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How Does The Past Lead To The Decline Of The Great Gatsby

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How has the past affected you? Some may say that it does, others say it doesn’t. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald it follows Nick and his interactions with Jay Gatsby on his quest to reunite with his lover from the past Daisy. Gatsby is blinded in trying to get the love back he lost in his past. We can see how Gatsby seeks to do this by acquiring wealth and power, setting himself apart from everyone else, and how this led ultimately to his demise. Gatsby's journey to seek power and wealth all come from his desire to court a girl named Daisy, and to take her away from her new husband Tom. Everything Gatsby does with his wealth is to impress Daisy and show her that he is successful. For example,“Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay…He wants her to see his house”(60 Fitzgerald). Gatsby bought this huge house across from Daisys to show that he too is know wealthing and …show more content…

All of this behavior is in hope that Daisy notices him and sees what he has become. Jordan herself say …show more content…

Myrtle was struck and killed by a yellow car driven by Daisy, "Was Daisy driving?" "Yes," he said after a moment, "but of course I’ll say I was. You see, when we left New York she was very nervous.”(110 Fitzgerald). After the fight between Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, Daisy was extremely distraught. She was so distraught that she couldn't focus on the road and Gatsby let her drive because he cared for her and she asked him to. Because of this when Myrtle ran into the road Daisy hit her then out of fear sped off, incriminating both of them. Wilson saw the yellow kill myrtle and was enraged. He went to seek retribution and went to Tom to ask who killed his wife and had an affair with

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258 Words | 2 Pages

Myrtle Wilson was killed in a fatal car crash on Monday the 7th of August, when she ran on to the road and was hit by a yellow car, recently identified as Jay Gatsby’s car. After hitting Mrs. Wilson, the car did not stop. Gatsby was returning from New York to his home, but when travelling through the valley of ashes, Myrtle Wilson ran into the road and was then hit by Gatsby’s car.

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632 Words | 3 Pages

Daisy is primarily the person at fault for Myrtle’s death, Tom also plays a role in the downfall after his mistress's death. Instead, Tom never confesses to Myrtle being his mistress and holds Gatsby accountable for her death. As for Daisy she allows Gatsby to take the fault for her mistakes and walks away with her hands clean. Following Myrtle's death comes Gatsby’s death. Rather than attending the funeral of the man she was in love with, Daisy leaves town with the man she “loved” in the past.

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1081 Words | 5 Pages

Myrtle was married to George but that didn’t stop her from getting with someone else. Myrtle was having an affair with Tom which ended up setting off a chain reaction. Myrtle was hit by a car that Daisy was driving under the influence, but because Gatsby loved Daisy so much, he took the blame for her death. But if Myrtle would have never gotten involved with Tom's relationship it would have never happened and she wouldn't even be a piece in the story.

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1920 Words | 8 Pages

Gatsby puts on a facade and tells everyone that he inherited his money, but in reality Gatsby has other means by which he earns his money for the sake of Daisy. He stoops to a level that shows that he has no care for his morals and he will go to any extent if it means making Daisy happy and earning money. He commits multiple crimes including buying “side-street drug-stores in Chicago and [selling] grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 133). He doesn’t care about getting in trouble with the law because he is no longer living for himself, and it seems like he is only living for Daisy, who embodies the wealthy lifestyle Gatsby has wanted his whole life. Gatsby got rich out of a sense of “desperation and crazy hopefulness, out of refusing to get over a broken heart and give up the love of his life” (Voegeli).

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617 Words | 3 Pages

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

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518 Words | 3 Pages

Jay Gatsby is a man that is obsessed with obtaining his wealth and social status in order to win Daisy back. In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby states, “‘I want you and Daisy to come over to my house… I’d like to show her around’” (Fitzgerald 89). Gatsby believes that if Daisy knows he has money, it will allow her to see that he is capable of being a part of her life and the lifestyle she lives.

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490 Words | 2 Pages

“Hunting isn’t just something I do, it’s a part of Who I am”- unknown. This is the attitude of a true hunter, like Rick Bass, the author of Why I Hunt. The Essay describes his experience and reasons behind why he hunts. He agrees with hunting, as a way of life, as a way to provide, and as something that is fun. Growing up in the South, hunting is just as the quote says, a part of life.

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838 Words | 4 Pages

Gastby’s romanization of the past with Daisy has been causing him to repeat the past to be able to impress her. Within The Great Gatsby, Gatsby has been romanticizing his past to Nick, while also trying to replicate it within the present. His way of looking at the past is through what is known as a Rosy Retrospection, which is known to give a person expectations that are difficult to follow. There are two parts of his past that make him the way he is today, in which he longs for Daisy.

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1081 Words | 5 Pages

After his altercation with Tom, Daisy yells at them and drives them home, killing Myrtle. Gatsby conceals the fact that Myrtle was murdered by her husband because he is still convinced that Daisy loves him. When we are too certain, we become closed off to new information and ideas and may miss out on valuable opportunities for growth and

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1132 Words | 5 Pages

After an intense and emotional confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan over Daisy’s love, Daisy was in a rush to escape the chaotic argument that had occurred. Daisy drives Gatsby's car from New York trying to clear her head from the events, but unfortunately introduces a new plot line to the story by hitting her husband's mistress Myrtle with Gatsby’s car. As the death of Myrtle Wilson shocked everyone, George Wilson was determined to avenge Myrtle after being killed in a hit and run “By half-past two he was in West Egg, where he asked someone the way to Gatsby’s house. So by that time he knew Gatsby’s name” (Fitzgerald 160). They believed the car was to be driven by Gatsby since it was a bright yellow car known to be owned by him, which was not the truth at all.

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1556 Words | 7 Pages

Gatsby had bought that house so he could get close to Daisy, who was one of the few people that brought true happiness to someone for a little. While Gatsby could have just bought a cheaper house to get closer to Daisy because despite his wealth she never came to one of his parties. The money was thought to be the source of his happiness because of the amazing house he owned when instead the love of daisy was the reason he saw even a glimpse of

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686 Words | 3 Pages

He thinks that the only way to get Daisy would be to have all this wealth. While it is true, it has killed him. It has broken all the morals he had once possessed “However, the characters in The Great Gatsby show that in order to reach social and financial success a person might have to sacrifice his ethics by telling lies, oppressing others, or breaking laws.” (Lehan 270). Gatsby wants all this wealth in order to live the American dream.

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512 Words | 3 Pages

He believes that by being wealthy, he can bridge the gap between himself and the upper classes of society, thereby blinding him of his humble origins. His infatuation with Daisy, who represents the epitome of wealth and social status, fuels his pursuit. He continues to fuel this facade by going as far as buying a house across the bay from Daisy's in order to feel closer to her, in hope that his newly accumulated wealth will make him worthy of her attention and love. Gatsby's obsession with Daisy and his desire to fit into her social circle shows his uncontrollable greed for

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724 Words | 3 Pages

In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the past comes up quite a bit for a few of the characters and Fitzgerald shows how the past affects each of the characters. Each character in the book has their own unique characteristics that create who they are. In this book it is explained what happened in Gatsby’s past and how he was able to become the successful person that he now. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald shows us how Gatsby keeps looking back at his past, especially when Daisy is involved she is everything to him and the biggest reason that he wants what he had in the past to come back.

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1312 Words | 6 Pages

In “The Great Gatsby”, Gatsby himself has set his focus on being viewed as this wealth man who did in fact come from wealth (even when he did not). He consistently portrays this man to hide the past and create an image for himself. He also pursues his dreams of winning over the heart of Daisy to create happiness. He did everything in his power to get her to notice him: moved to live near her, threw roaring parties in hope that she would eventually show up,

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