Saturday 12 March 2016

In The Great Gatsby, what are some quotes referring to acts of violence throughout the novel?

A cruel and violent character in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is only surpassed in violence by his wife, Daisy, and George Wilson.


Tom Buchanan thinks nothing of committing physical violence against his wife and lover, as well as expressing violent thoughts, such as his remarks about Lothrop Studdard's book. In Chapter One, he breaks into Nick and Daisy's conversation:


"Civilization's going to pieces," broke out Tom violently. "I've gotten to be a terrible pessimist...

A cruel and violent character in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is only surpassed in violence by his wife, Daisy, and George Wilson.


Tom Buchanan thinks nothing of committing physical violence against his wife and lover, as well as expressing violent thoughts, such as his remarks about Lothrop Studdard's book. In Chapter One, he breaks into Nick and Daisy's conversation:



"Civilization's going to pieces," broke out Tom violently. "I've gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read The Rise of the Coloured Empires by this man Goddard?"



While there is nothing overtly stated, there are suggestions that Tom espouses the theories of the author about suppressing other races. 


The gangster Meyer Wolfsheim appears to be a brutal and violent man. For instance, he wears cufflinks made from human molars, and he seems worried about the risk to his life if he attends Gatsby's funeral. His note of regret states that he "cannot get mixed up in this thing now." (Ch. 9)


Driving home from New York City in Gatsby's car, the drunken Daisy accidentally hits Myrtle and carelessly keeps driving Myrtle Wilson lies dead from the impact of Gatsby's car. When Daisy reaches home, she and her husband, described by Nick as "careless people," plot how they will implicate Gatsby in Myrtle's violent death.


After Myrtle is killed, George Wilson becomes very angry. Greatly disturbed by his wife's betrayal as well as by the hit and run, Wilson acts impulsively. Believing that Gatsby was the driver of the "yellow car" that struck Myrtle, he goes to Jay Gatsby's home and violently murders him. 

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