Introduction
This is a novel set by Scott Fitzgerald as a critique of America. It takes place after the First World War when America was enjoying the fruits of a soaring economy. After its publication and leading, it was declared the quintessence of the immense American work of fiction as well as archetypal. From the novel, this essay is directed at finding out the role that the careless characters were out to depict with them being involved in acts that were morally qualified to be regarded as lackadaisical.
Main body
As Nick says near the fall of the curtain, “there were careless people “Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan who happens to have been his wife and Jay Gatsby were the characters that depicted carelessness in alarming magnitudes. Tom for instance was involved in the smashing of the innocent creatures and was later joined by Daisy to kill them after which they did not bother to know how they fared after death. This carelessness was noticed after the death of creatures and leaving them to rot in the vast lands of North Island North shore and getting back to his enjoying of wealth. Who will take care of the dead creatures seems not to be in Tom’s order of what to bother him and together with the wife is comfortable enjoying their wealth while the creatures are rotting in the wilderness.
Tom does boost his fortunes openly without thinking of the impact it has on Gatsby who at the end elopes with his wife Daisy. He says, “I have got a nice place here” and emphasizes that it once belonged to “Demaine oilman” (Fitzgerald 12) without bothering whom he is talking to. This carelessness concerning who is listening does cost Tom a wife at the near end of the novel. Tom too does disregard the wealth of the new eloquent people and refers to them as “bootleggers.”He does not recognize Gatsby and he even testifies, “I pegged him as a bootlegger from the first sight.”This is careless that on Tom’s part did harm him more so after Daisy broke the news of his disposal at the expense of Gatsby. He declared “she’s not leaving me, and not for a basic swindler who has to steal a ring to put on her finger” (Broccoli 140).In addition to this, he even sent the two home with a belief that her flirting was already gone. Tom could not have depicted this ignorance because it does harm him after losing a wife to Gatsby.
Jay Gatsby is a careless character in the novel. Being born of an impoverished childhood, he finds a way of getting the wealth he is enjoying by his chipping in for the well-thought-out crime. This was after he dropped out of St Olaf college due to his despise of the janitor’s job that was paying for his fees. The drop out of school is carelessness on his part and the repercussions are getting involved in the sale of “illegal alcohol and stolen securities.”
Daisy was once an exemplar of womanhood in the novel with a “sweet exciting laugh” but her flirting with Gatsby and going with him at the end makes her a “low vulgar girl” who can be charged with catastrophic events at the fall of the curtain. It was due to her carelessness that she was downgraded to a vulgar girl. This is one of the instances where Daisy Buchanan found herself in the fuss after she had made a careless mistake.
Three guiltless civilians are declared dead due to Daisy’s heedlessness. “She betrayed Gatsby’s delusion, ran over Myrtle with her sedan, and she in one way or the other was involved in the carnage of George”, as the author puts it. This carelessness has led to the loss of lives for the three who were important characters in the novel. She gambles with Gatsby before the accident and declares that the involved shall move out of the way and their conversation is “you are a rotten driver. Either you ought to be more careful or you ought not to be driving at all” as Gatsby advises her on the wheel. “I am careful” “no you are not,” “well other people are then.”This ignorance and carelessness made her run over the dead in the eyes of Gatsby with her car.
Conclusion
Scott Fitzgerald has used carelessness to depict a society that is rotten of morals and concerns for the welfare of the others (Notes & Maurer 42). Each person is fighting for himself and Gatsby even decided to trade on illegal stolen, securities to be rich other than staying in school while he worked as a janitor. Tom too does oppress the creatures for his comfort and he retreated after the kill with no interest in what the creatures were likely to be facing. A society that is selfish and ignorant is precisely what the author of the novel sought to show by using the various characters with little concern for colleagues. Through the carelessness of these characters, Scott is out to suggest that selfishness, pride are the root of evil, and it does not lead to any little good other than bouts of misfortunes and unlucky. Does anyone who has read the book dought this?
Works cited
Broccoli, Matthew. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference. New York: Carroll & Graf. 2000. Print.
Notes, Cliffs & Maurer, Kate. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. New York: Cliffs Notes. 2000.
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner. 1999. Print.