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Responsibility In The Great Gatsby

1204 Words5 Pages

As we grow up, we are faced the inevitability of ignoring our responsibilities. Responsibilities can be used as a way for us to grow as individuals, but they can also have the ability to destroy us in unimaginable ways. The protagonist of The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, made the choice to take responsibility for his past lover, and ultimately suffered the consequences from that decision. The instinct for Gatsby to take responsibility for Daisy stems from love and compassion for her. However, this love and compassion blinded Gatsby and prevented him from coming to terms with reality, and its true consequences. This limitation ultimately put Gatsby in a situation where his life was ended tragically, yet his death was seen as a way to embrace his …show more content…

Gatsby uses his affection for Daisy to motivate him when he confronts a challenging situation. When Nick and Gatsby were discussing whether Daisy was pleased with Gatsby’s party or not, Nick reminds Gatsby that he “cannot repeat the past.” Gatsby simply disregarded the comment and challenged this by stating that he could in fact repeat the past. Later in the novel, after Gatsby’s dispute with Tom over who Daisy truly loved, a significant conflict arises from the situation. Daisy and Gatsby leave the scene together, however, Daisy was driving the car and runs over Myrtle Wilson with the car, which tragically killed Myrtle. Despite the fact that the current situation was already extremely problematic, Gatsby builds up the courage to take responsibility for Daisy’s actions. Gatsby made the decision to sacrifice his reputation and future, to keep Daisy out of trouble. Taking responsibility for another individual itself is already a challenging concept to consider in decision making, let alone taking responsibility for someone else’s crime. However, Gatsby unsurprisingly acted out of love for Daisy, and felt that whatever consequences that came his way, would be worth it in the end because his reward would be Daisy’s love and affection. With Gatsby’s reputation and well-being on the line, the future did not faze Gatsby, because he was ultimately too busy trying to pursue his

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Examples Of Nick Carraway Responsible For The Death Of Jay Gatsby

201 Words | 1 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the character responsible for the death of Jay Gatsby remains a mystery. The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s, recollects the story of a man, Nick Carraway, and his experience as Jay Gatsby’s neighbor. Gatsby throws extraordinary parties in order to catch the attention of his love interest, Daisy Buchanan, who he once dated and happens to be Nick’s cousin. However, Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, but he is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle Wilson. When Nick brings Daisy to one of Gatsby’s parties, Gatsby and Daisy begin to rekindle their relationship, yet it is more one sided than mutual.

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Examples Of Daisy In The Great Gatsby

788 Words | 4 Pages

Once denying the offer to come inside the Buchanans house, Nick explains,”’I had not gone twenty yards when I heard my name and Gatsby stepped from between two bushes into the path’”(Fitzgerald 142). The night of Myrtle’s death Gatsby went to the Buchanan 's house and hid in between two bushes, so that he could watch over Daisy. By sitting outside and watching over Daisy, shows the love and compassion that he has for Daisy, so that she does not get hurt. After Myrtle’s death Nick asks was Daisy driving, Gatsby explains, “’yes’, he said after a moment,’ but of course I’ll say I was’”(Fitzgerald 143).

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Moral Ambiguity In The Great Gatsby

569 Words | 3 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates a morally ambiguous character that can’t be defined as strictly good or evil. Moral ambiguity is the driving force towards Gatsby’s actions. The character Gatsby demonstrates morally ambiguous qualities that initiate plot throughout the whole novel. Morally ambiguous choices can be viewed towards Gatsby’s character throughout the novel. The first glimpse of Gatsby is introduced in the first chapter while Nick is “exempting him from his reaction” of a “uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever” already placing Gatsby in a position of moral ambiguity (Fitzgerald 2).

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Theme Of Responsibility In The Great Gatsby

634 Words | 3 Pages

Irresponsibility is a theme prevalent throughout the novel seen in characters like Owl Eyes, Jordan, and Daisy; their actions surrounding car accidents and conversations with other characters provide evidence that Fitzgerald desired to convey the irresponsibility of the upper class. At the first party, Nick attends there is an accident as guests begin to leave, and he realizes Owl Eyes was the driver. Owl Eyes makes excuses for his actions and says, “‘Don’t ask me... I know very little about driving - next to nothing” (Fitzgerald 54) while others try to explain to him that the wheel came off and he cannot simply drive away. The topic of driving appears again in a conversation between Nick and Jordan where she states, “‘It take two to make an accident’”

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The Great Gatsby Hero's Journey Analysis

853 Words | 4 Pages

There, conflict arises between Tom and Gatsby, and their world of fantasy becomes a world of rivalry and strife. In the midst of conflict, Myrtle Wilson is struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle. Nick later learns this vehicle to have been driven by Daisy; however, Gatsby shoulders the blame. Nick’s morality is tried one last time, as he must decide whether or not to let Gatsby take the blame for such a horrible incident. Nick ultimately decides to leave Gatsby despite the previous knowledge he acquired.

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Objectification In The Great Gatsby Analysis

1317 Words | 6 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays love, obsession, and objectification through the characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. Some might say their love was true and Gatsby’s feelings for her was pure affection, while others say that he objectifies and is obsessed with her. Perhaps Gatsby confuses lust and obsession with love, and throughout the novel, he is determined to win his old love back. At the end of the novel, Gatsby is met with an untimely death and never got to be with Daisy. The reader is left to determined if Gatsby’s and Daisy’s love was pure and real, or just wasn’t meant to be.

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Theme Of Selflessness In The Great Gatsby

1409 Words | 6 Pages

Gatsby Essay Parents teach their children right from wrong at an early age. These caregivers try their best to insure that their children grow wiser, with all the tools they need, so the kids can be held accountable. Being successful in modern society, entails proper following of the societal rules, or else the consequences may include losing a job, losing a home, or losing companions and being left in a state of solitaire. However, in ‘the Great Gatsby’ by Fitzgerald, the idea of good people, who go to school, who get a job, who are kind to, and for other people— who follow the rules, actually end up suffering at the hands of the immoral people, who choose not to follow the rules of society. A person is deemed just, or iniquitous, based

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The Great Gatsby Foolishness Analysis

1014 Words | 5 Pages

[Gatsby] cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”(110) As Gatsby truly believed that he was no longer James Gatz, he believed that Daisy still loved him and was the same from five years ago. But the truth of the matter is that Daisy had once truly loved him and she isn't the same as she was the years before, and there is nothing Gatsby can do to repeat the past and end up with the happy ending he dreamed of where “after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago.”

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The Great Gatsby Selfish Analysis

539 Words | 3 Pages

Firstly, being selfless and accommodating to others needs and wants is not something that the society in this time period can be proud of. Daisy, Tom and Gatsby develop the trait of selfishness in many ways throughout the novel. Daisy Buchanan is a wealthy woman who lives in the East egg and is married to Tom Buchanan. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Jordan and Nick all go to town when Tom and Gatsby break into an argument because Tom finds out that Gatsby and Daisy are having an affair. Gatsby tells Tom the truth about Daisy and himself because Tom bombards him with questions when he says, “’She never loves you, do you hear?’

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Fitzgerald's Desire For Love In The Great Gatsby

1266 Words | 6 Pages

The desire for love impairs the moral judgment of the individuals, especially Gatsby in the novel. As much as the readers of 1984 wish to cast Gatsby as a great man for his love for Daisy, his attachment to Daisy is actually nothing more than an illusion as he cannot distinguish his feeling as desire or love. True love is a deep attachment to someone in an unconditional and a sacrificial manner where one is selfless to put the other before oneself and is understanding of the other’s flaws. Yet, Gatsby possesses none of the characteristics. Although Gatsby knows that Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, he hosts dazzling parties and even “[buys] the [mansion] so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald, 78).

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Tragic Flaws In The Great Gatsby

850 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby talks “a lot about the past" (110) and strives to "repeat the past" (110) even though “it was already behind him" (180). Gatsby's obsession with Daisy is his fatal flaw and leads to his tragic death. Ultimately, "nothing happened" (147) between Gatsby and Daisy but Gatsby is willing to take the blame for Daisy's driving mishap. In many people's eyes, Gatsby has it all as he is wealthy and has a large mansion. In reality, Gatsby is miserable.

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Examples Of Innocence In The Great Gatsby

1206 Words | 5 Pages

Gatsby only does these things for Daisy because of the past they have together and the love he has for her, “This reading shows us that Gatsby’s grail is to not only recover Daisy Fay but also some idea of himself that has gone into loving Daisy. ”(Aboukhadijeh) Gatsby is killed because of this love, as George tracks him down after finding clues to who killed his wife and Gatsby takes the fall for Daisy’s mistakes and is shot in his pool because of the actions of Tom and Daisy. “It is clear that Tom and Daisy played a key role in the murder of Gatsby; therefore, they should share the responsibility for his death. ”(Aboukhadijeh)

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American Dream In The Great Gatsby And The Epic Journey

601 Words | 3 Pages

Daisy is an ignorant woman, she destroys Gatsby’s dream and felt no guilt in leaving him. She feels safe as long as she had her money. She uses her money to cover up her wrong doings. Her ignorance and carelessness cause her to not understand the hard work behind the American

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542 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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1122 Words | 5 Pages

Imagination, it cures desires and provides satisfaction to some people who can not have everything they want. Although providing a temporary positive effect, it also can distort the reality. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby spends five years watching Daisy from across the lake, creating an imaginary future for them in his head. Gatsby ultimately dooms their relationship by creating this abstract world and standards that they simply can not meet. The world in which Gatsby believed in, required the past to be repeated, something in which Daisy had moved far away from.

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