“In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby’s desires and unrealistic hopes are what led him to his demise. Gatsby had high hopes with Daisy, but was not able to fulfill them as his plan to relive his future with her failed. Gatsby’s lack of success was not the only cause of his death as Tom Buchanan’s immoral behaviour was a very big influence on this, both with and without intention. Although these factors were very important to Gatsby’s de was. But of course I’ll say I was” (Fitzgerald, 322). Putting his own image at risk, he says he was the one who was responsible for hitting Myrtle with the car, even though he wasn’t. Gatsby was aware of the damage it would cause for Daisy if she were known as the one who …show more content…
killed Myrtle. In addition, Gatsby’s unrealistic hopes for Daisy were evident through the parties that he frequently hosted.
The crowd believed he threw them for the fun of it and to entertain his peers, though the main reason he did was to grab Daisy’s attention. Gatsby believed they would impress her and be one of the many reasons for her to go back to him, although this failed as well. Jordan Baker says, "I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night” (Fitzgerald, 175). This proves that Gatsby organized these extravagant parties mainly to attract Daisy. Therefore, these unsuitable dreams of Gatsby’s and unnecessary blame of Myrtles accident, which adds onto his false hope of getting Daisy back, leads him to his own death. To add, Tom Buchanan was a significant influence to Gatsby’s death both directly and indirectly. This was evident once Tom exposed Gatsby’s illegal business (liquor smuggling) in front of Daisy which caused Gatsby to become infuriated – allowing Daisy to witness a scary, angry side of him which she …show more content…
had never seen before. Tom reveals this about Gatsby by saying “I found out what your drugstore businesses were. He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side street drug stores here in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald, 296). Tom’s indirect responsibility is seen in this quote as the aftermath of his discovery leads to Daisy losing any interest she had towards Gatsby which in turn led him closer to his demise.
Furthermore, Tom manipulating George Wilson into believing that Gatsby was the person driving the car that hit Myrtle also led to his death. When Tom heard that it was a “yellow coupe” that hit Myrtle, he thought of his scheme to get revenge on Gatsby for trying to steal Daisy from him. Tom was aware that the vehicle belonged to Gatsby, therefore hinting to George that Gatsby was the driver. This caused George to decide to assassinate Gatsby, as he was the one to blame for the sudden death of George’s wife. Although George originally believed the car belonged to Tom, after their conversation in George’s car he was convinced otherwise, "I was bringing you that coupe we've been talking about. That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn't mine - do you hear? I haven't seen it all afternoon” (Fitzgerald, 314). George did not believe this, so once he made his way to Tom’s house, planning to make him admit that he lied, he gets told that Gatsby is the owner of the car, instead. Tom said to Nick, “I told him the truth – He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car – He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car” (Fitzgerald, 398).
This proves he was directly responsible for Gatsby’s death, because once George heard this he shot Gatsby and killed him. Also, towards the end of the novel, Tom was the one who had told Daisy and Gatsby to head home in Gatsby’s car before him right before the accident happened. “You two start on home, Daisy. In Mr. Gatsby’s car” (Fitzgerald, 299). Although Tom might not have done this on purpose, if he hadn’t said that and let Gatsby and Daisy leave whenever they pleased, the accident would have been avoided, therefore George would not have killed Gatsby. Hence, Tom Buchanan was greatly responsible for the death of Gatsby, but not completely. Lastly, Daisy Buchanan is very responsible for Gatsby’s death as she played a significant role in his life throughout the novel. She gave him false hope by acting in a way only a girl who is in love would say. “They’re such beautiful shirts – It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before” (Fitzgerald, 206). This quotation shows her feelings towards him, once she realizes how much he had done to try and win her . Daisy was touched by this, and became emotional in admiration of the lengths Gatsby went to for her. This allowed Gatsby to think he had won her over, when in reality he did not. In a like matter, Daisy showed further responsibility for Gatsby’s death by allowing him to believe that she was interested in only him by visiting him at his mansion often and behind Tom’s back. Since Daisy was unhappy with Tom, she adored having Gatsby’s attention, even if that meant being dishonest with Tom and Gatsby as well. Gatsby told Nick this honestly, once Nick became curious on why Gatsby fired all his servants. “I wanted somebody who wouldn’t gossip. Daisy comes over quite often – in the afternoons” (Fitzgerald, 254). This proves that the two of them seeing each other was to be kept a secret as Daisy did not want to be known for being around Gatsby, since she did not want to relive her past with him. Moreover, Daisy contributed to the death of Gatsby through her dishonesty when she hit Myrtle. She did not take responsibility for a crime she committed; rather she let Gatsby take the blame for it. When questioned about Daisy, Gatsby says, “Anyhow – Daisy stepped on it. I tried to make her stop but she couldn’t, so I pulled on the emergency brake. Then she fell over onto my lap and I drove on” (Fitzgerald, 323). The lack of initiative in Daisy when it came to this accident is what had George Wilson even more convinced that Gatsby was the one behind the wheel. It was clear that Daisy had the opportunity to come forward about it, but she had chosen not to. Given these points, Daisy’s actions were a key contributor to Gatsby’s death. Finally, in the novel “The Great Gatsby”, the main character Jay Gatsby is proven to have led himself to his own end, by setting expectations that were almost impossible to achieve, as well as Tom Buchanan for his direct and indirect actions throughout the novel to sabotage Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan’s dishonesty which also contributed significantly to Gatsby’s death.
Tom has a high social status which displays irresponsibility and carelessness in The Great Gatsby. Nick says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (191). As Nick explains, Tom Buchanan lives a careless lifestyle which shows through the way he destroys Gatsby’s life. Like Jordan and Daisy, Tom only cares about his own well-being. Tom says, “‘I told him the truth,’ he said. [. . .] He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocket every minute’” (190-191). Readers can probably suggest that Tom does not tell the truth because it’s the right thing to do; he tells Mr. Wilson the truth to save himself from getting hurt. Tom’s actions also lead to him destroying Gatsby’s life. Like most of the characters in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan reckless lifestyle implies that he is a reckless driver as
George Wilson who is married to Myrtle, and Tom Buchanan, married to Daisy, are most responsible for Gatsby's death. Wilson went up to Tom asking who owned the yellow car that killed his wife. Tom revealed that it was Gatsby’s car knowing that Wilson had intentions of killing whoever owned the car, yet Tom didn’t add in the fact that Daisy was driving. Gatsby did have a relationship with Daisy, and Tom knew about it. Tom allowed Daisy to go in Gatsby’s car back to West Egg to prove that he did not care if Daisy and Gatsby were together, had Tom not let Daisy go in Gatsby’s car, both Myrtl...
hits Myrtle and kills her. Instead of stopping or trying to help, she drives off. Later, when
Tom knew that Myrtle was going to be at the shop and he knew she would see Miss Baker, mistaking her for his wife. This is why he didn’t take Daisy in his car, he did not want anyone to actually see Daisy so that when she planned to hit Myrtle with the car nobody would know who she was. After they had got gas, they met up with Daisy and Gatsby at the Plaza hotel. This is when Tom called out Gatsby for his affair with his wife and let out all of his secrets. Even after finding out everything, Tom still had confidence that Daisy was going to stay with him allowing her and Gatsby ride back home together, “You two start on home, Daisy, in Mr. Gatsby's car… Go on. He won’t annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over,” (Fitzgerald 141). Gatsby had allowed Daisy to drive his car, “.. but of course I’ll say I was , when we left New York she was very nervous and she thought it would steady her to drive… It all happened in a minute, but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were
...t of our reach. Just as one would normally work towards a goal, Gatsby strives hard to get to daisy but she is out of his reach. Gatsby’s demise depicts that we sometimes break in trying to achieve certain unrealistic goals that have been set for us by ourselves. Although a very pessimistic point of view, it is important for us as individuals to remember not to be disillusioned by unrealistic goals that are impossible for us to achieve. Gatsby takes all the necessary steps so he can be with Daisy. However, the fact that he was not born in to money and lacks the aristocratic allure, leaves him at a disadvantage. Ultimately, Gatsby is unable to win Daisy back because she doesn’t measure up to his expectations and be also perishes in trying to do so. Which raises the question if human beings should go far out their way to achieve goals that are hopelessly unrealistic
she replied after a moment. “Daisy, I saw some trouble on the road. George Wilson’s wife was killed. You know the fella that owns that garage? A car killed her, she said.
Gatsby. He thought that Myrtle was his lover. He said “He ran to speak to him and
Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy leads to his death when he allows Daisy to drive his car when they go home from the city. Gatsby was so devoted Daisy that he would not let her take the blame for hitting and killing Myrtle. When no one confessed for the crime, George Wilson started to go from garage to garage trying to find the owner of the yellow car that killed his wife. Eventually, George arrived at the Buchanan residence, where Tom insinuated that Gatsby was the one who was driving the car and who was Myrtle’s lover. While George was at their house, Daisy did not come forward and reveal that she was the one driving the car, letting George believe Gatsby was at fault. Gatsby was shot and killed in his pool by George Wilson the next day as a result of Myrtle’s
Many of the occurrences in The Great Gatsby produced far-reaching effects for several of the characters. Of these occurrences, one of the most influential and important incidents was the death of Myrtle Wilson. While her life and death greatly affected the lives of all of the main and supporting characters, her death had a very significant effect on the lives of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby.
Tom had money, Daisy knew this. She acknowledged that his money was inherited and that held the love in their relationship. She found that Gatsby grew up underprivileged, and he was supposed to inherit money from a man by the name of Dan Cody, but that opportunity fell through. Gatsby attempts to depict his life as though he inherited his money, but “even Daisy appears unable to cope with the reality of Gatsby’s lower class background”(W) Everyone that attends Gatsby’s lavish parties realize, “Gatsby is never truly one of the elite—his dream is just a facade”(W). As hard as Gatsby tried, everyone could see through his fabrications and lavish parties, most importantly Daisy. She knew his true background and didn’t love him because of it. She wanted a man whose money was inherited, not earned like Gatsby’s. “Both Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, possessed wealth. Gatsby at least used his wealth to seek out beauty and claim it for himself. Buchanan the lecher lacked any larger goals. In the end, Daisy chooses to remain with Buchanan, and Gatsby is murdered by the deranged husband of Myrtle Wilson, Buchanan's mistress, who had been accidentally run down and killed by Daisy. Buchanan serves as Gatsby's executioner; he allows George Wilson to believe that Gatsby had killed Myrtle” (Trask). Since his love for Daisy was steadfast, Jay Gatsby took the blame for killing
Gatsby is portrayed as a good person once again when he taked the blame of Daisy running over Myrtle. Later on Gatsby tells Nick that he intended to take the blame for Daisy even though daisy was driving the car. SInce Gatsby took the blame of Myrtle's death he sacrificed his own death for
Even when it seemed as though everything was working against him and that he would never regain his lost love, Gatsby kept going, knowing that the strength of his hope would see him through. His childlike determination, while ultimately his downfall, was what made Gatsby truly “great”. Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
...ese parties. Gatsby love towards Daisy is what led him to take the blame for himself. He could not let go of Daisy, he was stuck in his life trying to get the woman of his life. He wanted to spend his whole life living with Daisy.
Throughout Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, there is a broad spectrum of moral and social views demonstrated by various characters. At one end, is Tom, a man who attacks Gatsby's sense of propriety and legitimacy, while thinking nothing of running roughshod over the lives of those around him. A direct opposite of Tom's nature is Gatsby, who displays great generosity and caring, yet will stop at nothing to achieve his dream of running off with Daisy. The moral and emotional characteristics of Gastby and Tom are juxtaposed, Tom, the immoral character and Gastby, the moral character while the other characters' moral and emotional developments appear between these two.
The image of parties throughout The Great Gastby represents Fitzgerald’s belief that the American dream is only attainable in parts. These parties represent Gatsby’s grasp of superior status, which was part of his original goal to get Daisy back. To do this, however, he could not just hold a simple get-together. Gatsby had to throw the most outlandish and lavish party in town in hopes that Dai...