Who Is Responsible For Tom Buchanan's Death

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The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald that highlights the characteristics of the roaring twenties. Lavish parties, corruption, bootleggers, flappers and prohibition are all referenced throughout the novel. The book has a string of conflicts and moral issues that continue until the climax where Jay Gatsby is murdered. Although Gatsby makes questionable decisions related to the events around his death, it is ultimately Tom Buchanan that sets up the major conflicts that lead to Gatsby’s death, thereby Tom Buchanan is at fault. First off, Tom shows his responsibility for Gatsby’s death early on when he makes some remarks at a party, which increases the tension of the story. At this party Tom promotes a racist ideology when he says, “idea is if we don’t …show more content…

Here, Fitzgerald uses Tom’s lack of moral behavior to emphasize his arrogance toward others. His racist ideology shows a sense of entitlement, which contributes to the social tensions and conflicts within the novel. Also, Tom’s belief in the superiority of the "dominant race" reflects his privileged position in society and his power on the social scale, which exacerbates the tensions between different social classes and ethnicities. This creates an environment of hostility and resentment, which continues to build, eventually culminating in Gatsby’s death. Secondly, Tom is accountable for Jay Gatsby's death because he convinces George Wilson to seek retaliation against Gatsby. Tom is talking to George Wilson when he incorrectly tells George that Gatsby "ran over Myrtle like you'd run over a dog and never even stopped his car." Fitzgerald 136. Tom not only incorrectly blames Gatsby as the driver responsible for Myrtle's death but also embellishes the narrative, increasing George's thirst for

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