The Great Gatsby
Prompt #30 · The Great Gatsby
Prompt Type: Relationship/Contrast
Analyze the contrast between the carelessness of Tom and Daisy Buchanan and the tragic consequences faced by Gatsby and the Wilsons. How does Fitzgerald use this contrast to develop the novel's critique of class privilege and moral responsibility? Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“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 …”
Chapter 9
Argument
This quote directly represents the Buchanans' side of the contrast, using the metaphor of 'smashing up things and creatures' to expose how their wealth insulates them from moral responsibility. The phrase 'let other people clean up the mess' explicitly connects their carelessness to the tragic consequences suffered by Gatsby and the Wilsons.
Quote 2
"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
Chapter 8
Argument
This quote represents Gatsby's side of the contrast, positioning him as morally superior to the Buchanans despite his tragic fate. Nick's declaration that Gatsby is 'worth the whole damn bunch' crystallizes the novel's critique: those with genuine feeling and loyalty suffer, while the privileged 'rotten crowd' escapes unscathed.
Quote 3
“It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete.”
Chapter 8
Argument
This quote represents the Wilsons' side of the contrast, with the word 'holocaust' emphasizing the totality of destruction wrought by the Buchanans' carelessness. Wilson's death alongside Gatsby's completes the tragic consequences that Tom and Daisy escape, demonstrating how class privilege shields the careless while the vulnerable pay the ultimate price.
Quote 4
“I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Chapter 1
Argument
This quote represents Daisy's side of the contrast, revealing her cynical worldview that privileges ignorance ('a beautiful little fool') as survival in a careless society. Her wish for her daughter underscores the moral decay of the privileged class, who perpetuate carelessness as a generational inheritance.
Quote 5
Chapter 7
Argument
This quote represents Gatsby's side of the contrast, exposing his romanticized view of Daisy as inseparable from her wealth ('full of money'). The metaphor critiques how the American Dream corrupts love into materialism, yet Gatsby's tragic pursuit still contrasts with the Buchanans' emotional detachment.