It isn't until the last two chapters that Nick Carraway shares his opinions concerning the people he has been associating with all summer. He compliments Gatsby, and later writes these words, which I find most eloquent: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they made..." (179) Tom Daisy ruined lives, case in point: Mr. Wilson, Myrtle, and of course Gatsby. The "poor" (I say poor because while Wilson and his wife are poor, Gatsby technically isn't; but he might as well be as far as Tom is concerned) Westerners die because of Tom and Daisy. However, the couple never have to take responsibility for their actions. Is this only because of their wealth? Or because they are so heartless that they don't care who loses, just as long as they win?
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Sharp Knife of a Short Life
"Jimmy always liked it better down East." (168) Mr. Gatz imparts this notion after his son Jim "Jay Gatsby" Gatz dies. I think is more than just that Gatsby liked being in the East. It represents Gatsby preferring East Egg a.k.a. Daisy's world, to West Egg. All he wanted was to be near Daisy, but he never could because their worlds were too different. He was never enough for her. In the beginning of their love affair, she was young and willing to marry for love alone. But something changed while he was off at war. "She wanted her life shaped now, immediately - and the decision must be made by some force - of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality - that was close at hand." (151) She meets Tom, and it's as if Gatsby never existed. Daisy goes on with her life, having a child and being a good wife to a man who cheats, but always stays by her side; while Gatsby never stops thinking about her and the life he wanted with her.
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Right after the quote you used (on page 179) Nick says "I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child," by saying this I think that Nick is finally seeing the East egg people in a new light. Everyone form the outside, the middle-poor class sees the East as lavish and rich. This is true, however they are all sheltered. Like children they don't know how to deal with the real word, they "let other people clean up the mess they made..."(179) while they flee the scene and continue to live their Eastern lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI think its not that they're heartless, but they only know one way to live. The Eastern people have only known one lifestyle, and they stick to that because it is their safe zone.
I agree with Mae – years of living in extreme abundance left the Buchanans in a numb state of existence. Due to the ungraceful handling of their wealth, their personalities were affected. By the time the Buchanans got introduced to the reader, the couple either enjoyed being destructive and not feeling the consequences or they were just plain oblivious to their actions. In my opinion, both lifestyles are pitiful in equal measure. The Buchanans evolved to the point where they used everyone around them as stepping-stones, climbing the ladder of affluence so long that they forgot which way was up.
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