Not having a care in the world is one of the most dangerous qualities someone can have. The Great Gatsby is a story told through the eyes of a newly rich man named Nick Carraway who moves to New York. He narrates the story of his cousin, Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan. However, Tom has an affair with a woman named Myrtle, and Daisy eventually has an affair with a man named Gatsby. The novel ends with Daisy running over Myrtle in a car and Gatsby taking the blame and getting shot while the Buchanans are able to get out of the trouble they caused. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characterization to demonstrate the shallowness of people in the upper class in the 1920s.
At the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald …show more content…
When the characters arrive home the night Myrtle is killed, each person seems to go about life as usual with Tom telling Nick that “[he] better go in the kitchen and have them get [him] some supper” (142). Although Tom has a very close relationship to Myrtle in the novel, her death does not seem to affect him in the slightest. This implies that Tom only cares for Myrtle when it is convenient for him. The fact that he only cares about his own convenience shows how his mind is too shallow to think beyond himself. In addition, Nick claims that “[The Buchanans] weren’t happy… and yet they weren’t unhappy either,” (145), which adds to the evidence that Daisy does not seem to care about the person she just killed. After just tragically running someone over, Daisy is still able to go about life as normal and seems unconcerned about what she did. In the end, she is not held responsible for and faces no consequence for killing Myrtle. Daisy’s indifference to Myrtle illustrates her inability to comprehend the seriousness of what she did, thus exposing her shallowness. Fitzgerald uses this shallowness of character during the climax, and the novel resolves with the people with money and influence never facing any consequence for their irresponsible
At the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald …show more content…
When the characters arrive home the night Myrtle is killed, each person seems to go about life as usual with Tom telling Nick that “[he] better go in the kitchen and have them get [him] some supper” (142). Although Tom has a very close relationship to Myrtle in the novel, her death does not seem to affect him in the slightest. This implies that Tom only cares for Myrtle when it is convenient for him. The fact that he only cares about his own convenience shows how his mind is too shallow to think beyond himself. In addition, Nick claims that “[The Buchanans] weren’t happy… and yet they weren’t unhappy either,” (145), which adds to the evidence that Daisy does not seem to care about the person she just killed. After just tragically running someone over, Daisy is still able to go about life as normal and seems unconcerned about what she did. In the end, she is not held responsible for and faces no consequence for killing Myrtle. Daisy’s indifference to Myrtle illustrates her inability to comprehend the seriousness of what she did, thus exposing her shallowness. Fitzgerald uses this shallowness of character during the climax, and the novel resolves with the people with money and influence never facing any consequence for their irresponsible