Nico Colonnello US Literature - 2 Mrs. Stinehour February 13, 2023 Assessing the Role of Responsibility Imagine holding the responsibility for the death of an individual. How can this responsibility be determined, through legal operations, personal morals, or the opinion of others? F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a 1920’s novel narrated by Nick Carraway, following his time in New York City and Long Island. In the novel, Nick’s neighbor, Jay Gatsby is murdered by George Wilson. Gerorge acts in revenge for the death of Myrtle, his wife. Myrtle Wilson is a mistress of Tom’s who had affairs hidden from their partners. Although Mr. Wilson committed the crime, Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are responsible for Jay Gatsby’s death. In The …show more content…
Tom is also responsible for Jay Gatsby's death due to the lies he told to Mr. Wilson informing him of Gatsby’s responsibility in his wife's death. Although Mr. Wilson is legally responsible for the death of Jay Gatsby, Gatsby himself is morally responsible for his own death. This is due to Gatsby living in the past in hopes of rekindling his relationship with Daisy. Gatsby addresses Tom and Daisy Buchanan during a vehement argument, “And what’s more I love Daisy. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 131). Gatsby is expressing his love for Daisy, saying although he may have felt a connection with others, Daisy was always his true love. Gatsby is …show more content…
Tom is upset with Gatsby following their conversation concerning Daisy and whom she loves. George Wilson questions Tom with regards to the death of his wife, “That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine -- do you hear? I haven’t seen it all afternoon” (Fitzgerald 140). Tom reassures George that he does not own the yellow car responsible for the death of Myrtle. This leads George to assume that Gatsby was the owner and driver of the car. This proves that Tom is responsible for Gatsby's death as he indirectly blames Gatsby. Tom was fully capable of saying he was unsure of the owner of this vehicle. With Tom’s displayed uncertainty of the driver, George would have no leads as to who was responsible for the death of his wife. Leading to George unsuspecting Gatsby of the crime and in turn sparing Gatsby's life. Nick visits Gatsby in his house where Gatsby recalls the events of Myrtle's death, “It all happened in a minute, but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we where somebody she knew” (Fitzgerald 143). Myrtle and Tom have an affair kept secret from their respective husband and wives. As Tom was driving towards New York City, departing from his residence and passing through the Valley of Ashes, Myrtle observes his passing and notices Jordan Baker. Myrtle assumes that Jordan is another mistress of Tom and feels curious as well as jealous. Myrtle waits
Rosa Smith elaborates that “Tom… turns Wilson’s need for vengeance to his advantage—just as Trump, with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, played to the previously unspeakable fears of those who felt their country had been taken from them.” Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom feeds off of George Wilson’s loyalty to him — and hangs the prospect of new business in front of Wilson like a carrot to a horse. To trick Wilson into trusting him, Tom continuously promises Wilson a car to sell, using manipulative tactics whenever Wilson’s faith wavers. When Wilson begins questioning Tom, he contends that “if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell… [the car] somewhere else after all” (Fitzgerald 24). Tom’s necessity for Wilson’s trust stems from his affair with Wilson’s wife — so naturally, Tom makes prodigious promises to keep Wilson from being wary of his calculating intentions.
When our group of main characters is driving to town, Tom is driving in Gatsby’s yellow Rolls-Royce, seemingly as a way to get back at Gatsby for being Daisy’s paramour. Consequently, when Myrtle sees the car driving back out of town, she mistakes Gatsby for Tom and believes Tom is in driving the car, running out to talk to him, ultimately leading to her demise. All of this takes place during chapter 7. If Tom had never had an affair with Myrtle, Myrtle wouldn’t have run out to talk to Tom because she wouldn’t have known him at all, and she wouldn’t have
In the Novel, The Great Gatsby, Tom, Myrtle, and Nick are morally responsible for Gatsby's death. All three characters are perfect examples of a man's life and death, and how there is more to a story than what might reach the surface. Some more than others, but all are responsible nonetheless. Tom Buchanan is one of, if not the most, responsible for Gatsby’s death. Not only does he cheat on Daisy with Wilson's wife, but he also leads Wilson to Gatsby.
Furthermore, he leads George B. Wilson to believe that Gatsby is Myrtle’s killer. This results in Gatsby’s death, but Tom feels no
This shows that Tom has no sympathy for Gatsby and no regret over causing his death. In addition, this shows that Daisy did not tell Tom that she was the one driving the car, showcasing her selfishness. Fitzgerald also uses pathos to appeal to the readers emotions. After Tom tells Nick what he said to Wilson, Nick thinks, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” Nick directly relates Tom and Daisy’s carelessness to their wealth while simultaneously making the reader feel sympathy for the victims of their carelessness.
He told George Wilson that Gatsby owned the car that killed Myrtle. He knew that George would kill Gatsby but he did not care. Gatsby was not even the one driving the car when Myrtle was killed. In fact, Tom was the reason that Myrtle went running into the road. “A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting” (Fitzgerald 137).
Oh, he’ll pay…’” ( Luhrmann 115 ). The whispering of Tom’s thoughts proves how his intentions might have been hinted at because in the book, Tom never mentions Gatsby must pay, since he never expressed his thoughts. The addition of the tiny detail of Tom whispering his thoughts regarding Gatsby to Wilson changed Tom’s interpreted intentions within the movie in comparison to his interpreted intentions within the book because in the book, his only reasoning as to why Tom told Wilson about Gatsby is because the confession was the only way to defend himself, but in the movie, Tom wasn’t under any threat by Wilson, meaning his character intentionally directed Wilson into killing Gatsby causing the falling action in the movie which adds on to Tom’s character as the antagonist. In the book, Tom’s hostile intentions regarding Gatsby were hinted at when Wilson was traveling to Gatsby and “there
Who done it? There are three deaths that occur in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. And it may seem surprising but there is one person to blame for all three of them. Tom Buchanan is the one who is the most responsible for the deaths of Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson.
The first reason Tom is to blame for Gatsby's death is because he made Gatsby feel like an outsider to other rich people making him unable to make friends. This is proved by Tom saying this “ “My God, I believe the man’s coming,” said Tom. “Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?” . . . “I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy.
Tom borrowed Gatsby's yellow Rolls-Royce to drive up to the city. On the way to New York City, Tom made a detour at a gas station in the Valley of Ashes, a run-down part of Long Island. The owner, George Wilson, shared his concern that his wife, Myrtle, may be having an affair. This unnerved Tom, who I know had been the one having an affair with Myrtle, and he leaves in a hurry.
Jay was blamed for the death, but he was as innocent as a lamb. “Was Daisy driving?”, “Yes, but of course I will say I was” (80). Jay admits to taking the blame for the accident and is not the victim of the accident. Also, Gatsby was not driving his car at the time so it could not have been him. Daisy was in the Rolls Royce and deserves to be the one taking the blame of the death of Myrtle Wilson.
It can be determined that Daisy played a key role in the murder of Jay Gatsby and therefore should share the responsibility for his death. Daisy Buchanan is a self-serving and careless person who forgets her actions affect other people. She leads Gatsby on by telling him she is going to leave her
Gatsby drove Tom’s blue coupe. And Tom while driving Gatsby’s yellow car ran out of gas on the way to town so he stopped at Wilson’s Garage to refuel. Once they arrived in town they decided to go to the Plaza. At the plaza Tom asked Gatsby a series of questions about his past and
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby was murdered by George Wilson Husband of Myrtle. In the court of law there’s only one person who was responsible and guilty for the murder of Jay Gatsby. Although in the eyes of god there was more than one person responsible for the murder or had the ability to stop the outcome of the murder. Weather it was Tom being honest about his affair, Daisy doing the right thing and stopping during the accident or Jay Gatsby himself by taking control of the situation and doing what was good for both Daisy and himself instead of just what 's best for Daisy. Tom, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby were selfish and self centered leading them to become Morally responsible for the death of Jay Gatsby.
They both assume that Gatsby was driving and that he is responsible for Myrtle's death. Tom wants revenge on Gatsby for trying to take his wife and killing his mistress. Nick, knowing this, tells Gatsby that he need to forget about Daisy and move on, but Gatsby