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Julia Rodinec

Mrs. Storer

Block 1

3/1/2020

Emotions, Morals, and Murder

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was to him, entirely

justified.” (Fitzgerald 179) In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby fell in love

with the golden girl, Daisy Buchanan, however she is married to Tom. While Tom has an affair

with Myrtle Wilson, Daisy has to choose between Tom or Gatsby. The pressure of Daisy’s

choice leads to the careless murder of Myrtle, however only Gatsby knows that Daisy killed her.

As Daisy avoids the consequences of murder, a series of unfortunate events occur leading to the

deaths of Gatsby and Wilson. Hence morals, emotions, and social status can affect the decisions

one makes.

Gatsby thought that staying silent was his only option to protect Daisy. Gatsby didn’t want

Daisy to get in trouble or for Tom to hurt her because of what she had done. While Gatsby is on

a look out for Daisy, the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes Gatsby by saying, “He couldn’t

possible leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope

and I couldn’t bear to shake him free.” (Fitzgerald 148) He was staying silent and watching out

for her because that was his only way to protect her. He was holding on to the thought that they

would finally be together and that she would be safe. However even though he thought he was

protecting Daisy, she never told Tom what truly happened, making him believe that Gatsby had

done the crime. As Gatsby made the decision to stay silent, he had given “Daisy a sense of

security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself-that he
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was fully able to take care of her” (Fitzgerald 149) Gatsby had made Daisy feel safe because of

his social status and wealth. He made decisions to gain the same status as Daisy, so that she

would trust him and want to be with him. Since Daisy had trust in him, she thought that if she

didn’t say anything about the murder then everything would go back to normal. Since she didn’t

tell the truth about the murder, everyone believed their own misconceptions. While Gatsby knew

the full truth of these events, Wilson was led on to believe otherwise.

Wilson acted on what he thought was moral before hearing the full truth. As Wilson was

trying to comprehend what just happened to his wife Myrtle, Tom had told him that she was hit

“by a yellow car” (Fitzgerald 140). Tom had not mentioned who owned the car, but the next day

“he had a way of finding out” (Fitzgerald 160) who killed Myrtle and soon Gatsby was killed

because of it. Wilson thought it was moral to have justice for his wife, however his impulsive

decisions lead to the death of an innocent man. As people relay the tragic events they state, “So,

Wilson was reduced to a man ‘deranged by grief’ in order that the case might remain in its

simplest form. And rested there.” (Fitzgerald 164) Wilson had so much grief about the murder

that he let his emotions take over and control his actions instead of him thinking rationally about

the whole situation. He was stuck inside this state of sorrow and hate that he never had a chance

to think clearly. He let his feelings of justice for Myrtle consume his thoughts and actions.

The social status of the Buchanan’s affected the lives of people like Wilson and Gatsby.

Towards the beginning of the book Daisy mentions that “the best thing a girl can be in this

world” is a “beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17), which is exactly what Daisy has become. It

foreshadows how Daisy pretends to not know and does not admit to anything regarding the

murder of Myrtle. This shows how careless she is and that even though she did not mean to kill

Myrtle at all, she still was responsible for making the right decision to fess up to her actions.
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Since Daisy was in a high and respectable social class she was able to return back to her normal

life with no questions being asked. The narrator describes the Buchanan’s as “careless people”

who “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast

carelessness,” (Fitzgerald 179) This shows how they affected the lives of so many people

negatively, but were able to return to their normal life pretending that they had done nothing

wrong. Their social status made them believe that they were above everyone else and that they

were entitled to a life without consequences.

Overall, the decisions that each character made was influenced by either emotions, social

status, or their own morals. While Wilson and Gatsby acted off of what they thought was right,

Daisy was able to get away with murder and retreat back to her “perfect” life. In todays society,

many people make irrational decisions or decisions based off of their own morals. Nonetheless,

this could indirectly affect those around them. Also, people like Daisy can’t be seen throughout

society in people who are of a higher social standing, making the entitled and careless.
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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott). The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner, 1953.