Signifigance of Bad Drivers in The Great Gatsby
The 1920's was an age of extravagancy. The automobile brought
great things for the wealthy. They would ornate their cars with gold
plated mirrors and expensive furs for the women to place on their
laps while they rode. While there was no drivers test anyone who
could afford an automobile could drive one. In The Great Gatsby, a
novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the automobile, a symbol of wealth,
serves as an instrument of death and destruction. Many of the
characters in The Great Gatsby are horrible drivers literally and
figuratively. Jordan Baker decides being a careless driver is
necessary as long as the other drivers are cautious. Tom and Daisy
Buchanan where described as being careless people, "...the
smashed up things and creatures and then they retreated back to
their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept
them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had
made..." This was an accurate description of the way most wealthy
acted in the 1920's as well as most characters in the novel. Jordan
Baker, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby were primary examples of
the carelessness literally and metaphorically speaking in the novel.
Jordan shows the carelessness of the wealthy in the 1920's through
her careless actions, Nick shows the theme of bad drivers in the
novel through his inability to hinder, and Gatsby shows the theme
of bad drivers in the novel through his impossible dream.
The wealthy in the 1920's were constantly neglectful of the way
they behaved and when they realized they realized they were
wrong they would retreat back to their money. They believed that
what they did could never be wrong. They thought of themselves to
be superior. Gatsby perceived Jordan to be an honest person but
Nick notices she cheats and lies to make things better for herself.
He reads in a newspaper article that she had moved her ball from a
bad lie in the semifinal round of a golf tournament. He describes
her as "... incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a
disadvantage..." Jordan has a discussion with Nick on the topic of
bad drivers and it is then she tells him her thoughts on her actions.
She says she can be careless and worry free as long as everyone
else will be there to clean up after her.
Nick Carraway is not the best driver, figuratively speaking, himself.
Nick is an example who makes bad choices in life. Nick witnesses
first hand the affair between Tom and Myrtle. He first knows when
he visits Tom and Daisy's home and meets Jordan. Jordan is who
tells him that Tom is on the phone with his mistress, Myrtle, when
he leaves the room to take a call. He rides along with Tom into
downtown New York and meets Wilson, Myrtle's husband. He's
present at the hotel where Tom takes Myrtle and meets Catherine,
Myrtle's sister and Mr. McKee. He knows that Tom takes Myrtle
here often and they lie to their spouses of their destination. Nick
does not inform Daisy or Wilson of this affair or correct Tom when
he speaks of morals and honesty in family. Nick also acts as a link
between the affair of Daisy and Gatsby. When Jordan tells him
Gatsby wishes him to ask Daisy for tea at his house so they may
see each other again he invites them both over knowing Gatsby is
infatuated with Daisy and Daisy is not happy with her marriage with
Tom. Nick is present at the argument at the Plaza Hotel in New
York when Daisy and Gatsby tell Nick that they too are having an
affair. He does not speak up when Tom and Daisy argue over
morals, when he knows Tom is in an affair. Nick makes choices in
this novel that could have prevented the death of Myrtle and
Gatsby.
Gatsby is also another example of a life driver who makes bad
choices. Gatsby's life long dream is to acquire wealth and power in
order to acquire happiness. He devotes most of his life trying to
recapture the past and dies in its pursuit. His tragic flaw is inability
to read people. He assumes that Jordan is an honest person and
believes Daisy is still in love with him. At the Plaza Hotel Gatsby
still believes that Daisy loves him. He is convinced of this as is
shown when he takes the blame for Myrtle's death. "Was Daisy
driving?" "Yes...but of course I'll say I was." He also watches and
protects Daisy as she returns home. Gatsby cannot accept that the
past is gone and done with. For Gatsby, his American Dream is not
material possessions, although it may seem that way. He only
comes into riches so that he can fulfill his true American Dream,
Daisy. However, he never gets to fully fulfill his dream and ends up
paying the ultimate price for it.
As the 1920's was full of flamboyancy The Great Gatsby was full of
bad drivers. The wealthy were the most careless and in The Great
Gatsby the wealthy were so careless people died. Jordan Baker
believed she could do whatever she wanted, cheat or lie, as long as
someone else was there to clean up after her mess. Nick Carraway
stood by and watched the corruption in his group of acquaintances.
Gatsby spent his whole life trying to reach an unattainable dream.
All 3 characters can be described as bad drivers who lead to the
tragic end of this novel.