the great gatsby carelessness essay

The Theme of Carelessness in The Great Gatsby

The idea of carelessness plays an important role in The Great Gatsby. Daisy, Tom, Jordan, Gatsby and Nick were all careless at some points throughout the book. Daisy and Tom were careless about their relationship, their money, and many of their daily activities. Gatsby was also unconcerned with his money. Jordan was blas about the way she treated other people. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess hey had made. . .”(189)

This was an accurate description of the way Tom and Daisy acted. They were constantly neglectful of the way they behaved and when they realized they were wrong, they would retreat back to their money. It was always other people that had to pay for Tom and Daisy’s careless mistakes. Daisy also admitted that she was careless in a dialogue with Nick. “I am careful. ” “No, you’re not” “Well, other people are,” she said lightly. “What’s that got to do with it? ” “They’ll keep out of my way,” she insisted.

“It takes two to make n accident. “Suppose you meet somebody just as careless as yourself. ” “I hope I never will,” she answered. “I hate careless people. “(63) She quickly responded to Nick that she doesn’t need to be careful. Daisy implied that it is the other person’s responsibility to be mindful of her. She also said that she hates careless people right after she admitted that she was careless. Daisy was indifferent about her relationship with Tom. She knew that her husband was having an affair with another women but Daisy did not do anything about it. Tom was careless in a much more obvious way.

He was brutal as well as destructive. Tom felt that he could do anything he wanted and get away with it. He would never admit that he was dispassionate because he was egotistical. Tom was careless in his relationship with Daisy, his wife, and Myrtle Wilson, his lover. He allowed Gatsby to win his wife’s love. After Gatsby and Daisy fell in love again, all Tom could do was take his wife back and leave town for a couple of days. Tom was also unconcerned with his lover, Myrtle. He let his ife, his friends, and even Myrtle’s husband know that they were having an affair.

Obviously, Tom did not want everyone to know what he had been doing, but his careless actions revealed the truth. Gatsby was a spendthrift with his money. He spent thousands of dollars on parties, his house, and all of his possessions just to impress his lover, Daisy. In other ways, Gatsby was overly careful. When Daisy killed Myrtle Wilson with his car, he took great precautions about the situation. He told Nick, “I got to West Egg by a side road,” he went on, “and left the car in my arage. I don’t think anybody saw me but of course I can’t be sure. (151) Jordan was careless during a golf tournament.

She won the match by kicking the ball into the hole when no one was looking. She was mindless because many people were watching her while she cheated. After this incident she was known as a cheater. Meyer Wolfshiem, in comparison, was very careful. He tried to stay away from death and things that could cause trouble. He once told Nick after the death of Gatsby, “I can’t do it – I can’t get mixed up in it. “(180) He also ommented, “When a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. . .”(180)

The theme of carelessness in The Great Gatsby was very definite. Each person displayed characteristics that were either careless or mindful. The carelessness of the characters generally affected them in a negative way. They were careless about their relationship, their money, and many of the activities they did every day. These personality traits were almost impossible to change. The careless actions of many of the characters in The Great Gatsby affected their lives and those around them.

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The Great Gatsby

In a essay analyse the topic of carelessness(Gatsby). How is carelessness portrayed in the 1920s and how is it pivotal in the various characters' lives?

so here the only thing that is focused on is the carelessness of Tom,Daisy,Nick,Jordan and Gatsby

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to 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. . . ."

Tom and Daisy lived a life of carelessness. They were careless with their own relationship, their money, and had no mind to how they treated others. Daisy played with Gatsby's affections, all while knowing she'd never leave her husband; Tom used Myrtle and couldn't have cared less how his actions affected her husband, whom he knew and liked. Jordan didn't care about anything or anyone, she was selfish and self-serving. Gatsby could only think about his own dreams; he had tunnel vision, and Nick...... he carelessly follows the lead of those around him. Thankfully, he figures it all out.

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Carelessness in The Great Gatsby Essay Example

The Great Gatsby is defined by carelessness; as Nick expressed, “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” (Fitzgerald 179). Fitzgerald seems to establish what seems like a pattern between one's personal life and one's actions. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays many of the central characters as self-serving and reckless in their relationships; this inherent trait proceeds to translate into reckless actions which have detrimental effects.   

Throughout the novel, a consistent theme emerges of negligence in the interpersonal relationships between the central characters which then translates into broken relationships. Affairs are an extraordinary common occurrence throughout the novel, but one distinctly stands out. Tom and Myrtle's affair was not only immoral but extremely reckless in execution. Tom leaves the dinner table to go pick up the phone and when Nick questions who he’s talking to, Jordan exclaims "I thought everybody knew. (Fitzgerald 15). She then goes on to explain that "Tom's got some woman in New York." (Fitzgerald 15). Jordan is surprised when Nick doesn’t know about the affair and just assumed that he already knew because everyone else does. Having an affair is reckless to begin with but allowing oneself to become the talk of the town is extremely rash. Not only this, shortly after the dinner takes place Tom brings Nick to New York and proclaims “I want you to meet my girl” (Fitzgerald 24). Tom doesn’t even try to be secretive about the affair; he invites Nick, the cousin of Daisy to meet his mistress. Tom is not just reckless but is completely ignorant and completely ignores all common sense. Parallel in recklessness to Tom’s affair with Myrtle is Daisy’s affair with Gatsby. Daisy, similar to Tom, does very little to hide the fact she's in an affair. Daisy reveals that she is in love with Gatsby when she utters that she thinks Gatsby is “always so cool”. Tom is clearly dumbfounded and “his mouth opened a little and he looked at Gatsby and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as someone he knew a long time ago” (Fitzgerald 119). Daisy openly implies that she is in love with another man in front of her husband. Daisy and Gatsby clearly show complete disregard and throw basic decency out the window in pursuit of each other. Affairs were and are extremely looked down upon in society so it is a terrible idea for daisy to admit to engaging in one; let alone for Daisy to admit to one in front of her husband. Demonstrating the trend of absent-mindedness within relationships once again, Jordan and Nick’s relationship was vastly wrongheaded. Nick seems disgusted while at the same time, fascinated with the upper ruling class; he dates Jordan in part because of her high status in society. After Myrtle’s death, Jordan invites Nick inside, and Nick scoffed “I'd be damned if I'd go in; I'd had enough of all of them for one day, and suddenly that included Jordan too” (Fitzgerald 142). After the death of Myrtle, Nick has a moment of clarity. He realizes he's satisfied his morals in the pursuit of Jordan and refuses to do so anymore. Nick is disgusted with the way Jordan goes through life carefree and wants no part in it. 

The central character's recklessness in their relationships translates into reckless actions which have unpleasant consequences. Poor driving is central to the novel and Jordan is one of the main culprits. While driving with Jordan, Nick notices Jordan's poor driving habits and protests "You're a rotten driver," "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." Jordan responds by asserting that “It takes two to make an accident” (Fitzgerald 58). Later in the novel, Jordan illudes to this conversation when she alleged “‘I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person" (Fitzgerald 168). Nick expresses that he dislikes careless people, and driving in the novel is symbolic of carelessness. Jordan is not the only carless individual but is used as a method of relaying a larger pattern throughout the novel. Characters and specifically Jordan, are defined by “the way they behave behind the wheel” which “strongly indicates their attitude towards life and relationships; those who are "careless" drivers approach life in the same manner with which they approach the open road” (Lance 5).Jordan is not the only case of reckless driving exhibited in the novel. It is revealed that “Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night and ripped a front wheel off his car” and the girl with him “got into the papers too because her arm was broken—she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel” (Fitzgerald 77). Tom gets caught red-handed when he crashes his car and the crash is “another indictment of Tom's lust, but the repetition of detail—the loss of a wheel in a night accident—associates Tom with the irresponsible drunken driver” (Doyno 5). In this case, the correlation is extremely obvious, Toms poor relationship choice leads directly to his reckless actions; in this case, the car crash he caused. The crash itself is not super significant on its own but the pattern between poor relationship choices being correlated with reckless actions is very prevalent. Fitzgerald establishes the pattern for the chapters to follow. Finally, the theme of second-rate driving culminates with the death of Myrtle Wilson. Gatsby and Daisy are driving back from New York with Daisy at the wheel and Gatsby recounts “Well, first Daisy turned away from the woman toward the other car, and then she lost her nerve and turned back. The second my hand reached the wheel I felt the shock—it must have killed her instantly" (Fitzgerald 143). Gatsby also articulates that he “tried to make her stop” but couldn't so he “pulled on the emergency brake”. Daisy hitting and killing Myrtle is emblematic of the end of Daisy's participation in the recklessness and chaos in her life. Shortly after the hit and run, Daisy moves away from the drama with her family; leaving Nick and Gatsby behind. Myrtle's death is the culmination of all the chaos and recklessness demonstrated all throughout the novel and Daisy leaving shortly after is her way out. 

A clearcut pattern is established throughout the novel; the clearcut correlation between personal relationships and actions. Tom cheats on Daisy multiple times and his reckless actions culminate in him getting caught in a fury. Jordan's jauntily and carefree attitude toward relationships peaks with her poor driving. Daisies nonchalant view throughout the novel ends in tragedy; with the death of Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald establishes this pattern early in the novel; the idea that a carefree and elitist attitude toward personal relationships will result in a tragic ending. And a tragic ending it was.

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Carelessness in the Great Gatsby

• Word count: 1356
• Category: Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

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Being careless can be defined as not showing or receiving care. The tendency to be careless is a quality that exists within human beings. It is possible to be careless about yourself and/or others. While too much care can be a problem, too little care can also prove to be hazardous. There is no defined amount of a care needed for a person. The amount of care we need is an amount unique to all of us. Problems can arise when you show an extreme amount of care towards others as well as yourself. When you show too much care towards yourself, you may become selfish. When you show too little care towards yourself, you may become careless. In the end of the third chapter of the story The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway are implied as careless. We, as human beings, live a certain lifestyle based on a variety of activities such as career, family, friends, culture, and social status. Some activities are done subconsciously, while others require a lot of time and effort. The failure to take the required care in such activities causes accidents. Accidents can be self-destructive and/or destructive to others as well. In The Great Gatsby, Jordan’s carelessness in driving leads to a near collision with a pedestrian.

Such an accident could have resulted in Jordan being suspended from driving. Jordan’s statement “It takes two to make an accident,” represents her careless attitude. However, her near-collision with a pedestrian proves that one person can cause an accident. This is because if she collided with the pedestrian the accident would have been her fault. The pedestrian would have likely been hit because of the short reaction time to move out of the way. Not only would Jordan suffer from a serious punishment, but the pedestrian would likely be at least physically injured in some form. Thus, all decisions must be taken with care regardless of the task being done. In one’s profession, the need for care in the decisions he/she faces is vital. Thus, Jordan’s decision to cheat to win the golf tournament without thinking of the consequences nearly led to a scandal. If the fact that she cheated was revealed to higher authorities, her golf career would have ended. She also would have been labelled as a dishonest person.

If the full consequences of her actions of her near-collision and revelation of her underhand tactics in golf were faced, her life would have been severely altered. She, like anyone else, cannot expect to avoid the full consequence of her actions all the time. In life, the relationships a person is associated with have a great impact on a person’s present and future. The impact can be positive or negative depending on whether the people in the relationship get along. The impact can also be large or small depending on the intimacy of those in the relationship. Male-female love relationships tend to have a large impact in the lives of each other. Therefore, it is essential for people to take extreme care when engaging and disengaging themselves in such relationships. In The Great Gatsby, Jordan admits her love to Nick. Meanwhile, Nick has is ambivalent towards Jordan. While Nick detests her dishonesty in everything she does, Nick likes her for her liveliness. This is because a relationship with Jordan would get rid of the loneliness he faces when he is at home.

Nick’s attraction to Jordan’s energy represents his quick adaptation to the vigorous style of New York. The fact that Nick views Jordan as a dishonest person shows that he does not trust her word. This is not a good thing to have in a relationship because in a love relationship both of the male and female must be able to trust each other. Nick’s statement that he is the most honest person he knows is false because Nick is not being honest to his girlfriend (who he writes love letters to) by engaging in a relationship with Jordan. It is not good to be in a relationship where both the male and female are known to be dishonest. Therefore, Nick’s decision to be in a relationship with Jordan exposes his poor ability to visualize the consequences of being involved in an unhealthy relationship. The act of leaving a relationship or breaking up from a relationship must be done carefully and tactfully.

Nick’s lack of thought in breaking his relationship with his girlfriend (he writes letters to) shows that he is not very considerate of the feelings of the ones who are in a relationship with him. Hence, one can conclude that Nick is mediocre in dealing with relationships. Similar to males, it is necessary that females need to take extreme care when engaging in a male-female love relationship. To love someone, it is likely that you need to know them very well. Therefore, the decision to engage in a relationship is not an ‘act first and think later’ type of decision. The decision to be in a relationship with someone is a ‘think first and act later’ type of decision. Loving a person without knowing their true nature can lead to being hurt emotionally. In The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker carelessly falls in love with Nick. She does not realize the fact that Nick thinks she is very dishonest. She does not know that Nick already has a girlfriend who he writes love letters to.

She believes that Nick is very careful and will take good care of her. However, the fact that Nick was able to let go of one relationship just to go to another in a short amount of time proves the opposite. She also does not know that Nick only likes her for the liveliness she brings into his life. Once Nick becomes bored of Jordan, she will become unattractive to him. In conclusion, the lack of knowledge Jordan has about Nick represents her carelessness. Jordan’s carelessness is shown symbolically through her near-collision with the pedestrian. Cars (at the time) were an extremely expensive item to have. Having a car represented the fact that the driver of the car was very rich. It also represented their high social status. Symbolically, the car represents the type of life Jordan has. Jordan is a person who is able to make a living out of the activity she likes to do; golf. As a talented golfer, Jordan is able to make a lot of money through her profession.

Through her golf championship, she is able to gain popularity and a high social status. The fact that Jordan is the driver of the car represents that she is the one who controls her life. Hence, her careless driving symbolizes the careless decisions she has taken during her lifetime. If she had actually hit the pedestrian, she would have been punished by a suspension of license and/or criminal charges depending on the severity of the damage to the pedestrian. Therefore, the near-collision represents the punishments that could have taken away her control in her life. It also symbolizes the author’s message that some careless decisions can end up ruining your life. It is ironic that Jordan does not like careless people. This is because she falls in love with a person who is careless with the handling of relationships.

Through the actions of Jordan and the symbolization of her near-collision, one can conclude that it is necessary to truly know a person before falling in love with them. Falling in love with a person who you don’t know is a careless decision that can have major consequences. As shown, carelessness is a characteristic that is usually not desired in human beings. Being careless is not something that cannot change. This is for the reason that carelessness is the act of being lazy and not taking the required care in a decision. It is possible to be careless in some aspects of life, while being very careful in other aspects of life (like Nick). It is very important to take the care necessary in any decision whether it concerns your daily activities or relationships.

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