The Great Divide in the Great Gatsby

"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)

This quote pretty much sums up the whole novel. The rich people in the novel have a higher status and more influence over the poorer people. Even with the rich, there are divisions--"Old Money" and "New Money". In the novel, the "Old Money" characters are able to commit wrongdoings but get away from the consequences by shifting the blame on to someone they believe is of lower status than them. Without any regard for their victim's feelings, they simply stomp all over them and run away from the mess they created.

We see this when Daisy is driving Gatsby's car. When she crashes in to Myrtle and kills her, she fleds the scene and doesn't event stop to check on Myrtle's condition. Because she was driving Gatsby's car, people assume it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle. Daisy allows and encourages Gatsby to take the blame for her mistake because she doesn't want to complicate things with Tom and possibly wants to prevent her reputation from tarnishing. Without thinking about the consequences for Gatsby, she just expects him to do this.

Gatsby is also expecting Daisy to leave Tom in order to be with him. However, Daisy never clearly tells Gatsby that she isn't planning on doing this. She simply tells Gatsby and Tom that she loves them both. Gatsby keeps waiting impatiently because he was never told not to do so anymore. Here, Daisy is toying with Gatsby's emotions and mental state. She only looks out for herself and doesn't bother to clear things up with Gatsby.

When Nick discovers Gatsby's death, he immediately tries to arrange a funeral for Gatsby. He calls a lot of people and invites them to the service. However, all Gatsby's "friends" give Nick trivial excuses for why they can't show up. Even Daisy, who has had quite an intimate relationship with Gatsby doesn't come to Gatsby's funeral. When Gatsby hosted lavish and luxurious parties, so many people would come, that the party wasn't intimate or personal as most people weren't invited and didn't know each other's names. This juxtaposes the image of Gatsby's funeral when only Owl Eyes, Nick and Gatsby's father were present. Of all the people who admired material possessions and came to Gatsby's parties, not a single one attended his funeral.