Aspects of Tragedy Gatsby - Myrtle's Death Summary
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Course
Aspects of Tragedy
Institution
AQA
A summary table of each character's reaction to Myrtle's death/ it's significance to the tragedy as a whole. Reactions of Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Daisy and Wilson. Great for revision on Chapter Seven and character summaries.
Chapter Seven
What is each character thinking, feeling, or experiencing after the automobile accident in Chapter
Seven? For each character, record his/her thoughts, feelings, and reaction immediately following the
automobile accident. Use at least one piece of contextual evidence per character to support your ideas.
Gatsby Gatsby seems to only care about Daisy in this situation, he can’t face the brutal
reality of what she managed to cause. ‘He spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only
thing that mattered,’ this line is summative of how Gatsby reacts, and almost this in
addition with his decision to watch over Daisy’s house all night, appears as though
Gatsby feels the need to be heroic. That if Gatsby makes these acts of sacrifice, ‘of
course’ taking the blame for the crash that he will earn back Diasy after she admits
to having loved Tom in those five years without Gatsby. Gatsby is almost
sickeningly trying to protect Daisy in this, he thinks that she is not capable of
knowing what she did, and perhaps he doesn’t want to have to admit that Daisy has
become a person who is capable of causing such chaos. When Nick bluntly begins to
share the details of Myrtle’s death, Gatsby commands, ‘don’t tell me old sport,’ as
though he is not obliged to know the pain that has been caused. It is childish of
Gatsby in his reaction to choose to avoid facing the reality and only describing it as
an ‘unpleasantness,’ to which Daisy should be shielded from. Undoubtedly, by this
point in the novel Gatsby is passed his peripeteia. He refuses to humanise the
situation, focusing on Daisy rather than the woman she ended up killing. The reader
in this moment is far more sympathetic to Tom, who is ‘not thinking about’ Daisy
but mourning Myrtle and is able to be calm with Daisy, with an ‘unmistakable air of
natural intimacy about the picture,’ despite how she and Gatsby had treated him in
the hotel. Nick now also has no liking for Gatsby, realising the consequences of his
dream, ‘I disliked him so much by this time that I didn’t find it necessary to tell him
he was wrong.’ In tragedy - this line from Nick is important, it recognises the very
notion of the peripeteia, Nick acknowledges that Gatsby is so far gone, that there is
no point trying to get through to him anymore.
Tom Tom appears to be devastated about the loss of Myrtle, when he sees what has
happened, he is ‘motionless,’ so also somewhat unafraid of showing his emotional
response to Myrtle. Tom here, is devoted to the feelings that he had for Myrtle, and
perhaps begins to now understand how much she meant to her without having
realised this before. However, what we do learn from Tom in this chapter is that he
is capable during a crisis and is able to remain strong with Wilson, telling him to get
it together with a ‘soothing gruffness,’ and ‘firmly’ holding him. What we do see
from Tom, finally, is his emotional reactions that have previously seemed unlikely of
him. In a ‘low husky sob... the tears were overflowing down his face,’ Tom allows
himself to feel at this moment, and perhaps has even been respectful in waiting until
they were no longer with Wilson, to do so. There is oxymoron used twice by
Fitzgerald, ‘soothing gruffness’ and ‘husky sob,’ which suggests Tom still remaining
that extreme masculine veneer even through his emotions.
Daisy Daisy’s reaction is somewhat challenging to interpret. She locks herself into her
room and knows that Gatsby is outside in case Tom becomes violent, although, this
comes from Gatsby who we can only assume has thought himself heroic by standing
outside but Daisy knows she doesn’t need him. After all, after the hotel argument,
she asks Tom if they can go – relying on him for security. Daisy and Tom are calm
at home, mutually understanding how they both feel. ‘His hand had fallen upon and
covered her own. Once in a while she looked up at him and nodded in agreement.’
This sort of tender moment suggests that Daisy will stay with Tom, that the ‘natural
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