The Blue Coupe Dialogue In The Great Gatsby By Lauraleigh O Meara

In the early twentieth century, the ownership of a car suggested wealth and status. Cars such as Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce, “ was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length”(64), convey the personality and character respective of the driver. However, cars also represent risk, drivers could be impaired or distracted, which could lead to an accident or even death. In her critical essay, Medium of exchange: The blue coupe dialogue in The Great Gatsby, Lauraleigh O’Meara presents diction that Fitzgerald uses to describe cars, “Fitzgerald generally emphasizes one function over the other. For example, when a car moves characters to other destinations, or is involved in an accident, the focus is on its machinery, …show more content…
Irony is shown in Wilson’s garage, where the sign reads, “George B. Wilson. Cars bought and sold” (25), yet the only car in the garage is a, “dust-covered wreck of a Ford” (25), which belongs to Wilson. This indicates the reason for Wilson’s desire for the blue coupe, the possibility of business. Wilson first shows his desire for the blue coupe as Tom and Nick enter his garage, “When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes” (25), thinking that Tom might have arrived to report on the state of the coupe. Furthermore, Wilson’s response directly after Tom’s greeting is focused on the coupe, “‘When are you going to sell me that car?’”(25). Wilson’s constant interest in the coupe allows Tom to exploit his ignorance and use the coupe as a monetary unit. Tom has no motive to actually sell the coupe to Wilson, as shown by their exchange about the car, “‘Next week; I 've got my man working on it now.’‘Works pretty slow, don 't he?’”(25). Tom’s true desire is to use the coupe to get to Wilson’s wife as shown by the dialogue between Tom and Myrtle, “[Myrtle]who moved close to Tom. ‘I want to see you,’ said Tom intently. ‘Get on the next train.’”(26). Both Tom and Wilson have a mutual need for the coupe, Wilson focus’ on it for materialistic gain, to make his business a reality, and Tom to be able to interact with Wilson, which allows him to have his affair, for …show more content…
While Nick and Jordan begin to leave Gatsby’s party, they observe the aftermath of a car crash as a crowd enters the area of wreckage. All observers begin to blame who they believe caused the crash, but this is false, “‘You don 't understand,’ explained the criminal. ‘I wasn 't driving. There 's another man in the car.’” (54). This inclusion of cars in a careless act parallels with Myrtle’s death, as the city essentially blames Gatsby for committing the accident, which is not true. Even the amount of people within the car is the same, two drivers at the party crash, and two at Myrtle’s death. This links cars with the theme of carelessness, which becomes a recurring pattern to prepare the reader for the climax and Myrtle’s death. The theme of carelessness is again connected with cars as Jordan drives with Nick, “‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted. ‘It takes two to make an accident.’ ‘Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.’”(58). The motif of “two to make and accident” is brought out again from the crash at Gatsby’s, which foreshadows the climax. Furthermore, Nick mentions “Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.”, thus referencing how it took the carelessness of Myrtle running into the road, and the carelessness of Daisy 's driving to have the accident come to