p. 133-144
I am about to make a connection here pretaining to The Great Gatsby that may or may not be far-fetched: you have been warned. So, when Myrtle was desperately running out of the gas station, she yelled to her husband, "'Beat me! Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!'" (Fitzgerald, 137). So, let us fast forward to after Myrtle has been struck and killed by the yellow car and Tom has arrived at the station. He says to Nick, "'The God damned coward! He didn't even stop his car'" (Fitzgerald, 141). These uses of the word 'coward' were only five pages apart-I see this as no coincidence. I believe F. Scott Fitzgerald is trying to make some type of connection here, so I am going to make a guess at what it is. Myrtle's storming out and her exclamation were both a rejection of her spouse. Tom's passionate feeling of anger toward the driver who killed Myrtle along with the detectable tinge of sadness in his diaologue is, also, and indirect rejection of his spouse; he is choosing to pour his feelings into grieving the loss of his mistress rather than loving Daisy. At this point, he is aware that his own wife is in love with another man, yet he is completely consumed with the death of this other woman. Maybe, Fitzgerald is trying to parallel the two rejections? Just a thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment