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Emily Looney

07 May 2020

The Great Gatsby Final Essay

Money is a powerful thing and can cause people to do awful things. This is shown

throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, when Tom and Daisy Buchanan

constantly showed their carelessness and disregard for people’s feelings through the decisions

that they made and the lies that they told throughout the story. Tom and Daisy were able to do

whatever they wanted and get away with it because they could use their money to escape the

responsibility. They used their money for selfish things, not caring who it could hurt.

Both Tom and Daisy show their carelessness multiple times throughout the novel. When

Nick mentions that they “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their

money” he is explaining how careless they can really be (Fitzgerald 179). What Nick is saying

about them shows that Tom and Daisy will do anything to benefit themselves, no matter who it

hurts. They just let other people clean up the messes they make and don’t suffer the

consequences of their own actions. Towards the end of the novel after Nick finds out about

Gatsby's death, he is looking for Daisy but mentions that “she and Tom have gone away”

(Fitzgerald 164). Them leaving shows that Daisy is trying to escape responsibility for her

actions. Since they were running away, they didn't attend Gatsby's funeral. Daisy was the most

important person in Gatsby's life, so her missing his funeral shows that they don't care about

anyone else's feelings and only do things that benefit them.

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Many things that Tom did throughout the novel also showed who he truly was. Tom's

carelessness is truly shown during his affair with Myrtle. He constantly lied to her, telling her

that he was in love with her and saying that he would leave Daisy for her, but he “doesn't believe

in divorce” (Fitzgerald 33). He constantly tells her lies because he knows it's what she wants to

hear. Not only does he lie to Myrtle, he also lies to George at the end of the novel, which

ultimately leads to Gatsby's death. By telling George “it was a yellow car” that killed Myrtle, he's

implying that it was Gatsby that killed her (Fitzgerald 140). Tom knew that by giving George

that information, it could really hurt Gatsby, but all he cared about was making sure that him and

Daisy didn't have to take any responsibility for their actions. By constantly lying and

manipulating people throughout the novel, Tom shows how careless and selfish she really is.

While Tom is constantly showing his carelessness by lying throughout the novel, Daisy is

too. While Tom and Gatsby are fighting over Daisy, she tells Gatsby “I did love him once -- but I

loved you too” (Fitzgerald 132). After constantly flirting with Gatsby and telling him that she

loved him, Daisy still ends up leaving him and letting him take all the responsibility for her

actions. All Daisy cared about was making sure that she wasn’t suffering the consequences of her

own actions. Whether it was letting someone else take the blame, running away, or both, she

never took responsibility for what she did, no matter who she hurt in the process. For example,

by letting Gatsby take the blame for killing Myrtle, she was able to get out of the situation

unharmed, even though Gatsby ended up dead because of it. Daisy is showing her true colors and

that she doesn't really care about anyone other than herself.

Overall, Tom and Daisy are very similar. They are both careless and selfish people who

will do whatever it takes to get things their way. Even if it hurts other people in the process, they
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will engage in careless and selfish behavior. The things they did and the lies they told throughout

the novel show the type of people they really are.