Betrayal: the Great Gatsby
In literature authors use betrayal as a means for their characters to get what they want. Betrayal plays a significant role in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The first betrayal that takes place is Tom’s betrayal of Daisy. Tom betrays his wife Daisy when he has an affair with a woman named Myrtle. The second betrayal is Gatsby betraying himself. Jay Gatsby could have easily been a very successful man and could have done a lot of great things with his life. He instead wasted all his potential chasing after Daisy and trying to get her to notice him. The last betrayal that takes place is Daisy’s betrayal of Gatsby. Daisy led Gatsby to believe that she loved him and not her husband Tom. Daisy then turned her back on Gatsby and ran back to her husband leaving Gatsby alone.
The first betrayal is Tom’s betrayal of Daisy. Tom betrays Daisy by ignoring the sanctity of their marriage and having an affair. He has an affair with a woman named Myrtle who is also married. Not only is this very unethical but, it destroys everything Tom and Daisy built together. They have a child together and this affair could potentially tear their family apart. Tom’s disloyal and guilt free ways allow him to have an affair without feeling any regret. This betrayal affected the outcome of the story in a big way. Tom’s betrayal caused Daisy to see nothing wrong with her betraying Tom. Daisy, like her husband, has an affair but, she cheats on Tom with Gatsby. She slowly starts to lose faith in humanity and starts to see the world as a very bad place. She wishes for her daughter to not see the world for what it is. Daisy hopes that her daughter will be naive and clueless and to see the world as a happy place instead of the reality where the world is a cruel. She tells Nick this when she says, “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”(22) Tom’s betrayal caused Daisy to think this way. Nothing good came of Tom’s betrayal.
The first betrayal is Tom’s betrayal of Daisy. Tom betrays Daisy by ignoring the sanctity of their marriage and having an affair. He has an affair with a woman named Myrtle who is also married. Not only is this very unethical but, it destroys everything Tom and Daisy built together. They have a child together and this affair could potentially tear their family apart. Tom’s disloyal and guilt free ways allow him to have an affair without feeling any regret. This betrayal affected the outcome of the story in a big way. Tom’s betrayal caused Daisy to see nothing wrong with her betraying Tom. Daisy, like her husband, has an affair but, she cheats on Tom with Gatsby. She slowly starts to lose faith in humanity and starts to see the world as a very bad place. She wishes for her daughter to not see the world for what it is. Daisy hopes that her daughter will be naive and clueless and to see the world as a happy place instead of the reality where the world is a cruel. She tells Nick this when she says, “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”(22) Tom’s betrayal caused Daisy to think this way. Nothing good came of Tom’s betrayal.