Cars

In The Great Gatsby, cars are more than gaudy status symbols; they are symbols of recklessness, carelessness, and the speed at which the Jazz Age society is hurtling toward moral bankruptcy. Gatsby’s yellow car, in particular, is a substitute for his dream: extravagant, speedy, and ultimately ill fated. Automobiles in the novel symbolize freedom, especially for the newly rich. Gatsby uses his car to display status and impress Daisy. But Fitzgerald undermines this glitz by associating cars with chaos. Drunken driving wrecks, reckless speeding, and, most significantly, the death of Myrtle Wilson all suggest that there is a great cost to this freedom. The fatal accident that takes Myrtle’s life is no accident; it is the physical manifestation of emotional and societal negligence. Daisy is at the wheel, but Gatsby takes the blame. The car, a symbol of progress, becomes a force of destruction, leaving death in its path. Tom also used cars as indicators of control. He gives Myrtle a dog and an apartment but won’t allow her to drive his car. And George Wilson’s garage represents his suppressed state among cars he can’t possess or escape in. Fitzgerald’s message is oblique but critical: the era’s obsession with speed, power, and luxury blinds people to the wreckage in their path. When everyone’s rushing and no one’s watching the road, tragedy isn’t likely inevitable.