Saturday, June 21, 2008

Why does Wilson believe that Gatsby killed Myrtle? What does that reveal about the characters? What does Wilson do? Is his reaction justified?

14 comments:

kristeena said...

The reason that Wilson thinks Gatsby killed Myrtle is because Tom told Wilson that Gatsby was the owner of the yellow car that had hit Myrtle. Wilson thinks that the reason as to why he killed her is because he didn't want to talk to her for the moment. What Wilson failed to realize is that it wasn't actually Gatsby that was having an affair with Myrtle but it was his 'friend' Tom. I think this part of the story reveals that all the characters readily accepted any and all ideas that first jumped out. Because Wilson jumped and acted on the first idea that came his way, he went to Gatsby's house and murdered him. I think his reaction is not justified because he acted to much on impulse and didnt think things over. If he hadn't been so mad maybe he could've investigated more deeply and not killed anyone.

Young Eui Hong said...

Well, first of all, Gatsby wanted Tom to tell Wilson that Gatsby was the one that murdered Myrtle. Also, since Wilson loved Myrtle, obviously the first thought in his mind after hearing about the happening, was anger and hate towards the murderer. So, following this, Wilson goes to Gatsby's house and kills him. All this reveals that the characters are more emotional than logical. Wilson's decision was clearly made by his emotions because if he had been more logical, the first action to take would have been to look into the case further and deeper and acquire a solid proof that Gatsby was the real murderer rather than killing Gatsby without any validation.

Min Jae said...

I would have to disagree with young regarding Gatsby wanting Tom to tell Wilson that he was the murderer. During th whole scene where Tom takes the position of calming Wilson down and trying to make him realize that the car was definitely Gatsby's, Gatsby and Daisy have no idea that people saw the accident which Daisy caused. But since Gatsby truly loves Daisy in a way that many people have yet to feel for others, he is willing to take the blame for her sake. What this event reveals about the characters is that they are rash to the actions they wish to take. Myrtle running in front of a car, Wilson seeking revenge over the event, Gatsby taking the blame and staying to "protect" Daisy, so on.

Unknown said...

To sum it up, it was Gatsby's car and Gatsby was in the car, though he was not driving. Wilson had a profound love for Myrtle, and , when he found out of Myrtle's death, he was eager to kill the murder at the stake of his own life. Looking at how much he loved Myrtle, Wilson's actions are justified since there was a legitimate cause for his decision.

Janique said...

Wilson believes that Gatsby is Myrtle's murderer because of what Tom said. Tom told Wilson that Gatsby was the owner of the yellow car. Automatically Wilson concluded that it was Gatsby that was having an affair with Myrtle and just didn't want to talk to her at the time she ran out in the street to stop the car. This whole ordeal reveals that even the people you would think could help you could be just as sly and manipulating. When Tom told Wilson that the yellow car was Gatsby's he new very well what Wilson would conclude and he didn't seem to mind what happened to anyone else as long as he was not suspected or discovered as Myrtle's lover. I am going to disagree with Kyle because although Wilson had a suspicion against Gatsby it gave him no right to just go up to him and kill him. He let his emotions take over instead of his conscience of waiting and doing the right thing.

Unknown said...

Wilson believes Gatsby killed Myrtle because Wilson saw the yellow car before and he believes that Myrtle went out to speak to his ‘lover’ but the car didn’t stop. Wilson, who thinks Gatsby is the one having a liaison with Myrtle, kills Gatsby, who takes the blame for Daisy. This shows that the characters act upon their emotions and on their impulse.
The fact that Wilson killed Gatsby is being justified because Wilson did have a good reason for killing Gatsby. Although Wilson may have acted upon his impulse without definite proof, his reason for killing Gatsby was because he wanted to get revenge; because based on what Wilson knows, Myrtle’s secret lover is Gatsby and Gatsby is the one who killed Mrytle.

Maria S. said...

I must disagree with Hyun Ah on her comment about Wilson murdering being justified. You can understand why he did it but no murder should be justified. Taking anybody’s life is wrong even though Wilson was out to kill his wife’s supposed killer. I agree that the characters were all thinking with there emotions instead of their heads. Both Tom’s and Wilson’s thirst for vengeance was the same and brought the effect of Gatsby’s death. Tom was mad at Gatsby for taking his wife and killing his lover, Wilson was mad at Gatsby for taking his wife and killing her. Tom used to look down on Wilson for being a fool that wasn’t aware of his wife’s betrayal but in the end Tom and Wilson end up almost the same, betrayed by their wife’s and wanting Gatsby dead for what he had done.

Norberto said...

Mr. Wilson went crazy when Myrtle was hit. Tom gave him information, but it wasn’t descriptive enough to prove whether Gatsby hit her or not. Wilson thought that Myrtle’s lover killed her, and the only suspect was Gatsby. Mr. Wilson didn’t think it twice and didn’t find it necessary to investigate the case. I think Wilson was only confused, sad, heart broken, enraged, and simply broken into little pieces. He was controlled by his feelings and was forced to kill Gatsby, who at the moment seemed as the culprit in Wilson’s mind. The choice made by Mr. Wilson might seem poor and ignorant, but he lost his wife and as soon as he lost her, he also lost his mind. I think that Wilson’s actions are justified because according to the evidence he saw and heard from Tom was enough to conclude the decision made to end Gatsby’s life.

JinA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JinA said...

Wilson assumed that who ever was driving the yellow car was Myrtle's affair and the one who killed her. He believed Gatsby was the one who did it because Tom told him that Gatsby was the owner of the yellow car. Wilson did not think wisely enough to realize that Gatsby was not Myrtle's affair but Tom was. Therefore, Wilson went to Gatsby's house and then killed him. After killing Gatsby, Wilson killed himself. His reaction is not justified, but I do understand why he reacted like that. Wilson was just gullible man who was manipulated by Tom.
This scene revealed a lot about Gatsby, Daisy, Wilson, and Tom. Gatsby was so in love with Daisy that he was willing to take the blame and take the punishment for her. Daisy is a selfish woman who let Gatsby (supposedly the man she loved) take the blame and die; she even didn't go to his funeral. Also, I had a feeling that Daisy did wanted to run over Myrtle because of the Gatsby explained the accident to Nick. "...it seemed to me that she [Myrtle] wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew. Well, first Daisy turned away from the woman toward the other car, and then she lost her nerve and turned back..." In regard to Wilson, this scene revealed that Wilson really loved Myrtle even though she was having an affair. Also, Wilson really trusted in Tom that he believed Tom that Gatsby was the one who killed Myrtle and never suspected about Tom actually being the one who was Myrtle's love affair. In regard to Tom, it showed that Tom is a selfish, coward man.

Unknown said...

Wilson believes that Gatsby was Myrtle’s secret lover when Tom tells him that Gatsby’s car killed Myrtle. The way Wilson jumps to conclusions without knowing the truth shows how desperate the characters turn out to be with every single event that occurs. Also it shows their obsession to their women. Gatsby’s obsession for Daisy makes him sacrifice his whole life towards her; Wilson’s obsession for Myrtle makes him jump to conclusions which results in Gatsby’s death and his own death. If I were Wilson, maybe I would jump to the same conclusion, only because of the fact that I would be angry and not in the right state of mind, but I don’t think his reaction is justified even if he did take his own life.

Daniel said...

Wilson belives that Tom killed Myrtle because he saw him driving a yellow car earlier, then he thought that it had been Tom's car. Tom the procedes to tell him that it was Gatsby's car and his fault. Which reveals how selfish and cowardly Tom is, and how much Wilson did actually love his wife. Wilson then procedes to killing Gatsby, which was, in my opinion, not a very good choice. Then again he probably did want revenge for his wife's murder, but he didn't actually kill the murderer.

Unknown said...

George Wilson convinces himself that Mr. Gatsby had killed his wife. Tom didn't do much but tell George that the car was Gatsby's. However, Tom's words were powerful enough to make George convince himself that Mr. Gatsby was the murderer. Maybe because he wanted to think the problem simply, but nobody knows truly, George Wilson thinks that the murderer is the man who had affairs with Myrtle Wilson, Mr. Wilson's wife. Having convinced himself of false deduction, George Wilson ends up murdering Mr. Gatsby in return. Although Wilson's action can't be truly justified, I think I would have done similar thing. I believe George was already weary of his life; the murder of his wife would have been the trigger that released his anger, which was stored throughout his weary life. However, I believe that one's actions should not be judged by another one's action; therefore, even though Mr. Gatsby had done the treacheries, Mr. Wilson should be punished by his own faults, without considering Mr. Gatsby.

Anonymous said...

I see no reason to argue against those who believe Wilson was justified in committing murder over Mrytle's death. People like that believe in the "eye for an eye" argument and are at heart, barbaric. This is simply human nature at its worst.