They’re a rotten crowd: all the characters in The Great Gatsby. This book, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is composed of and influenced greatly by three important factors. The first of these is the theme ‘Rich are Different’. When reading the book and thinking of this theme, there are many ways it could be connected to various aspects of the book and it’s characters. The second factor would be the most important character within the story and his name is Jay Gatsby. Who is he at first? He’s a mysterious figure throughout the story with only one thing on his mind. The last factor would be this recurring symbol of car crashes. There are only a few actual car crashes within the story but there’s also car crashes within a metaphorical sense. It all started off with Gatsby really.
‘To the young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, the yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world’ (Page __). This is a scene in the book referencing to Gatsby’s past and the beginning of his new life. The way it expresses the theme Rich are Different is how he sees Dan Cody’s yacht in front of him. Gatsby in the past has never experienced riches and has had a few odd jobs before meeting Dan Cody. This was his first time seeing such wealth and to him it was beautiful and perfect. The difference between the yacht and Gatsby’s own tiny boat emphasizes the theme being expressed. Gatsby completely ditches his previous lifestyle to take part of this golden opportunity with Dan Cody to go sailing on his yacht. In a way this expresses Gatsby and the question posed by his character: ‘Who am I?’ Nobody knew about Gatsby’s past except for Nick and not really anybody would expect Gatsby to have been so poor when young. This is a ‘car crash’ in Gatsby’s life as he has the best chance to experience how the wealthy live. Its sudden and unexpected, a very rare chance.
'Your wife doesn’t love you,’ said Gatsby. ‘She’s never loved you. She loves me.’ (Page ___) Nick tries to get everybody up and leave, saying how nobody wants a drink. This is the moment Gatsby says to Tom that Daisy has never loved Tom but that she instead loves Gatsby. The Rich are Different theme is shown when they’re having this little afternoon party in the city. These rich people can go out and do whatever whenever they feel like it. Somehow they have time to do all these things. Gatsby thinks and hopes that all of sudden by confessing that Daisy loves him that she’ll leave Tom. This might have happened but Tom and Daisy have already spent years together, even bring up a child. Gatsby doesn’t realize this and acts as if he can do whatever he want, ignoring common rules of society. The car crash in this article would be the sudden and outrageous confession made by Gatsby to Tom. Gatsby tries to win through this but Tom is unbreakable.
‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai——‘ Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. (Page ____) This is at a party where Daisy gets a little too drunk and pushes Tom over the edge by mentioning Daisy’s name when he told her not to. The theme of Rich are Different is evident here, Mrs. Wilson has been experiencing the luxury that Tom provides and is literally drunk off of it. The rich are basking in their money and alcohol at these parties and it is evident how amateurs like Myrtle can be swept away by the parade. Gatsby and Daisy are connected in a way, when you think of Daisy you also think of Gatsby. Like a real car crash, this is sudden, powerful, and shocking. Tom loses his temper and suddenly slaps Myrtle; it’s unexpected and just shows how overbearing he is
“ ‘I thought so; I told Daisy I thought so. It’s better that the shock should all come at once. She stood it pretty well.’ He spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered. ” (Page ___) This was the moment where Daisy accidently ran over Myrtle Wilson also killing her in the process. The theme Rich are Different is occurring here because Gatsby and Daisy drive off after hitting Myrtle, too scared and shocked to do anything about or they just didn’t want to deal with the issue of getting arrested. Most people no matter what would stop and assess the situation, damage, and see if the victim was alive or not. Too worried about themselves; Daisy and Gatsby ignored these common sense rules and ran away from the scene. Gatsby and his character’s personality ‘Who am I? Is within this quote when the great Gatsby himself chooses to quickly breeze over the fact that he and Daisy killed somebody although he does plan to take the blame to save Daisy. The motif of car crashes in this quote is actually a real car accident; this event is sudden and gruesome.
‘The chauffeur—he was one of Wolfshiem’s protégés—heard the shots—afterward he could only say that he hadn’t thought anything much about them.’ (Page __) This is right when revenge-filled Wilson had come over and shot Gatsby while he was relaxing in his pool. Rich are different plays in this quote when it shows the relaxed mind-state that Gatsby has even after something as tragic as Myrtle’s death happened. He’s chilling in his pool without too many cares and the exact opposite of his being is Wilson. Wilson is a complete wreck compared to Gatsby, he just lost the woman he loves and yet she doesn’t love him back. Gatsby and his ‘Who am I?’ character are portrayed by the fact that Gatsby isn’t even the one who run over Myrtle, instead it was Daisy who did it. The car crash within this quote is that Gatsby was shot suddenly and unexpectedly.
Gatsby was worth the whole damn bunch put together. Throughout The Great Gatsby there is constant connections to the theme Rich are Different. It's an important and powerful theme within the book and it affects all the characters. Gatsby himself is greatly affected by the theme and even the constant question of his personality and character 'Who am I?'. The motif of car crashes brings everybody back to reality with their sudden and tragic ends. These three key things compose the story and dictate it.
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