Wilson's Death In The Great Gatsby

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Jay Gatsby’s death was unavoidable with all of the status-driven lies surrounding his name. The ones responsible believe that they will be able to hide behind their money and status. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, three men are the main culprits for this murder; Wilson, the man who pulled the trigger: Tom, the man who whispered the name: and Gatsby, the man who took the blame. As Wilson looked into the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg on the night of his wife’s murder, he decided that the driver of the car was actually her secret lover. “God knows what you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!” (Fitzgerald 159). Wilson proceeds to seek out the driver of the car and asks if anyone knows who owned the car. “About three …show more content…

He believed that Gatsby had been the one driving the car so he unknowingly led Wilson out to find him and kill him. “...he asked someone the way to Gatsby's house. So by that time he knew Gatsby’s name,” (160). Not only did Tom lead Wilson to the wrong person, he also kept his wife, Daisy, away from Gatsby and tried to prove to Gatsby that her love for him was stronger than her love for Gatsby. “‘Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now--isn’t that enough?”’ (132) Tom tried to prove to Daisy that Gatsby was a bootlegger and that he was worth nothing. “‘She’s not leaving me!’...’Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger,’” (133). As Tom convinced Daisy that she loved him more than Gatsby, Gatsby still tried to find the little love she still had for him before it was too late. “[Gatsby] wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn't bear to shake him free,” (148). Gatsby wanted the miniscule chance to be with Daisy again and he would not leave until he had that chance. “Go away now, old sport?” (148). Since his love got in the way of his safety, all that was left of Gatsby was “... a thin red circle in the water,” (162).Wilson is left in the dust while Tom keeps his secrets and wife safe with Gatsby laid