Automobile Wrecks In The Great Gatsby

Dan Cody and his yacht represent the Cinderella ideals: someone being plucked out of their daily life and thrust into a fairytale world. Gatsby was a young man with big dreams who was living modestly before Dan Cody invited him to be his assistant on his yacht. As soon as Dan Cody entered his life, James Gatz became James Gatsby. The entire story that Gatsby conjured regarding his past stems from his experience with Dan Cody and the yacht. For example, when Gatsby is talking about his background he says, “My family all died and I came into a good deal of money” but in reality it isn’t his family that died and gave him money, but Dan Cody (48). When Gatsby is referring to the good deal of money, he is referring to the. “legacy of twenty-five
An example of automobile wrecks symbolizing this is when Daisy hit Myrtle with the car. Nick never mentions Daisy having any remorse for the act and Gatsby is more worried about Daisy being caught rather than the life that has been lost. The wreck symbolizes how, despite what Daisy does, Gatsby is so madly in love with her that he’ll protect her by all means. Her carelessness is overlooked by Gatsby to the point he sees her as flawless. Due to his infatuation with Daisy, Gatsby acts careless as well. When he, Tom, and Daisy are in the same room and Daisy begins to show her affection for him looking at him and saying, “You always look so cool” in a wistful manner to which Gatsby revels in rather than brush it off (91). The automobile wreck was just a colossal expression of the carelessness that had been shown throughout the
The correlation is especially prominent when Daisy and Gatsby meet again after five years of no contact. For example, when Daisy is late arriving for tea at Nick’s house, it is pouring rain outside. The rain matches the gloomy and worrisome thoughts Gatsby is having. Later, the weather is mistier and less rainy when Daisy arrives. This reflects how Gatsby is less stressed now that she’s there. Even though she’s arrived, Gatsby believes that the entire ordeal is a, “a terrible, terrible mistake” and takes awhile to calm down (66). The rain matches his emotions because it begins pouring again to match his freak out. Throughout the entire situation the rain was mimicking the emotions that Gatsby was feeling. The rain only stops once Gatsby and Daisy have had a conversation and Gatsby is filled with joy. While Gatsby has a, “new well-being” radiating from him, Nick notices that it has stopped raining (67). As Gatsby’s emotions raise and plateau, the rain reflects