If you are programming in Visual Basic, you can use the CBool function to convert the string representation of a number to a Boolean value. 0 is converted to false, and the string representation of any non-zero value is converted to true.
Nick is trying to figure out who Gatsby really is. Nick hears these rumors about gatsby, how he was a German spy, a murderer, etc.. Nick is disappointed with Gatsby because Gatsby has little too say. Nick wants Gatsby to tell him who he really is, what he does, where is he from. Unsurprisingly, Gatsby does not tell him, even though they talk a lot and hang out a lot. Nick is trying to figure out who Gatsby really is.
1. He is in the perfect position for narrating the novel. He is the next-door neighbor of Gatsby and a second cousin to Daisy. He also met Tom Buchanan at his college. Nick is the character who links everyone in place and can offer an eyewitness account of most of the events that happen to the three main characters. Therefore, he serves well as a reliable, objective narrator.