Exceptionalism In The Great Gatsby

Tom was not afraid to take Nick to New York so that he could meet his mistress Myrtle Wilson, who long desired to abandon her humdrum, sickly husband George Wilson. When Tom first took Nick to the garage, he intimidated him to not question Tom’s business ethic (Fitzgerald 25). Tom then told Dr. T. J. Eckleburg that Wilson “was so dumb that he” didn’t “know he was alive.” Tom, who often acted without purpose, intentionally took a different train from Myrtle so as to disallow rumors (Fitzgerald 26). Tom eventually “broke her nose with his open hand” when Myrtle refused to stop yelling out Daisy’s name (Fitzgerald 37). Tom secretly took advantage of his passivity; his “courage” to behave barbarically in front of Nick revealed his true cowardice.
Nick justified his inhibition of his thoughts by creating a personal search for “infinite hope,” a search he implied that was rooted in a discovery of a kind of exceptionalism devoid of those indecencies (Fitzgerald 3). He later discovered that no other than Jay Gatsby would best resemble this infinite hope. He respected Gatsby’s “romantic readiness,” because he sensed that Gatsby had a passion for life that the Buchanans’ and Jordan Baker lacked (Fitzgerald 6).
Gatsby, unlike the others, devoted his energy into creating a meaningful relationship that would have contributed to his own well-being. Nick realized Gatsby’s unconditional devotion to Daisy’s happiness through several incidents. Jordan told Nick that Gatsby bought his large house only to stay close to Daisy by the bay (Fitzgerald 78). She also told Nick that Gatsby threw his extravagant parties only in the hopes to attract Daisy (Fitzgerald 79). Gatsby constantly imagined a time when Daisy would Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 109). Finally, as his relationship with Daisy progressed, he offered to provide an alibi for her so he could take the blame for Myrtle’s death (Fitzgerald 143). The last example is important because he offered to sacrifice himself for Daisy’s