Caden Mims Professor Jeremiah Hutchins Postmodern American Literature 3 April 2024 Explanation of “The Death Car” in The Great Gatsby Could an event in a novel that at first seems like a simple and tragic accident, actually be a much more complex plot point that brings all of the developments of the book together in a masterfully woven way that clears up all of the loose ends throughout it? F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, does this exact thing. In this part of the novel, the characters Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are driving home from a hotel after a massive fight scene. However, due to a mix up in the cars, an unforeseen accident happens and Myrtle, Tom Buchanan’s mistress, ends up getting run over by Daisy. Daisy drives away …show more content…
‘You weren’t so nice to me last night.’ ‘How could it have mattered then’” (Fitzgerald 165)? This quote shows Jordan’s true colors of superficiality as she is upset that Nick was slightly gruff toward her immediately after a tragic accident, and fails to see the bigger issue. So overall, the death car scene reveals quite a lot about the true, more sinister colors of some characters that we thought were good people. To summarize everything discussed so far, the death car scene from the novel The Great Gatsby is a very complex and wonderfully written scene that brings together all the previous tensions of the novel and shows many characters true colors. Both Tom's affair with Myrtle, and the hotel room drama of Tom and Gatsby fighting for Daisy’s love, come into play in the accident that is Myrtle’s death. Additionally, previously held notions about certain characters like Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan are proven somewhat false with the aftermath of this event. So, the next time you read The Great Gatsby, try to explore this scene in the book with a whole new perspective to it and appreciate the complexity and intrigue that surrounds
After Myrtle was hit and killed by a car, Tom told George, her husband, that the person driving the car was Gatsby. It was actually Daisy who killed Myrtle, but Gatsby paid the price for her mistake. George Wilson went to Gatsby’s mansion and shot Gatsby while he was in the pool. After killing Gatsby, George took the gun and commited suicide. Then, Tom took Daisy and their child and moved away and left Nick Carraway without his cousin or his friend. Tom did not care about Gatsby’s death, even though he was someone his wife
Andrew T. Crosland, an expert on the Jazz Age writings of author F.Scott Fitzgerald, wrote that Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby included over 200 references to cars (Crosland). This is not surprising as the automobile, like the flapper were enticing novelties at the time this book was written. The main characters in The Great Gatsby who, by the way, all drive cars are Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle and George Wilson. Attractive, yet enigmatic, Gatsby tries to win the love of an aristocratic woman, who rebuffs Gatsby for her upper class husband. This leads to Gatsby’s tragic murder after he is falsely accused of killing Myrtle with his Rolls Royce. The automobile, as
They described it as a new, big yellow car. It was Gatsby’s car.” Daisy’s face was filled with fear as she slowly stood up and walked around the room. “She was.she was killed?” Daisy questioned in a trembling voice.
Even though at first when they finally got together after all those years and everything seem great and romantic but good things always come to an end. The affair effected Gatsby in his life by having him back the old love he first had for Daisy even hoping for a lifetime future together. His dream is very much vivid about his romantic hopes about Daisy in his mind, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams, not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (95). He seems to be falling deeper in love with her even maybe more than the love she really had for him even though through the end of the chapters her love that she claims to have for him seemed not truly. In New York, the truth comes out more about she feels about Gatsby by being questioned and feeling guilty when Tom gets to the fact that she loves him and not Gatsby but Gatsby rejects his sayings and tells Daisy to say how she truly feel about him. Over all the excitement, Daisy tells how she truly feel about the whole love affair, “I did love him once but I loved you too” (132). It is possible that the leading of Gatsby’s death was caused from Tom’s jealousy of his wife’s confessed love for Gatsby. Tom would had told Wilson that Gatsby was the driver of the car that killed Myrtle and her secret
The real question of the story is who is the one to blame for Gatsby’s death?
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
There are many ways to kill a person, not only physically, but also mentally. Someone could be physically alive, but mentally dead. This was what happened to Jay Gatsby. Many people were involved in the death of Jay Gatsby, including Jay Gatsby himself. The man who was crazy enough committed the murder was George Wilson. However, Gatsby was already dead when Wilson shot him. Some of the key people involved in the physical death of Jay Gatsby were Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Myrtle, and Jordan. The person responsible for the mental death, or the death before the actual death of Jay Gatsby was mostly Daisy.
Ben Stein’s quote: “The first step to getting the things you want in life is this; Decide what you want.” The quote is the key element of the The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, such as the point where different individuals are after something and are even willing to give their own life over it even if it seems like a small goal in our eyes.Through Gatsby’s and Myrtle’s goals, Fitzgerald illustrates his agreement with Ben Stein’s quote: “The first step to getting the things you want in life is this; Decide what you want.”
To start off, Nick Carraway is responsible for the death of Gatsby. During the harmonious relationship with Jordan Baker, Nick displays tolerance of Jordan Baker’s dishonest behavior and considers her dishonesty as incurable. Nick expresses his thought to Jordan by saying, “It made no difference to me. Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply ” (58). However, Nick’s forbearance of woman’s dishonesty develops, and his tolerance of dishonesty reaches an apex. Nick soon covers and hides the origin truth of Myrtle Wilson’s death, and he lets Gatsby assume the responsibility of Myrtle’s death. The next day, Nick sees the abandoned corpse of Jay Gatsby at his pool. After the death of Jay, Nick hides the secret of Myrtle’s death from Tom, but displays his disappointment toward Tom. If Nick had told anyone that Daisy was driving the car, George would not have shot Gatsby. Nick Carraway’s wrong decision that was not to tell anyone Daisy ran over Myrtle has led the Gatsby’s death. Moreover, Carraway’s wide tolerance has not prevented the death, but caused it. He is respo...
The car pulled up to Wilson’s garage. Instantly, anger filled my body. Myrtle should be alive. Myrtle should be here. But instead, that man- this man- let her go and get herself killed. I knew who it was. Gatsby. He was one with the yellow car. He was the one driving. God knows, he wouldn’t let Daisy drive.
Themes of violence and carelessness are found throughout the text of The Great Gatsby. A violent act is portrayed in every chapter of the novel but one; often, the episodes are the products of passion, but they are also frequently due to carelessness. Myrtle Wilson’s tragic death perfectly embodies the sort of negligence, passion, and power that hangs about calamity throughout the novel. The driver, Daisy, appears suddenly, kills Myrtle, and leaves suddenly, without taking responsibility for damage done. "The ‘death car,’ as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment and then disappeared around the next bend" (Fitzgerald 144). The accident that killed Myrtle Wilson was a senseless and reckless act- the result of frayed nerves and a distracted mind. Daisy did not watch out- nor did she stop, investigate, or try to explain herself. The fact that her confession could have saved Gatsby’s life is infuriating and typical of the character. This idea of carelessness seems common to women within the novel; Jordan Baker is another classic example of violence by negligence. She is breezy, carefree, and completely irresponsible, a striking impression made crystal clear in every situation, most notably when discussing her driving. When Nick scolds that she is a rotten driver, and that she should be careful, her blithe excuse for her negligence is that, "Well, other people are" (Fitzgerald 63). This flippant answer is an accurate glimpse into Jordan’s nature. Jordan Baker’s reckless abandon is just one example of the careless natures that contribute to violence within the novel. This thread of irresponsibility permeates throughout the novel. Tom and Daisy themselves are, in the end, deemed to be careless and dangerous. As 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…" (Fitzgerald 188).
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is widely considered an American classic. The iconic story follows Jay Gatsby’s chase of Daisy Buchanan, a woman from his past, which inevitably leads to his death. Gatsby is shot by a poor car garage owner named George Wilson in the penultimate chapter, after the latter was pressured to do so by Daisy’s wife, Tom. However, while Tom planted the seeds of Gatsby’s murder, Daisy was truly responsible for all of her husband’s decisions, making her the one responsible for Gatsby’s death. The first way Daisy is responsible for the death of Gatsby is by killing Myrtle Wilson.
Tom told George it was Gatsby, when in truth the person who hit her with the car was Daisy. When the tragic event took place, Daisy was driving. “The “death car,” as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend,” (137.) Daisy had no
While they are together we learn that Tom knew about Daisy and Gatsby, this leads to an argument to find who Daisy truly wants to be with. In the end she can not clearly make up her mind, but as the reader it is clear to see that she is deciding to stick with Tom. Tom is so confident in this that she allows them to drive home together, on the way home Gatsby’s car hits and kills Myrtle
While in a New York City hotel room one evening late in the summer with Nick, Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby, there is a massive confrontation during which Tom exposes Gatsby's corrupt business dealings. Jay and Daisy leave to drive back to Long Island together with her driving Gatsby's car "to calm her down" when she accidentally hits and kills Tom's mistress. The car doesn't stop after the accident and speeds on towards Long Island. Gatsby's charm has faded with his exposed corruption. While Nick goes off to work in New York City the next day, the dead woman's vengeful husband, told that it had been Gatsby's car that killed his wife by a vengeful Tom Buchanan, shoots Gatsby to death in his own swimming pool and then kills himself.