"It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete." (Page 163)
Wilson and Gatsby didn't have any interaction until the night when one of Gatsby's decisions impacted Wilson's life forever (or at least for a few days until he killed himself). Gatsby let Daisy drive. And then he didn't make her stop when she hit someone with the car.Wilson found out who had killed his wife (or so he thought), and BOOM! External conflict! Wilson v. Gatsby. They both lost. Unfortunately, Wilson decided that the only way to avenge his wife was to kill Gatsby and then end his own life. It's slightly depressing to think that this whole story passed rather happily with parties and drunken people until the very end when the splat-woosh factor set in. (Those of you who have ever had the privilege of learning from Mrs. Helbing know what this means. Those of you who don't: think of it as the (to use a nicer word) feces hitting the fan. Splat. Woosh.) I liked the action though. It gave the book substance, and I think I understand all of the hype surrounding this critically acclaimed novel. Bravo, Fitzgerald.
No comments:
Post a Comment