Who Is To Blame For Myrtle's Death In The Great Gatsby

Mirabella Foral
Ms. M
American Literature
26 April 2023
Blame Essay In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel “The Great Gatsby” status, wealth, decision making and lies cause insane amounts of drama that results in death. There are many characters that the reader can “point the finger at” to blame for the deaths in the novel. One being the death of Gatsby. For instance George, the man that actually shot Gatsby. Daisy, Gatsby's first love, that he was willing to do anything to get her back. Some might blame the idea of the American Dream considering Gatsby was also willing to do anything to become wealthy and respectable. Though all these factors contributed to Gatsby's death, Gatsby is mainly at fault for his own death. George is

If she wouldn’t have hit her then she wouldn’t have had to be selfish and pin Myrtle's death on Gatsby because the truth was all mixed up. Daisy's selfishness begins in her childhood because she was raised in “old money” making her very spoiled. She’s really just all about herself and not others. She doesn’t tend to think about how her actions may affect others. She just does what is best for her in that moment. “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me” (Fitzgerald 130) Daisy knew her worth and how Gatsby had no money, she wanted to be respected and wealthy, and not just from her family. She was tired of waiting for Gatsby at war and moved on simply because she was bored and wanted to get married and she wanted to marry a wealthy man. Sure Daisy tried not to hit Myrtle but she also didn’t take on the consequences of her actions and decided to pin it on Gatsby. Nick says, “ they were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let people clean up their mess they had made.” Daisy knew Gatsby would do anything for her so she took advantage of that and had him take the blame for Myrtle's death. If she truly loved him she wouldn’t have let him do that. She just retreats back into her privilege. Daisys privileged

Gatsby almost craved wealth and respect. He was so desperate that he became a bootlegger to make large amounts of money considering he wasn’t born into wealth but, he really wanted that lifestyle. Tom said, “… I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far from wrong.” (Fitzgerald 44) He said this because how does someone become that wealthy out of nowhere and isn’t “old money”. He's a suspicious guy as well, rumors say he’s one too. Gatsby wanted to achieve the “American dream” because he also wanted Daisy in his life. She left him during the war for a richer, more respected man. Proof of this is when Gatsby finds out about the marriage between Daisy and Tom so he becomes a bootlegger to make a lot of money as fast as he could. The only reason he does this is for another chance with Daisy. Though all of these factors contributed to Gatsby’s death, Gatsby is mainly at fault for his own