The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a book written about what the American dream has become. The book was published in 1925, centering around the attempt of the main character, Jay Gatsby, to get back the girl he had met five years prior. He met Daisy Buchanan, then Fay, while he was in the military. But she gets married while Gatsby is away to a man by the name of Tom Buchanan. Tom has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson, that Daisy knows about, which helps her to be okay with having an affair of her own. Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, suspects that his wife is having an affair. His assumptions are right, but what happens leads to the death of three people. All the characters have a desire for wealth and higher class recognition, which leads to the tragic death. Although not directly responsible; Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby are all responsible in some way for the most tragic death. One of the characters is a victim as well as responsible, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in a garage with her poor husband.
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She doesn’t like being poor, and her interpretation of the American dream is to be with a gentleman that has money. She wants exactly what Shiller says, “... many can become excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth to the detriment of our economy and society.”(Shiller). Myrtle wants wealth and a nicer home, so she seeks a man with money. If she had never sought for more, she and George would still be together. Myrtle puts herself out there and gets caught by her husband, so, “‘She ran out ina road. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t even stopus car.’”(Fitzgerald 139). She runs out into the road because she thinks it is someone she knows, but it isn’t. What happens really upsets George, leading him to kill the so-called murderer and himself. So while Myrtle wasn’t directly responsible for the tragic hero’s death, she was definitely responsible in a way because she could have stayed put and kept herself alive. Another character who doesn’t respect others and is partly responsible, Tom Buchanan, lives with Daisy and has a thing with Myrtle. He doesn’t like new money and will do anything to make sure no one takes Daisy from him, especially blackmail. Tom drives Gatsby’s car one afternoon, and, “In one of the windows over the garage the curtains had been moved aside a little and Myrtle Wilson was peering down at the car.”(Fitzgerald 124). If Tom hadn’t felt the need to stop for gas, or just not driven Gatsby’s car in the first place, Myrtle wouldn’t have seen it, and the deaths would have never occurred. Even though Tom could have prevented the other two deaths, he chooses not to and tells Nick what he did, “‘Tom’, I inquired, ‘What did you say to Wilson that afternoon?’ He stared at me without a word, and I knew I had guessed right about those missing hours. I started to turn away, but he took a step after me and grabbed my arm. ‘I told him the truth,’ he said.”(Fitzgerald 178). Tom had the choice of never letting Wilson do what he did, but he chooses the way that gets him out of any conflict and decides to get out
She doesn’t like being poor, and her interpretation of the American dream is to be with a gentleman that has money. She wants exactly what Shiller says, “... many can become excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth to the detriment of our economy and society.”(Shiller). Myrtle wants wealth and a nicer home, so she seeks a man with money. If she had never sought for more, she and George would still be together. Myrtle puts herself out there and gets caught by her husband, so, “‘She ran out ina road. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t even stopus car.’”(Fitzgerald 139). She runs out into the road because she thinks it is someone she knows, but it isn’t. What happens really upsets George, leading him to kill the so-called murderer and himself. So while Myrtle wasn’t directly responsible for the tragic hero’s death, she was definitely responsible in a way because she could have stayed put and kept herself alive. Another character who doesn’t respect others and is partly responsible, Tom Buchanan, lives with Daisy and has a thing with Myrtle. He doesn’t like new money and will do anything to make sure no one takes Daisy from him, especially blackmail. Tom drives Gatsby’s car one afternoon, and, “In one of the windows over the garage the curtains had been moved aside a little and Myrtle Wilson was peering down at the car.”(Fitzgerald 124). If Tom hadn’t felt the need to stop for gas, or just not driven Gatsby’s car in the first place, Myrtle wouldn’t have seen it, and the deaths would have never occurred. Even though Tom could have prevented the other two deaths, he chooses not to and tells Nick what he did, “‘Tom’, I inquired, ‘What did you say to Wilson that afternoon?’ He stared at me without a word, and I knew I had guessed right about those missing hours. I started to turn away, but he took a step after me and grabbed my arm. ‘I told him the truth,’ he said.”(Fitzgerald 178). Tom had the choice of never letting Wilson do what he did, but he chooses the way that gets him out of any conflict and decides to get out