Carelessness In The Great Gatsby Analysis

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the pattern of recklessness and carelessness through the American Dream. In the Roaring 20s, the characters felt as though they were invincible, which led to careless lifestyles. The American Dream was to live a lavish, carefree, and fulfilled lifestyle , when in essence, the carelessness would cause a downward spiral in life. Throughout the novel, the characters show recklessness and carelessness with possessions, wealth, and love. Thus, the reality of the American Dream didn 't live up to the perception of it. From the beginning of the story, the characters show how reckless they are with their possessions. Simple careless actions show how the characters portray the quintessence of the …show more content…
She allows it to get damaged and doesn 't seem to care. "When we were on a house-party together up in Warwick, she left a borrowed car out in the rain with the top down, and then lied about it..." (Fitzgerald 59). In the Roaring 29s, people felt invincible as they went through the motions of careless actions. They would make a mistake, and then didn 't care because they felt unaffected. This was all a part of the cycle of the American Dream. People were careless and they lied their way through it because it was exciting to live recklessly and be invincible. However, the characters eventually learn that being reckless with their possessions hurts them in the end. Gatsby is careless with his automobile as well, which results in the death of Myrtle Wilson, and ultimately, his own demise. There was no one in the area with a beautiful yellow-golden car like Gatsby’s. After leaving the hotel with Daisy, he showed how careless he was with his car. “‘He name was Wilson. Her husband owns the garage. How the devil did it happen?’ ‘Well, I tried to swing the wheel--’ He broke off, and suddenly I guessed at the truth. ‘Was Daisy driving?’ ‘Yes’ (Fitzgerald 147). Gatsby didn’t care if his car was driven by Daisy, who is obviously inexperienced and incapable of driving a car. Gatsby didn’t think about this though, he made a reckless decision …show more content…
There were several relationships throughout the novel, some of them creating love triangles. Jordan and Nick had a careless relationship that they never gave much thought to. It truly could have gone somewhere, but Jordan and Nick never took the time to really understand to figure out who the other person really was. All Nick wanted to do was show Jordan how he could be the man she desired, but she didn’t buy into his attitude. “‘Well, there I was, ‘way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of a sudden, I didn’t care. What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was doing?’” (Fitzgerald 153). Nick cared so much about proving himself to Jordan that he became reckless. If he really wanted Jordan, he would have taken the time to be a genuinely good man, but he didn’t. It took time, but eventually Jordan realized that Nick wasn’t an honest, judgement-free man. “‘I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride’” (Fitzgerald 182). If Nick really wanted to make things work with Jordan, he would have evaluated his lifestyle and made adjustments accordingly. As it goes, however, those living the American Dream felt invincible and saw no reason to change, so Nick continued acting carelessly and