitzgerald's intention to project the mythical and dreamlike nature of Mr. Gatsby. Gatsby lives the dream - money, status and the woman of his dreams - while the highly recognizable Nick exists in this man's shadow - without a dream. As told in this first-person narrative, the entire story and its events are filtered through the lens of the fallible Nick, and this gives way to the duality of the story. This duality reflects the dual nature of life and Gatsby. Nick's opinion of Gatsby swings from distrust to tenderness, and throughout the novel, Nick has no understanding of this seemingly mythical character. Fitzgerald highlights this contrast and duality to explain the uncontrollability of fate. He guides Gatsby to relive the most cherished moment of his life, but his indifference to his dream - the American dream - causes Gatsby's life to crumble before his eyes. Watching all this is Nick Carraway, and his floating narrative reflects Fitzgerald's idea that achievement cannot be controlled. Nick embodies friendship, inconsistency and lack of momentum. His capacity for friendship and inconsistency as a narrator represents something intrinsically human in him. He brings with him the fascination and wonder of all humanity, but his failure to pursue a dream is unnerving. Nick never held the key to fulfillment. As a friend of Gatsby and the reader, Nick is at the center of the novel's relatability. Kent Cartwright, in his 1984 essay on the unreliability of Nick Carraway, lays out... in the middle of the paper... the true beliefs of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Nick's flawed narrative exists to dispel those rumors but expose some harsher truths. Without trying something, life becomes an imprisoning chaos of sadness and pain. At the end of the story, Nick is left alone, in a state of deep pain, because he never had the chance to realize a dream. He's never had one. Although Nick never possessed this key, Fitzgerald notes with this novel that the world around him did. From Nick's lens, the world never seems quite right and he has extreme difficulty deciphering the world and the great Mr. Gatsby. The world may be imperfect, but it still turns if it is made to turn. Works Cited Cartwright, Kent. "Nick Carraway as Unreliable Narrator." Articles on Language and Literature 20.2 (1984): 114-120. Print.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925. Print.