February 25, 2006
Who is the most careless?
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)"I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn't beleive it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared(203)." FSF later points out that Tom & Daisy are both careless people who destroy lives, but then can retreat to their money and rationalize anything away. Less direct is how careless Gatsby is. He could have easily left town after Myrtle's accident but chose to stay, he goaded hulking, bulking Tom on at least twice, built his life on a fabrication, and spent his time chasing the dream of Daisy. Supremely confident in all he did, Gatsby never is allowed to ask "Just what exactly am I doing?". There will always be people who seem to skate through life, but Gatsby made a much grander decision to do so than Tom or Daisy ever did - all they had to do was retreat. Gatsby had to construct himself in such a way that he had no energy left for self-doubt. Nick was closer to Gatsby than any other character, and his idea that Gatsby never considered that he could literally die trying really speaks to the careless, self-deluded way that Gatsby lives his life.
Posted by BrendaChristeleit at February 25, 2006 2:51 PM
Comments
You know, Brenda, I cannot help but think that everyone in this story who has money is corrupt.
Jordan is basically dishonest, Tom and Daisy are a bunch of things in addition to now being conspirators and Gatsby is a bootlegger. Wolfsheim is sort of a gangster type, dabbling in bootlegging and gambling, if not more.
Nick, the poorest one of the bunch, is practically the only one of the characters who retains (at least a part of) his original honesty.
One could probably argue pro/con that money, a huge catalyst in this story, is an ultimate corruptor.
Posted by: Matt Hampton at February 26, 2006 9:35 AM
Matt I definatly agree with you. You could have a huge Pro/Con paper about the money in this story. It made each one of them become a dishonest person, because they were all after the better things in life. Excapt Nick he kept more to himself and tried to be the honest man in the book. Unfortunatly, money can't buy you love and happiness.
Posted by: Melissa Lupari at February 26, 2006 3:43 PM
I don't think that Gatsby cared about leaving. I think that he realized that he had lost Daisy. Therefore, he had no real reason to live. He built a life full of riches, power, and money only for Daisy. He really didn't build it for himself. Therefore, he really had nothing. So, he really didnt care to be caught because there was really nothing to live for than Daisy.
Posted by: Onilee Smith at February 27, 2006 12:54 PM
Matt, while Jordan may have been dishonest, I have a strong feeling that she was one of the few characters who was not corrupt.
Dishonesty is natural to some degree, no matter who you are. You might lie to your kids about adult things in order to keep them from getting hurt or from growing up too fast, for instance.
Or, you might craft lies of omission about your past in order to preserve your reputation, as Gatsby did. Jordan may have done this, but we are never completely sure if it's true or not.
Posted by: ChrisU at February 28, 2006 8:14 AM