People will go to great lengths to protect the people they love--but how far is too far? In some minds, their life is not worth preserving; for others, it is. Jay Gatsby, the debatable protagonist of The Great Gatsby, is the embodiment of defending a loved one, no matter what. Daisy Buchanan, a married woman, is that lover and has been for quite some time; however, that love is unreciprocated--for the most part at least. Still, that does not prevent Gatsby from keeping Daisy out of danger at all costs. In fact, by trying to save Daisy, even though George Wilson officially murdered Jay Gatsby, Jay Gatsby himself was truly at fault for his demise. Jay's obsession with Daisy Buchanan, a woman married to Tom Buchanan, blinds and leads him to cover for Daisy after she runs Myrtle over with Gatsby’s car, driving George Wilson to seek vengeance and kill Gatsby. …show more content…
However, as Nick Carraway, the narrator and Gatsby’s friend, explains, “...Daisy tumbled short of [Gatsby’s] dreams...because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 74). Gatsby has this ideal picture of Daisy from when they dated in the past, but she has changed since then; because Gatsby cannot accept that, he ends up unequivocally loving Daisy and protecting her at all costs. When Nick questions how Gatsby ran over Myrtle and asks if Daisy was the one driving, he takes the blame, answering: “‘[y]es...but of course I’ll say I was’” (Fitzgerald 110). After confessing to “killing” Myrtle, word eventually gets around to George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, who makes it his goal to give an eye for an