Careless Characters and How Their Choices Affect Them in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Careless Characters and How Their Choices Affect Them in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
October 4, 2010
Honors English 11
Dr. Lane To be careless is to be free from anxiety or to not pay attention to what one does. There are several characters throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that could be labeled as careless. Nick Carraway witnesses these careless people and the choices they make while he is living in New York. It is because of these people that Nick ultimately realizes that he is one of the most honest people that he knows. Careless characters in The Great Gatsby make the decisions they do because they are blinded from reality due to wealth, drunkenness, or selfishness. Jordan Baker is a professional golfer and one of Daisy’s friends. Throughout the novel she could be viewed as selfish and dishonest which makes her careless. She would do just about anything to get her way, and cares for nobody else throughout the novel. She even cheats in a golf tournament “a suggestion that she moved her ball out of a bad lie in the semi-final round” (Fitzgerald 57). Jordan is constantly lying throughout the novel. She lies about various things and even about ruining a borrowed car. While on a visit to the city with Nick, Jordan is driving recklessly, when Nick confronts her about it she simply says “they’ll keep out of my way” (Fitzgerald 58). The driving incident shows just how careless Jordan is and how she only seems to care about herself. By the end of the novel when Jordan and Nick are no longer involved with each other she brings up that incident. “It was careless of me to make such a wrong guess” (Fitzgerald 177). Owl Eyes is a character first introduced at one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. One of the first things he says to Nick is about Gatsby’s book collection and how the books are real. "I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library" (Fitzgerald, 46), in
October 4, 2010
Honors English 11
Dr. Lane To be careless is to be free from anxiety or to not pay attention to what one does. There are several characters throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that could be labeled as careless. Nick Carraway witnesses these careless people and the choices they make while he is living in New York. It is because of these people that Nick ultimately realizes that he is one of the most honest people that he knows. Careless characters in The Great Gatsby make the decisions they do because they are blinded from reality due to wealth, drunkenness, or selfishness. Jordan Baker is a professional golfer and one of Daisy’s friends. Throughout the novel she could be viewed as selfish and dishonest which makes her careless. She would do just about anything to get her way, and cares for nobody else throughout the novel. She even cheats in a golf tournament “a suggestion that she moved her ball out of a bad lie in the semi-final round” (Fitzgerald 57). Jordan is constantly lying throughout the novel. She lies about various things and even about ruining a borrowed car. While on a visit to the city with Nick, Jordan is driving recklessly, when Nick confronts her about it she simply says “they’ll keep out of my way” (Fitzgerald 58). The driving incident shows just how careless Jordan is and how she only seems to care about herself. By the end of the novel when Jordan and Nick are no longer involved with each other she brings up that incident. “It was careless of me to make such a wrong guess” (Fitzgerald 177). Owl Eyes is a character first introduced at one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. One of the first things he says to Nick is about Gatsby’s book collection and how the books are real. "I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library" (Fitzgerald, 46), in