Significance Of Myrtle's Death In The Great Gatsby

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The story The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes you through the life of the protagonist, Jay Gatsby. Set in the 1920s, Fitzgerald dives into the complications of economic change, social classes, and character morals. Jay Gatsby's death is used as a cliffhanger at the end of the book with many questions left to ask, including, who was responsible? There were many events that led up to Gatsby’s death and several people who were involved. Although George Wilson ultimately killed him, Tom Buchanah's twisted views and heavy influence caused the situation to escalate. Tom Buchanan is a wealthy, but strong-headed and aggressive man. He has always had a strong hatred towards Gatsby, which grew even bigger after Myrtle’s death. Earlier in the book, George confronts Myrtle and tells her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. I took her to the window... and I said, 'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God! ” (Fitzgerald 123). George realizes Myrtle's betrayal and his belief that her …show more content…

Earlier in the day, Tom visited George at his garage to ask for gas, showing up in Gatsby’s yellow car. Tom inquires, “How do you like this one?”.“I bought it last week.” (Fitzgerald 94). Tom’s big ego tries to show off a car that isn’t his, but when the time comes that Myrtle was killed, his story completely changes. Moments after Myrtle is killed, Tom arrives at George’s garage again. Tom is very quick to get on George’s good side and say “that [the] yellow car [he] was driving this afternoon wasn’t [his]— do you hear? [he] ha[s]en’t seen it all afternoon.” (Fitzgerald 108). Wilson had intentions of killing whoever owned the car, yet Tom didn’t add in the fact that Daisy was driving, leaving only Gatsby left in the picture. By placing the blame on Gatsby, Tom attempts to deflect responsibility and save his

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