The Great Gatsby's Death Analysis

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the character George Wilson shoots Jay Gatsby, causing him to die. But who is to blame for Gatsby’s demise? It seems logical that the person who pulled the trigger, but what about other characters like Tom and Daisy Buchanan who lied to George in order to save themselves? Many would declare Tom and Daisy played a key role in the murder of Gatsby; however when looking back at moments where Gatsby’s death could have been averted, Nick is considered to be the individual who is responsible for Gatsby’s death, because countless times in the novel, he could have revealed the truth, but instead he played a role of a bystander; similar to how the eyes of Doctor Eckleburg. As Nick states “‘we’re getting …show more content…
For instance, when Tom and Gatsby went to the city and stayed in an apartment. As Nick states “‘Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’ She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once—but I loved you too. ’Gatsby’s eyes opened and closed. ‘You loved me TOO?’ he repeated. ‘Even that’s a lie,’ said Tom savagely. ‘She didn’t know you were alive. Why,—there’re things between Daisy and me that you’ll never know, things that neither of us can ever forget.’ (Pg. 141-142). During this crucial scene Nick had the opportunity to reveal the truth about Tom cheating, making it easier for Daisy to decide between who she loves, but because Nick is not providing this information, he impedes Gatsby pathway to Daisy love. If he had said the truth, Daisy would have not had a second thought about Tom, but since Nick’s lips didn’t fork the silence within the truth, Daisy’s confused mind led her to kill Myrtle and later killing Gatsby. This shows that Nick had a chance to illuminate Daisy’s mind from Tom allusive words, by exposing the truth, instead Nick represented the very thing that witnessed Myrtle’s death, which is the eyes on the billboard, when he had witnessed the struggle between Tom, Daisy and Gatsby. By informing Daisy of Tom’s actions, Nick could have prevented Daisy from accidently killing …show more content…
At first Wilson was right to accuse Tom of Myrtle’s death, but Tom deceived Wilson, into thinking it was Gatsby fault, which led Wilson to kill him. As it states “‘you don’t have to tell me what kind of car it was! I know…‘You’ve got to pull yourself together,’ he said with soothing gruffness. Wilson’s eyes fell upon Tom; he started up on his tiptoes and then would have collapsed to his knees had not Tom held him upright. ‘Listen,’ said Tom, shaking him a little. ‘I just got here a minute ago, from New York what kind of car it was!’…‘The God Damn coward!’ he whimpered. ‘He didn’t even stop his car.’” (PG. 150-151). At this moment Nick could have changed everything, instead of defending Tom, as he states “We’ve come straight from New York”; he should have felt sorrowful for Wilson and tell him the truth about Tom’s actions with Myrtle. Just like Daisy, Wilson was deceived by Tom’s words, but at this moment Nick should have taken action, by telling Wilson the reason she ran for the yellow car was because she thought Tom was driving and would rescue her, since they are together. By providing this information to Wilson, he would have thought twice before confronting Gatsby. This shows that Nick is responsible for Gatsby’s death because rather than defending Tom, he should have rescued Wilson for the lies that surround with the
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