Hello--
Quickly--for Monday make sure that you do the following: complete the book and write a quick blog entry--you can post it here--about who you think is to blame for the accident on the way back from NYC. Please, let me know if you would like me to provide more clarity regarding this assignment.
More than anything else, I hope that this finds you well. While I don't want to jinx us, or our class on Friday, I just wanted to sincerely thank you for the efforts, passions, and thoughts you gave our discussion--in all honesty, I can say that I have never had a conversation better than that one regarding Gatsby.
So as a thank you--I give you this...
It truly is an an honor to read with each and every one of you.
A Ritual to Read to Each Other
By William Stafford
If you don't know the kind of person I am
and I don't know the kind of person you are
a pattern that others made may prevail in the world
and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.
For there is many a small betrayal in the mind,
a shrug that lets the fragile sequence break
sending with shouts the horrible errors of childhood
storming out to play through the broken dyke.
And as elephants parade holding each elephant's tail,
but if one wanders the circus won't find the park,
I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty
to know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
And so I appeal to a voice, to something shadowy,
a remote important region in all who talk:
though we could fool each other, we should consider—
lest the parade of our mutual life get lost in the dark.
For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give—yes or no, or maybe—
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
—William Stafford
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7 comments:
Although many characters contributed to the car accident in chapter 7, Tom is most at fault.
Tom contributed to the environment that Myrtle so desperately wanted to escape. Myrtle was clearly not happy with her life with George in the ash valley; when she first met Tom, she kept thinking "you can't live forever; you can't live forever" (36). However, if the ash valley serves as the depressed area that is caused and ignored by the residents of the wealthy Eggs, then Tom took part in this. His lifestyle created and sustained the lowly town, while he taunted Myrtle with his wealth by buying her items such as an "expensive dog leash" (158). In an act of desperation, Myrtle ran toward the car she thought belonged to Tom to try and escape the lifestyle she hated.
Tom's affair with Myrtle caused Wilson to become obsessive. Wilson has very little in his life besides Myrtle, so when he discovers her affair he does everything he can to keep her contained in ash valley. Naturally this only made Myrtle more inclined to escape. Therefore at the first change, she ran from Wilson toward the car that would kill her.
Tom is also at fault on a more literal level. Tom suggested that he drive Gatsby's car to New York city. He then stopped at Wilson's for gas. Myrtle saw him driving Gatsby's car, which caused her to run toward the car later.
I accidentally posted my first draft- here's my second:
Although many characters contributed to the car accident in chapter 7, Tom is most at fault.
Tom contributed to the environment that Myrtle so desperately wanted to escape. Myrtle was clearly not happy with her life with George in the ash valley; when she first met Tom, she kept thinking "you can't live forever; you can't live forever" (36). However, if the ash valley serves as the depressed area that is caused and ignored by the residents of the wealthy Eggs, then Tom took part in this. His lifestyle created and sustained the lowly town, while he taunted Myrtle with his wealth by buying her items such as an "expensive dog leash" (158). In an act of desperation, Myrtle ran toward the car she thought belonged to Tom to try and escape the lifestyle she hated. Also, Wilson believed that moving West would fix the problems within their dysfunctional marriage. Therefore he considers their residence in ash valley as one of the key problems in their marriage.
Tom's affair with Myrtle caused Wilson to become obsessive. Wilson has very little in his life besides Myrtle, so when he discovers her affair he does everything he can to keep her contained in ash valley. Naturally this only made Myrtle more inclined to escape. Therefore at the first chance, she ran from Wilson toward the car that would kill her.
Tom is also at fault on a more literal level. Tom suggested that he drive Gatsby's car to New York City. He then stopped at Wilson's for gas. Myrtle saw him driving Gatsby's car, which caused her to run toward the car later.
Daisy is to be blamed for the accident that resulted in the death of Myrtle and ultimately the death of George Wilson and Gatsby as well. She was the one behind the wheel and the one to make the rash decision to swerve back towards Myrtle, killing her, and driving on. “Well, first Daisy turned away from the woman toward the other car, and then she lost her nerve and turned back. The second my hand reached the wheel I felt the shock—it must have killed her instantly” (144). Daisy is willing to risk someone else’s life if it means that she gets to keep hers. Daisy lives in the middle of everything and is never responsible for her actions. She knows she will not be responsible for the accident unless they find out that she was the one behind the wheel, but they never will. Gatsby will forever be linked to the accident because of his yellow car. Although he will be linked to it, Daisy should be put at the forefront of the blame for it.
If yellow truly is the color that defines Daisy then it makes sense that she was the one who should be blamed for the accident. The car is literally Daisy, killing Myrtle. Like Daisy the car is stuck in the middle of Tom and Gatsby. It is stuck in the middle of Toms possessions and Gatsby’s need for Daisy. Gatsby will do anything for Daisy, so placing his car in the middle of himself and Tom is not a big deal for him. The car represents the things that Daisy wishes she could do herself. She wishes she could be with Gatsby and she wishes she could kill her husband’s affair. The Car allows for Daisy to be all of the things she wishes she could be. Although Gatsby is the one who may be blamed for the accident by Wilson, it is truly Daisy who should be blamed for it.
Many characters can be blamed for the death of Myrtle Wilson but it is the one at the center of this novel who is responsible. Daisy has single-handedly created a disastrous love triangle between her, Tom, and Gatsby, which rapidly culminates to the “accidental” death of Myrtle. Although we’ll never know who was really driving Gatsby’s car when it took the life of Myrtle, Daisy can be related to almost every problem that leads to this death. It was Daisy’s idea for everyone to go into the city that hot summer afternoon, and with tensions rising between Tom and Gatsby there was bound to conflict in the midst of the heat. The fight that arises between Tom and Gatsby is not because of hatred towards each other but because of their love for Daisy and her golden shine. Daisy puts herself at the center of her two lovers and watches as Gatsby ravages West Egg with his parties and as Tom mercilessly strikes Myrtle, it is “’Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’”(pg37) who causes this destruction. It is Daisy who controls the dreams of Gatsby, and the emotions of Tom, and the life of Myrtle as a flash of yellow flies by and there is only death and chaos in its wake.
“Fair as the moon and joyfull as the light;
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.”
Christina Rossetti, In An Artist’s Studio
Gatsby’s death, while grim, was not a surprise. There was a sense towards the end of the book of that Gatsby was already beginning to fade. Throughout the novel, he always had an ethereal quality: nothing about him was real, not his name, his past, his house, or his romance with Daisy. I hear he killed a man. Is it true, or isn’t it? Maybe. Probably. It hardly matters. Gatsby was a man defined only by vague lines, sometimes lines he drew himself, sometimes drawn by others. The center of his being was his dream: to win the Daisy of his memories. However, as Myrtle proved, anyone who burned that much energy and created that much ash and dust in pursuit of a dream can’t last for long. Eventually, it’s their own lived they are burning away. When Gatsby’s dream unraveled the night he stayed at Tom’s house, watching over nothing, the rest of him was quick to follow. After Gatsby’s death, the last pieces of him fell away, until not even the truth concerning his death remained intact, twisted and distorted by all those involved until it became something unrecognizable.
That’s often the way literature is: a crime is committed, and a punishment is assigned, regardless of guilt or innocence. Guilt and innocence, right and wrong, these are things people invented out of a sense of self preservation. Maybe we’re looking at this wrong. Now that Gatsby is dead, there is no need to judge him anymore. That is, as George Wilson said, God’s duty and privilege, not ours. Maybe our job is just to remember. Remember Gatsby as he really was. Books, according to Owl Eyes, are real, the only real things. Wolfsheim said he was only friends with people until they died. Death ruins them, corrupts and disintegrates them bit by bit, memory by memory. Only books are able to do what people cannot: endure. Unlike oral histories which change as they are repeated until they become as meaningless as abstract sounds, the words on a page are always the same. Nick’s words are guiltless, blameless: they are only the fragile truth preserved in black ink. If we peer into the pages of the Great Gatsby, let us do so without glasses.
I don’t think it is fair to blame just one person for the accident, however I believe that if blame should be placed somewhere, it shouldn’t be on someone, but rather the feeling of love. Love is a feeling that all the characters in the book are entangled in, in some way or another. Whether it is having love they’re not satisfied with, wanting love, or gaining love they had in the past. A love from the past is exactly what Gatsby wants; he once again wants the love of Daisy. By moving across the bay from her he feels this will bring them closer, but eventually the dream of having Daisy’s love soon becomes an obsession, and ultimately causes the death of Myrtle.
Prior to the accident, Gatsby and Tom have an argument over Daisy’s love. During this argument, Tom realizes through Gatsby’s words that “[his] wife doesn’t love [him]” (130), and that “she’s never loved [him]” (130) because “she loves [Gatsby]” (130). Tom and Daisy haven’t had a good relationship, and they are aware of this, however it is when an outsider notices and acknowledges their lack of love that it hurts more. Gatsby is sure Daisy didn’t marry him because “he was poor and she was tired of waiting” (130), but he knows that “in her heart she never loved anyone except me” (130). This might be true; however, Daisy might not have been ready for this to be out in the open, and told to Tom. This fight over love leaves Daisy with nothing but “frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had, were definitely gone” (135). It is after this that Daisy gets behind the wheel to drive back from NYC, however her proper frame of mind does not accompany her.
In the end, it is Tom and Gatsby who put this pressure, but it is also the fault of Daisy who gets caught in this love triangle. However, the pressure that is put on Daisy is driven by the feeling of love, which is the ultimate cause of the accident.
5 Questions about T. J. Eckleburg:
1. what is Eckleburg's most defining feature and why does it give him authority?
2. who does he share this in common with?
3. which part of New York does he look over and what does this represent?
4. what figure is he compared to/represents?
5. who does he have the most influence over, and why? who does he the least?
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