The Great Gatsby: Blog 12
F. Scott Fitzgerald

     Even though this book is set in the 1920's, I feel it still relates to our modern world in more ways than I expected. For one, the ridiculous amount of infidelity is still abundant today. A step further, the abuse that appears in this novel is another tragedy that unfortunately has only become worse in our society.
     Overheard by a neighbor, Myrtle Wilson cried out "Beat me! Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!" (Gatsby, 137). This was heard just before her death. As I read, I wasn't sure if her death had been planned by George Wilson or if she was coincidentally hit by a car during their tense argument. However, as I read on, I learned the accident was a surprise to everyone. And even more surprising is that the culprits were Daisy and Gatsby.
     Carraway happened to meet with Gatsby later on in the night, and it shocked me how calm Gatsby was when he learned she had died. He was only worried about Daisy, who was driving and who had to return to her house with Tom. While his care for Daisy is sweet, I feel like someone who just murdered another person should have a bit more regret and fear than he has.
     I am embarrassed to say the first thing I thought of while reading about George abusing Myrtle was the Rihanna-Chris Brown abuse incident. However, when I think about that I realize how often abuse must go on in our world, and yet we only hear about cases in celebrities. It is somewhat eye-opening to realize that not only has this been going on for decades, prior to when I believe our society truly became corrupt, but it is happening far more than most people are aware of.