Carelessness: Failure to give sufficient attention to avoiding harm or errors; negligence. Being careless is a poor quality that, unfortunately, many people possess. Obviously, every single person has committed an act of carelessness. It is natural for a human to do so. Seldom does carelessness result in a good outcome. When the act seems to be a recurring event, that is when severe action needs to take place.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many acts of carelessness result in bad outcomes, but unfortunately, severe action does not always take place. When Myrtle Wilson acts carelessly, she is killed. When Tom and Daisy Buchanan act carelessly, which is very often, they fall back on their money to solve their problems. The theme of carelessness represented by Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan is crucial for the development of the plot of this novel.
Myrtle Wilson is a prime example of carelessness within the novel. She knows that Tom is a married man, and is very violent, yet, she continues to see him. Myrtle is focused on what
…show more content…
It is natural for this to happen, but it is important that when the mistake is made, it is immediately rectified. Carelessness is a recurring theme throughout the entire novel The Great Gatsby. Many deaths, and unfortunate outcomes have happened due to the lack of thought some characters have before performing certain actions. In the novel, the author uses carelessness demonstrated by Myrtle, Tom, and Daisy as a way of developing the plot of the novel. When Myrtle jumps in front of a car to try to run away with Tom Buchanan, she is killed. When Tom Buchanan has an affair with Myrtle, he leads her astray for her to believe that he loves her, even though he does not, resulting in her death. When Daisy does not show up to Gatsby’s funeral, she proves to her cousin that she is nothing but childish. Based on the outcomes of the careless actions of these
In addition to Tom Buchanan’s hatred for Gatsby, Tom can be labeled as responsible for Gatsby’s death as a result of Tom’s affair, his lie, and his carelessness. While Daisy did lead Gatsby on with a minor relationship, her decision arose from Tom’s unfaithful love for her as he had an affair with Myrtle Wilson. If Tom had shown Daisy undying love for her, there would not have been a reason for Daisy to have feelings for Gatsby once again. When George went out in search for Myrtle’s killer, he stopped at the Buchanan’s house. During their conversation, Tom mentions that Gatsby had been responsible for hitting Myrtle with the car and killing her.
George Wilson believes that the eyes will always see what one does wrong and will judge one accordingly. Therefore, when he murders Gatsby, he believes he must take his own life rather than be judged by the all-seeing eyes. Wilson’s skewed perception of his circumstances caused him to respond in a negative way to the reality of losing the love of his
Tom Buchanan, a wealthy and powerful man, uses Myrtle as a mistress and treats her with little respect or consideration. She is merely used as just a tool of enjoyment for Tom rather than a person whom he has compassion for. “ ‘It’s his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic, and they don't believe in divorce’ Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie” (Fitzgerald 33). This quote reveals a key aspect of the relationship between Tom and his partner, Myrtle Wilson.
In the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald weaves together the motifs illusions and materialism and shows a very important theme for the incredible novel. Early in the rising action, Fitzgerald mixes both motifs quite wonderfully. He starts it off by showing how the married couple (Tom and Daisy) is cheating on each other, but they pretend everything's okay. Daisy also talks about giving her dress away because she has to go buy more anyway. She starts discussing all the things she will be buying tomorrow as well.
Tom would always flirt with other women and engage in many sexual activities. Drama unfolded when Tom began to visit Myrtle Wilson, his mistress behind Daisy’s back and the relationship got more complex that even Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend knew about the affair. Tom became more involved with Myrtle buying her gifts such as, a puppy and a dog leash resulting in confusion and dishonesty to both of their spouses. When George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband found out about her affair he wanted to move her out West with him. She did not agree with his decision so she tried to track down of she thought was Tom but instead behind the wheel was Daisy and in the passenger seat was Gatsby.
Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “wealth can breed carelessness” using point of view. In the text, Nick describes the truth about Tom and Daisy, “I couldn 't forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to 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…” (191) At the end of the story, Nick views Tom and Daisy as careless people. This example depicts “wealth can breed carelessness” by Nick’s perspective because the most critical things that Tom and Daisy had done in this story was ruined other people 's lives, such as leading Myrtle, Gatsby, and George to their deaths, showing no remorse for their actions, and cared only about themselves and their
Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.
With the unfolding of chapter two through four, it is evident that Myrtle is already contributing to the negative effects of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Any relationship is in shambles when one begins to lie, which is exactly what happens when Tom says to Myrtle, “I want to see you, says Tom intently. Get on the next train”(p. 26). The significance of this quote is to show that Myrtle's presence and willingness to proceed with this affair is affecting the relationship of Tom and Daisy, precious time is being wasted on an affair when both cheaters could be with their loved ones. Not only has Myrtle's decisions affected her relationship with Tom but also her relationship with her husband!
“The happiness of most people is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.” -Ernest Dimnet, French clergyman. No one is more toxic than a person who does not want to hear the truth, because he does not want their illusions destroyed. Ignorance is a voluntary misfortune.
Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.
Tom got into a crash in a time before the period of the novel, which led to the revelation his mistress. Jordan, simply, is a “rotten driver,” and she nearly hits a worker because of her carelessness (64). After one of Gatsby’s parties, a drunkard drives into a ditch. All the while, he struggles to put what has happened together, and never fully admits responsibility. This foreshadows Daisy’s crash, where she never takes responsibility for killing Myrtle.
Few Good People “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and 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” (79). The characters Tom and Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby; as individuals and as a pair embody and emit carelessness throughout the novel. Tom is a selfish, privileged, philandering brute who shows little empathy for those around him. His wife Daisy is superficial and spoiled, caring little for the effect of her actions and having insufficient care for those closest to her. In addition to these faults, the couple enable and encourage each other's despicable
Which was a foolish mistake, this mistake ultimately leads to his murder, he dies a very sad and disturbing death being shot by Myrtle’s husband George while in his state of grieving. Gatsby also lacks the ability to move forward. This characteristic also does not work to his benefit due to the outcome of his death. Gatsby refuses throughout the novel to see reality, he had so much love and lust in the past, that it just overwhelms his heart and he believes that that is the only place he can be happy, so he constantly tries to relive it. He wastes so much time in the past, that he does not see the true potential of him as a person.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F Scotts Fitzgerald love and money motivates every character. They all had made decisions based on love and money, no matter the consequences, no matter if it was good or bad they still made those decisions through the love they had for someone and their desire for money. Tom Buchanan 's love for daisy was pure and true throughout the book the great gatsby he even made some hard decisions all out the love possesed for her. A very critical part of the the novel was when tom 's wife had killed George Wilson 's wife Myrtle Wilson in a automotive accident. When George came to tom about what happened questioning him about who killed his wife, Tom could see that George was furious and would be willing to do anything to the person who killed his beloved wife.
Not long after this affair begins, Daisy’s husband Tom gets suspicious of her relationship with Gatsby. One day Gatsby had lunch at the Buchanan’s house and he stared at Daisy with a deep and undisguised passion. Through this Tom realizes that Gatsby is madly in love with her. His is incredibly enraged that his wife could be unfaithful to him. Tom then tells Daisy that gatsby is a criminal and Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom.