Karma In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Elle Chee Sr. Peter Grace, OP Honours U.S. Literature 29 May 2024

“Well, If It Isn’t the Consequences of My Own Actions!”: Karma in The Great Gatsby. Consequences are inescapable. The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925, is set in the Roaring Twenties. The novel follows Nick Carraway as he navigates life while surrounded by the ridiculously wealthy inhabitants of West Egg. the “new money” area of New York. Nick becomes acquainted with his rich next-door neighbor, a man named Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws extravagant parties at his house weekly in order to attract his former lover, Daisy Buchanan, who is also Nick’s cousin. Gatsby was later shot and killed by George Wilson over the death of Wilson’s wife,

The ultimate consequence of Gatsby’s affair with Daisy is Gatsby’s murder. Gatsby and Daisy’s affair enrages Tom, Daisy’s husband, leading him to manipulate Wilson into killing Gatsby. Shortly after Wilson murders Gatsby, Tom states that “[Gatsby] had it coming to him” (Fitzgerald 115). Tom believes this is due to his rage over Myrtle’s, his mistress’s, death. Tom tells George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, that Gatsby intentionally ran over Myrtle with his car, resulting in her death. This leads to Wilson having a mental breakdown and murdering Gatsby. If Gatsby had not begun aggressively pursuing Daisy, Tom would not have told George Wilson about Myrtle. Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy sets off a chain reaction– if Gatsby had not tried to rekindle his relationship with Daisy, Tom would not have had a reason to manipulate George Wilson into murdering him. Another factor in Gatsby’s death that is his own fault is his cocky provocations towards Tom. An instance of this is when, during an argument over Daisy, Gatsby tells Tom that “[Daisy] doesn’t love [him]”, instead saying that “she loves [Gatsby]”. He later insists that “[Daisy] only married [Tom] because [Gatsby] was

Tom, in an act of smugness, allows Daisy and Gatsby to drive home together. Daisy drives the car and ends up hitting Myrtle, resulting in her death. Nearby witnesses recognize Gatsby’s car, and Gatsby is mistaken for the murderer. This ends with Wilson killing Gatsby. Gatsby’s death is the result of his own actions and words. Firstly, if he never allowed Daisy to drive his car, Myrtle would have never been run over. This would have prevented Wilson’s mental break, leaving Gatsby to live his life in relative peace. Secondly, if Gatsby never provoked Tom, the argument would not have occurred. This means that Daisy would not have driven his car and ran over Myrtle. Lastly, if Gatsby had never started his affair in the first place, the butterfly effect—from the affair, to the tensions with Tom, to the argument, to the death of Myrtle, to the death of Gatsby—would never have happened. This illustrates the fact that negative consequences always follow negative deeds. This is due to the fact that if Gatsby never started the sinful extramarital affair with Daisy, his death would not have occurred. Negative consequences would not have followed