The Great Gatsby
Creating More Modern Culture
In The Great Gatsby there are many instances of the creation of a new mass culture. Chapter seven
specifically displays a more modern culture around the double standards around gender and marriage as well as a more modern culture around marrying for money and the difference between love and money.
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Chapter seven is where Tom Buchanan finally starts to realize that Daisy is in love with Gatsby. As
this becomes increasingly evident, Tom becomes more enraged even eventually lashing out. So, although Tom has been known to have multiple affairs and mistresses and Daisy is just expected to live with it, Daisy is not allowed to have an affair of her own.
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Chapter seven also brings up a more modern culture around marrying for money and the difference
between love and money. On page 130, Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy never loved him and that she only married him because Gatsby was poor and she was “tired of waiting for [him].” Gatsby then goes on to tell Tom that “it was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except [Gatsby].” This demonstrates a more modern culture of sacrificing love for money.
Illustration of Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom by Simona Bonafini.
Stylistic Rulebreaking
Towards the end of chapter seven, we learn that Gatsby and Daisy were
the ones who killed Myrtle in the hit and run that Tom, Nick, and Jordan saw on their way home. This moment switches the positions of hero and villain from Tom as the villain to Gatsby as the villain. Throughout the story we think of Tom as the villain because he is keeping Daisy from being with Gatsby, but during this scene we see Gatsby as the villain as he didn’t stop the car and instead kept driving. Gatsby wasn’t who was driving, but he is still the villain because he didn’t tell the police nor did he make her stop once they had hit myrtle.
Illustration of Gatsby by Simona Bonafini.