"Myrtle Wilson's body, wrapped in a blanket, and then in another blanket, as though she suffered from a chill in the hot night, lay on a work-table by the wall, and Tom, with his back to us, was bending over it, motionless." (138) At this point, Myrtle has been killed because she ran out in front of a yellow car which so happened to be Gatsby's car. Previously, Tom had been driving the car and told George that it was his car, so at first George suspected him until Tom told him that it was really Jay Gatsby who the car belonged to and he didn't even stop to see if Myrtle was okay when he ran her over. I believe Tom was really just nervous because he didn't want George finding out about his affair with Myrtle. He wanted it to remain mysterious who the man was that she was having an affair with because he was a coward. I think he was afraid that if George found out then he would kill Tom...because...well he ends up killing Gatsby. And people do crazy things for love. I find it interesting that Tom was so upset over Myrtle's death because I don't think he truly cared about her like he thought he did because men who hit their wives or mistresses...that is just shady to me. I don't feel like a man should ever, ever hit a woman who he claims he loves because if he loves her, he would never want to physically harm her. I think Tom is so shocked and upset because he feels like he just lost his wife and his mistress so he is really striking out when he thought his life was progressing perfectly. Tom is a man of pleasure and self-satisfaction, so once his satisfaction was dwindling, he had no where to run to but right back home.
Post a Comment