Hoffman 1
Evan Hoffman
Mrs. Sharp
English 11
11 May 2021
In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote an iconic novel, The Great Gatsby. The book focuses
on the roaring twenties, and it also highlights a group of people in New York from this time. The
book is told from Daisy’s cousin, Nick’s, point of view as he just moved to the Big Apple and is
finding out everything himself. He meets a very rich and famous man next door named Jay
Gatsby who changes his life for better or worse. In the recent movie version, the movie opens
with a scene of Nick in a mental institution, telling the story as a flashback to his doctor. Nick is
in this position because of the death of Myrtle Wilson and Gatsby’s funeral.
Throughout the book, a lot of major events happen, but no event is as significant as
Myrtle’s death. Because Myrtle dies from Daisy’s impaired driving, this leads to Gatsby’s death,
Jay’s funeral, and even may be traumatizing enough to get Nick into the psychiatric office.
Gatsby even mentions how “she was the first “nice” girl he had ever known. In various
unrevealed capacities he had come in contact with such people, but always with indiscernible
barbed wire between” (Fitzgerald 112). This is significant because it shows Jay’s connection and
how in the end, she ultimately betrays him. She lies about what happened that night, which
through a domino effect, leads to George Wilson showing up in his backyard and killing him in
his pool. Later, Tom explains to Wilson after Myrtle dies how “The other car, the one going
toward New York, came to rest a hundred yards beyond, and its driver hurried back to where
Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood
with the dust.” (Fitzgerald 103). The reader can infer this is significant because without this
quote, Jay may still be alive. This wouldn’t cause as much grief and trauma as seeing Gatsby
Hoffman 2
Evan Hoffman
Mrs. Sharp
English 11
11 May 2021
dead and may not lead to Nick having these mental issues down the road. Overall, Myrtle’s death
is a late climax to the story, yet it has such a domino effect on the climactic ending.
After George Wilson fatally shoots and kills Gatsby in his backyard, Jay’s father shows
up to the house while Nick is there with the detectives. Nick and Mr. Gatz talk for a bit and have
the funeral procession when Nick mentions how “the chauffeur — he was one of Wolfsheim’s
proteges — heard the shots — afterward he could only say that he hadn’t thought anything much
about them.” (Fitzgerald 122). This is important because it shows the element of detail Nick can
recall. This may be foreshadowing for why he is in the doctor’s office in the beginning of the
movie. Later, he discusses how “after Gatsby’s death the East was haunted for me like that,
distorted beyond my eyes’ power of correction. So when the blue smoke of brittle leaves was in
the air and the wind blew the wet laundry stiff on the line I decided to come back home.”
(Fitzgerald 135). The reader can infer this is significant because it shows why he left New York.
This could show his current mental state hasn’t changed since he left and he still isn’t over
Gatsby’s death.
Overall, Nick Carraway is a very emotional character. He experiences a lot through The
Great Gatsby, and his hardships are shown through how the author reveals his emotion when Jay
dies and at his funeral.
