The Nature Of Man In The Great Gatsby

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Men have been perceived in many different ways throughout the past. At times, they are seen as protective and strong. Other times they are seen as loving and kind. However, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the nature of man is told as being very violent and harsh. In this novel, it is most accurately explained through the characters of Tom Buchanan and George Wilson. Tom Buchanan was filled with hostility and anger throughout the entire novel. He is often referred to, by Nick, as a cold man. Although he seems to have many friends, this is the result of him being from old money. Within this novel, Tom acts very violently towards various people in which he encounters. “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open…show more content…
In chapter eight, George learns that his wife, Myrtle, was killed in a hit and run. He is extremely upset by this, and is being watched at all times by his friends. On page 169, Fitzgerald wrote “‘He murdered her.’ ‘It was an accident, George.’” When faced with a tragedy, George automatically assumed his wife was murdered. While it is very likely that a hit and run happened by mistake, due to his violent and cruel nature, he wholeheartedly believed that someone had purposefully harmed and killed Myrtle. Later, he learns that it was Gatsby’s car that killed her. “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” Fitzgerald wrote on page 173. George Wilson was very distraught over the death of his wife, and his harsh and extreme nature left him to believe the solution was bloodshed. He killed Jay Gatsby, and then proceeded to kill himself. Fitzgerald wrote this to further give the impression that the nature of man is violent and
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