Preview

Is Nick To Blame For Gatsby's Death

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
775 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is Nick To Blame For Gatsby's Death
“It takes two to make an accident. Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself” (Fitzgerald, 58). An accident is an unfortunate event that happens unexpectedly or unintentionally. Was Gatsby’s death an accident or was their someone to blame? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book about love, dreams, and wealth. Nick Carraway, the story-teller, is the one to blame for Gatsby’s death. Nick is surrounded by everyone’s secrets and never speaks of them, this is one reason why nick lead Gatsby to his death. Gatsby and Daisy came across each other again because Nick invited them over at the same place, same time therefore Nick is blamable for the affair they had. After Gatsby had got into a tragic accident, Nick had left Gatsby …show more content…
“Moved by an irresistible impulse, Gatsby turned to Tom who has accepted the introduction as a stranger”, observes Nick (Fitzgerald, 109). Tom thinks it would be a clever idea for everyone to go downtown to a hotel room. This is where the trouble began, and all Nick does is watch. “To a certain temperament the situation might have seemed intriguing- my own instinct was to telephone immediately for the phone”, Nick says. (Fitzgerald, 16). At the hotel room there comes to be a dispute between Tom and Gatsby over Daisy. Nick, who never follows his instincts in a tough situation, just watched everyone argue and never says anything to help the situation. If Nick had stepped in to help clear the air, it could have been that Gatsby lives.
By the time Nick is ready to help Gatsby he is already gone. “I tried to think about Gatsby than for a moment but he was already too far away…” (Fitzgerald, 186). How could Nick help Gatsby? Nick knows the truth of the incident that had happened that night, but never speaks up. After Gatsby’s death Nick watches everything that Gatsby has built die with him. Nick is responsible for Gatsby’s death by never speaking up and telling the truth. “I love to see you at my table, Nick. You remind me of a --- of a rose… This was untrue. I am not even faintly like a rose” (Fitzgerald,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Annotated Bib Lynn
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Annotated Bib Lynn

    Lynn, David H. “Creating a Creator.” Readings on The Great Gatsby. Ed. Katie de Koster, 154-62. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Print Author David H. Lynn argues that the distinction between character and personality suggested from the earliest pages of “The Great Gatsby” reveals just how fully responsible Nick is for his creation of Gatsby, the romantic hero. He claims that Nick fleshes Gatsby onto a skeleton of public gestures as this is someone whose essential romantic hopefulness is expressed in his behavior. Fitzgerald’s audiences’ relation to Gatsby is mediated by Nick, so the perspective on Daisy is divided, with Gatsby performing as a narrator of her own magnificence, while Nick provides a less glorified account. Lynn says that although Gatsby's personality shows that he is honest in regards to his private intentions, readers must remember that the Gatsby being discussed is largely Nick’s creation. If there is curiosity about Gatsby's hidden nature, it is because Nick believes in the sympathetic understanding he has for Gatsby. Nick responds to Gatsby's extravagant parties with strangers, his flashy materiale, and immense egoism with imaginative sympathy because he believes these traits are born of a romantic hopefulness that he shares. From their first meeting, Nick translates Gatsby's gestures with authority, as if his response was directly resulting from Gatsby's intended effect. Lynn argues that Gatsby’s behavior is always at the fine line between the grand and yet absurd of dramatics, as well as the defiant public gesture often embodying that of the ideal self-image pursued by romantic heroes as they define themselves against the communal protocol. Gatsby's extravagance is given form and meaning only in Nick's imagination; he comes alive when Nick first glimpses the intensity of his dream through Gatsby’s wild, routinely gatherings. Lynn informs that both Nick's ambivalence towards Gatsby and the inevitable discord…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Daisy's Dishonesty In The Great Gatsby
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Daisy's Dishonesty In The Great Gatsby

    Nick escorted Daisy into his residence only to discover Gatsby was not in the living room. Nick did not need to wonder long because “there was a light dignified knocking at the front door… Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes” (86). The purpose of his action was to deceive Daisy and make her believe he was not waiting for her. While an innocent lie, it is already giving a dishonest start to the reunion between Jay Gatsby and…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Nick's Decisions In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Nick's Decisions In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Nick was conflicted because Daisy is married and Gatsby has been participating in illegal activities and lying to everyone around him. Daisy is also married to Tom who is portrayed as ruthless. This decision could have negative consequences for Daisy,…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby: Dust Essay Example
    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby: Dust Essay Example

    In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick, was uncertain about how he felt about Gatsby. Initially, Gatsby feigned into being someone that he was not. Throughout the novel Nick got to know who Gatsby really was and saw a side of Gatsby that not many people got to see. This is proven when the author writes, “No, Gatsby turned out alright in the end. It was what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” Nick’s perception of Gatsby is much different from that of the other characters in the novel, and saw how scrupulous Gatsby was. However, while Gatsby was pursuing his ultimate goal of getting Daisy back, he got involved in illegal activity, the pursuit of wealth, and came across many horrible people throughout his journey in life. These events are “what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” and was the ultimate cause of his death. Nick’s perception of Gatsby is valid because he was among the few characters that got to know who Gatsby really was, instead of the fake stories that Gatsby told majority of people on Long Island.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Gatsby Repeat The Past
    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Did Gatsby Repeat The Past

    Gatsby tells Jordan (Nick’s girlfriend) to try and convince Nick to invite Daisy over to his house for lunch. Gatsby’s plans was to get her to Nick’s house so that he could show her his huge mansion, knowing that she would be blinded by all the rich and high class of Jay. After lunch with Daisy, Jay was certain that he was winning her back over. According to Nick Daisy and Tom are insulated by wealth and the mores of restraint and gesture (Bloom’s Guide). But there was only one thing Gatsby needed Daisy to do, “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’”…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Daisy Married In The Great Gatsby
    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is Daisy Married In The Great Gatsby

    Nick admires his motivation and drive to get Daisy back. Nick also likes Gatsby’s unwavering devotion towards Daisy, including taking the blame for Myrtle's death. Nick believes in Gatsby and wants him to get Daisy back. Even when Nick first gets invited to his party, Nick respects Gatsby unlike most of the other partygoers. Nick found out that the only reason Gatsby kept having these parties was for him to be able to meet Daisy. Nick realized the amount of work Gatsby was going through to win Daisy back. Nick is the only character that realizes Gatsby’s actual…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Betrayal In The Great Gatsby
    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Betrayal In The Great Gatsby

    He pushed his way to the top. This was the American Dream to get rich and to be happy. Gatsby betrayed his old life and became someone who was not him. He really believed that if he could make all this money and become rich he could get his girl of his dreams. He lets Daisy believe that he had the money, “He had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum, as herself.” (149) Daisy wouldn’t betray her secure life with Tom for Gatsby. That's what Gatsby did not get, that Daisy is never going to leave her security and the money that she knew where it came from. It’s sad how Gatsby had to make up this other persona to get someone to liked him.What he didn’t know was that when he became this new person is that he betrayed his family and himself. He knew that if he didn’t do all of this stuff he would have never gotten Daisy. The only people that were to his funeral was his dad and Nick. They were the ones that did not betray Gatsby. This just shows who really cared about Gatsby. Even though Gatsby died they came to his funeral. Nick was the one Gatsby trusted the most and he was there. The ones that betrayed Gatsby was the one who were not…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jay Gatsby's Downfall
    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jay Gatsby's Downfall

    infatuation and blindness for Daisy ended up in the downfall of Gatsby’s life. Who is to…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Was Responsible For Gatsby's Death
    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Was Responsible For Gatsby's Death

    T he 1920 era novel, The Great Gatsby , reveals a story about events that led to a elegant…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby
    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    Early in the novel, Tom says to Nick, “I want you to meet my girl” (Fitzgerald 28). Nick is Daisy’s cousin, but he meets Tom’s mistress anyway without much objection. Although Nick finds himself to be decent, he allows all the cheating and lying to occur. In order for Gatsby to rekindle the love with Daisy, he uses Nick to, “call up Daisy from the office the next morning and invite her for tea” (Fitzgerald 88). Gatsby goes to Nick for help to see Daisy. Nick knows she is married but arranges their secret meeting anyway; he allows the people around him to cheat on each other. At the end of the novel, Nick runs into Tom and thinks “there was nothing I could say except the one unutterable fact that it wasn’t true” (Fitzgerald 187). Nick knows the truth about Daisy being the driver of the car that kills Myrtle, but he doesn’t tell the truth in order to clear Gatsby’s name. Nick allows everyone to do as they please and he does nothing to stop the moral corruption that occurs. Because of this, Nick is unquestionably morally corrupt, he allows the people he associates himself with to be immoral, but claims he is the most decent; you are the company you…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Life after Jay Gatsby
    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Life after Jay Gatsby

    Nick, for instance, had broken mentally. When they would talk amongst themselves, Nick would learn more about how to reach a goal because of the strong enunciative Gatsby had for anything set for himself; to Nick, Gatsby was the icon or image of the word hope. "Reserving judgments is a matter infinite hope."- (Nick Carraway pg.15) Hope was more than just a word; it was ambition to strive for the American Dream. When realizing that the death of his friend was real, he had lost hope. Nick would have benefited greatly from his friend not being murdered in cold blood. Nick was Gatsby’s only true friend and he would have inherited some of Gatsby’s money or even his house from the stong and surreal relationship they had. Daisy disappearing after Gatsby's death changed Nick as well because she was a person that he could go to for help. Nick would of been more prosperous and mentally stable if Gatsby had lived, and if Daisy had stayed in his life.…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Similarities Between Do You Know Where You Are And The Great Gatsby
    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Similarities Between Do You Know Where You Are And The Great Gatsby

    Like McInerney’s narrator, Gatsby tries and fails to satisfy his longing with money. Fitzgerald uses a peripheral narrator, Nick Carraway, to paint Gatsby’s heartache from the viewpoint of the one other person who knows his past, giving the audience a unique insight into the “constant, turbulent riot” in his heart (Fitzgerald, 99). At one point, Nick comments, “I saw him opening a chest of rubies to ease, with their crimson-lighted depths, the gnawings of his [Gatsby’s] broken heart” (67). While Gatsby himself might try to hide his feelings to maintain his public façade, Nick’s unbiased narration reveals his true nature and his belief that wealth can buy happiness. Later, after Gatsby learns that Daisy did, in fact, love Tom, Nick remarks, “He left, feeling that if he had searched harder, he might have found her” (152).…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Optimism In The Great Gatsby
    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Optimism In The Great Gatsby

    His true goal is to win the heart of the lovely Daisy Buchanan and he wishes for nothing less. Nick stays behind at Gatsby’s party to have a conversation. Jay does not believe that Daisy was satisfied with the party. He discusses with Nick his wish that the situation would be the same as it was years ago. Nick tries to caution his friend to not ask for the impossible of someone and that the past could not be repeated. Gatsby responds with “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (Fitzgerald 118). Gatsby strongly believes in things beyond a normal comprehension. All individuals are aware of things that cannot happen, however this does not stop him from hoping. After the death of Myrtle, Nick has trouble of falling asleep and walks to Gatsby’s to find him cleaning the car concealed with evidence. In order to protect his friend, Nick tries to persuade him that leaving was the best option. He realizes that Gatsby would not leave without Daisy because “He was clutching to some last hope and [Nick] couldn’t bear to shake him free” (Fitzgerald 158). Gatsby still has hope that Daisy will be with him, even though she has shown countless times that Tom is who she wants to be with. The next morning after Myrtle’s death, Gatsby and Nick have breakfast together. During this time, Gatsby’s tells the truth and Nick states that he will call Gatsby later. Gatsby responds with “‘I suppose Daisy’ll…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Mistakes
    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Great Gatsby Mistakes

    Not only does Nick doubt that Gatsby and Daisy know each other, but they were lovers some time before. Hearing that Carraway was close to Daisy, Gatsby made Carraway causally set a date for both him and Daisy at Caraway’s house so that Daisy’s husband, Tom, does not find out. Because Carraway is a people-pleaser, her agrees and sets them up. After Nick tells Daisy to meet at his house, there is a shift in Gatsby’s behavior. He goes from a strong and confident man to a “pale” “little boy,” wearing his wealth on his body. Nick’s comparison of Gatsby to a little boy conveys how Gatsby’s vulnerability is shining through in the situation. Although Gatsby is more than comfortable with the hundreds of people he throws parties for, Daisy is the one person that releases the person Gatsby has built for himself. He is finally a human being just like any other. Since Daisy did not know Gatsby was going to be joining them, she was stunned at how many years it has been since Gatsby and Daisy’s last…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Gatsby, Chapter 8
    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, Chapter 8

    This chapter begins with Nick talking to Gatsby after the horrible events of the night before. Gatsby tells Nick how he spent his night waiting for Daisy to see him just for her to ignore him the whole time. He then tells Nick about why he fell in love with Daisy, and why he is still so deeply attached to her. Nick then leaves for work, shouting to Gatsby reassuring words seeing as he is obviously lost and depressed. After Nick leaves we are told about the actions of grief stricken George Wilson. We are told that George believed that the driver of the car that killed his wife was Gatsby and George acts upon this information. He spends the day making his way to Gatsby’s house and upon his arrival kills Gatsby in his pool and then ends his own life.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More