Self Destruction In The Great Gatsby

While Gatsby spent his time away from Daisy obsessing over his memories of her, longing to see her again, Daisy began a new life with her very wealthy husband Tom Buchanan. Gatsby is the epitome of a romantic idealist who places love above everything in his life, leading to his downfall. Gatsby is essentially an innocent victim who is destroyed by his inability to accept reality.

Jay Gatsby’s personality traits, which to the blind eye seem to be positive attributes, lead to his self-destruction. Gatsby was born James Gatz to a family of dirt poor farmers in North Dakota. Ashamed of his family, he ran away to create a new life for himself and invented a more sophisticated name to better describe his new persona, Jay Gatsby. He worked as an

Gatsby believes that if you try hard enough you can repeat the past. Gatsby wants his life to return to the way it was when he first met Daisy. He wants them to be together, in love as though there was never any change. Nick Carraway attempts to explain to him that the past cannot be repeated, but Gatsby will have none of it. “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’”(Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby also believes that Daisy wants this as well. He is dumbfounded to find that Daisy moved on with her life while the two were apart. Gatsby’s dream of reliving the past is deeply shaken when he sees Daisy’s child in person. This is “the one event that even Gatsby cannot imagine away” (Marling). The reality of Daisy’s child shocks him. Gatsby can’t comprehend that Daisy does not love Gatsby as he loves her. He believes that they are the only ones for each other. This is belief is further impacted when Daisy also reveals that she once loved Tom. Gatsby seemed to be physically wounded by this confession (Fitzgerald 32). He is unable to wrap his mind around the idea that Daisy could ever love another man. Despite the amount of information given to Gatsby to teach him to accept reality, he refuses to acknowledge the truth and still hopes to repeat the

In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle runs out into the street in front of a moving car, which she thinks is being driven by her lover, Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband. Tom and Myrtle had a long affair and both of their partners knew they were being cheated on, but neither Daisy, nor Myrtle’s husband, George, knew whom their partner was involved with. Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway reach the chaotic scene on their way home from New York City. Tom is distressed over Myrtle’s death and demands to hear every detail about what happened. After hearing descriptions of the car, he and Nick realize that the car belongs to Gatsby. Nick is disgusted and shocked that his friend Gatsby would hit a woman with his car and flee the scene. Tom already despises Gatsby, as he knows of his affair with Daisy. He tells George that Gatsby was the one to kill Myrtle. He hints to George that perhaps Myrtle’s death was not an accident after all, and convinces George that Gatsby was the one who had the affair with Myrtle and murdered her, so no one would find out about them. Tom and Nick part ways, and Tom goes into his home to speak with Daisy. The two are able to rekindle their broken marriage. As Nick waits for a cab to bring him home he sees Gatsby. Nick screams at Gatsby for what he has done. Gatsby gives an awkward and stuttering response, when suddenly it hits Nick what has