Myrtle's Death

Describe what happens when Myrtle is killed in chapter 7. How did it happen? Who was to blame? Use textual evidence. (Describe: Give a detailed account.)

In Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan's lover and mistress, Myrtle Wilson, died. She was hit by a car coming from New York City that didn't even stop. The car that hit her is described as a "big yellow car. New," (139). We know from Tom's conversation with Myrtle's husband earlier that Gatsby's car is a yellow car; we also know that Daisy and Gatsby were in that car, because earlier in the chapter Tom tells them to take Gatsby's car home. 

At first, the author intends for us to think that Gatsby was driving the car, since it is his car. Later on, when Nick talks to Gatsby, Gatsby informs him that Daisy was the one driving, "but of course [he'll] say [he] was," (143). Now, the real question is did Daisy hit Myrtle on purpose, because she knew she was her husband's mistress, or was it really just an accident? It's all very fishy, considering the facts, especially since Daisy didn't stop to see if her victim was alright.  

Gatsby vs. Jordan

Contrast Jay Gatsby's story about himself on p. 65 and Jordan Baker's story about Daisy and Gatsby on pp. 74-77. What is different about these stories, and why do you think that they are different? [Contrast: Give an account of the differences between two (or more) items or situations, referring to both (all) of them throughout.]

         

One big difference between Gatsby's and Jordan's stories to Nick about Gatsby is the fact that Gatsby doesn't even mention Daisy in his and Jordan's is all about Daisy. Gatsby went to war in both of their stories, or at least, he was an officer in Jordan's, because she references the "excited young officers from Camp Taylor" who were all in love with Daisy (74), and in Gatsby's he says that he "accepted a commission as first lieutenant when [the war] began," (66).

Something that Gatsby and Jordan say that is dissimilar is that Gatsby went to Oxford. Jordan doesn't specifically say it in her backstory of Gatsby, but she does say it earlier in the book, and the text even mentions it when Gatsby mentions to Nick that he went there. "He looked at me sideways—and I knew why Jordan Baker believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase 'educated at Oxford,' or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces," (65).

Obviously one or both of them are lying, or at least withholding information about Gatsby's past. Only continuing with reading the book shall reveal the truth.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Lost Generation in The Great Gatsby

Having learned something about the Lost Generation in class, find a passage in this week's reading that reflects the feelings of many people after WWI. To what extent does this passage represent the worldview of the Lost Generation? Please copy the passage as part of your answer. (To what extent: Consider the merits or otherwise of an argument or concept. Opinions and conclusions should be presented clearly and supported with appropriate evidence and sound argument.)

One passage that reminds me of the Lost Generation in The Great Gatsby is not a very long one, but an effective one. It is when Nick Carraway is with Tom Buchanan and his lover, Myrtle Wilson, and their crowd. "People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away," (37).

The reason this passage reminds me of the Lost Generation, instead of a passage about Gatsby's lavish parties is because people who were in their twenties and thirties after World War I had a lack of purpose and were aimless. The characters in this excerpt were in a small apartment, yet they were getting lost and disappearing and searching for each other and finding each other, and to me, that is symbolizing on a small scale what their generation as a whole were going through.

When I first read that quote I was confused, because how could that happen to people in a loft? After re-reading it, I understood that that's how they were feeling: confused, and it still strikes me to my core.