The Power of the Privileged
Throughout The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we encounter many different characters that use their wealth, power, and social status as a way of protecting themselves from the consequences of their actions. Both Tom and Daisy Buchanan are two characters that use their money and influence as a means of shielding themselves from the moral responsibilities of life. Daisy uses her position in society and marriage to Tom to protect herself from the ramifications of accidentally killing Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, and then retreats back to him for shelter from her mistakes, driven by a need for stability in her life. Similarly to Daisy, Tom uses and manipulates his high status to insulate himself from the consequences …show more content…
A few months after Gatsby’s death, Nick sees Tom Buchanan in New York. When Nick asks Tom what he told Wilson the afternoon Gatsby was shot, he tells Nick that he had to tell Wilson that it was Gatsby in order to protect himself. Talking about Gatsby, Tom says, “That fellow had it coming to him,” (178). Tom was able to use his power to convince Wilson to kill Gatsby, whom he did not like, shielding himself from the consequences that came from having an affair with Myrtle, and averting the punishment over to Gatsby instead of himself. He thinks that Gatsby deserved what he got, and justified his actions with his bias against Gatsby, knowing that this will protect him from the consequences of his unsavory behavior. Tom knows that with his wealth, power, and status, he can do whatever he wants, and can use these things to his advantage to get rid of people he does not like, at the same time protecting …show more content…
In the quote, Nick describes how people like Daisy and Tom messed things up “and then retreated back into their money”, and we see this is literally what Daisy does after killing Myrtle. After running over Myrtle, Gatsby is willing to protect her, but Daisy literally retreats back into Tom’s wealth by going inside with him in order to hide from the mess she made, leaving someone else to deal with it (144). Nick also mentions how people like Tom and Daisy leave “other people” to clean up the messes they make after they have fallen back into the security of their money. In this case, Gatsby is the one who is left having to clean up the remnants of Tom and Daisy’s reckless actions, and in the end, pays with his life for something he did not do. By using his wealth and influence, Tom is able to blame Gatsby for Myrtle’s murder, leading Wilson to kill Gatsby, believing he was the one responsible for his wife’s death. Nick sums up the way the people like Tom and Daisy live, recklessly and carelessly, knowing that they have their wealth and power to fall back onto when things do not go as planned, knowing that there will always be someone else there to clean up their mess and pay for what
Throughout The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we encounter many different characters that use their wealth, power, and social status as a way of protecting themselves from the consequences of their actions. Both Tom and Daisy Buchanan are two characters that use their money and influence as a means of shielding themselves from the moral responsibilities of life. Daisy uses her position in society and marriage to Tom to protect herself from the ramifications of accidentally killing Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, and then retreats back to him for shelter from her mistakes, driven by a need for stability in her life. Similarly to Daisy, Tom uses and manipulates his high status to insulate himself from the consequences …show more content…
A few months after Gatsby’s death, Nick sees Tom Buchanan in New York. When Nick asks Tom what he told Wilson the afternoon Gatsby was shot, he tells Nick that he had to tell Wilson that it was Gatsby in order to protect himself. Talking about Gatsby, Tom says, “That fellow had it coming to him,” (178). Tom was able to use his power to convince Wilson to kill Gatsby, whom he did not like, shielding himself from the consequences that came from having an affair with Myrtle, and averting the punishment over to Gatsby instead of himself. He thinks that Gatsby deserved what he got, and justified his actions with his bias against Gatsby, knowing that this will protect him from the consequences of his unsavory behavior. Tom knows that with his wealth, power, and status, he can do whatever he wants, and can use these things to his advantage to get rid of people he does not like, at the same time protecting …show more content…
In the quote, Nick describes how people like Daisy and Tom messed things up “and then retreated back into their money”, and we see this is literally what Daisy does after killing Myrtle. After running over Myrtle, Gatsby is willing to protect her, but Daisy literally retreats back into Tom’s wealth by going inside with him in order to hide from the mess she made, leaving someone else to deal with it (144). Nick also mentions how people like Tom and Daisy leave “other people” to clean up the messes they make after they have fallen back into the security of their money. In this case, Gatsby is the one who is left having to clean up the remnants of Tom and Daisy’s reckless actions, and in the end, pays with his life for something he did not do. By using his wealth and influence, Tom is able to blame Gatsby for Myrtle’s murder, leading Wilson to kill Gatsby, believing he was the one responsible for his wife’s death. Nick sums up the way the people like Tom and Daisy live, recklessly and carelessly, knowing that they have their wealth and power to fall back onto when things do not go as planned, knowing that there will always be someone else there to clean up their mess and pay for what