Saturday, May 10, 2014

What moral judgment does Nick make in Chapter 9 about Tom and Daisy in The Great Gatsby?

The moral judgment that Nick makes regarding Tom and Daisy
is that they are self-centered people who do not care whose lives they hurt as long they
continue to have their luxurious lives.  Nick says of them:  "They were careless people,
Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into 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....".  He calls them "careless" because
they are so selfish that they don't care whose lives they affect.  Tom toyed with
Myrtle's affections because he knew she wanted the comforts his wealth had to offer and
she would put up with whatever he did.  Daisy knew she'd never leave Tom for Jay, but
she let Jay believe he had a chance of having a future with Daisy because it pleased
Daisy to do so.  When troubles hit, Tom and Daisy just packed up their belongings and
their lives and moved away letting other people suffer over the carnage left in their
paths.  Nick's moral judgment at the end of the story is the reflection of his moral
judgment he made at the end of the first chapter.  As he's leaving Tom and Daisy's house
after the dinner party, he reflects, "...I was a little confused and disgusted as I
drove away."

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