Flight or fight is common in a tough situation, and it shows what kind of person someone is. It is the action you decide to take whether it’s to fight for something or run away. One way it is shown in The Great Gatsby is when Daisy hits Myrtle with a car. Daisy is shown having a flight response from the fear of getting in trouble. It is explained she hesitates to stop when he faces the other cars and drives off at a normal speed. Once she turns around she decides to speed off and lets Gatsby take the blame by trading spots and letting him lie.
the opposite of flight response is shown when Tom and Gatsby are fighting about Daisy. They both fight over her saying she never loved the other. Fighting isn’t just fighting physically but mentally like that. there’s a lot of fighting happening in the book especially when their affairs are brought up. Along with George Wilson killing Gatsby when he believed he killed his wife Myrtle
through these responses, we see Gatsby and Tom are more jealous people who will verbally fight for someone or something. while Daisy is the type to run from any conflict no matter what. through these we truly see who the characters are whether they are ignorant, cowards, strong, or more evil on the inside.
