Read the following excerpt from f. scott fitzgerald's the great gatsby, on tom and nick's final encounter in new york city: i couldn't forgive him or like him, but i saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. it was all very careless and confused. they were careless people, tom and daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. how does this excerpt contribute to the overall meaning of the great gatsby? what aesthetic impact is it meant to have on the reader? be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

This contributes to the overall theme of "The Great Gatsby" by portraying Tom and Daisy as a disillusioned couple that disregards moral values and focuses on material excess. They "smash things" such as Gatsby's car and Myrtle Wilson, and are able to get away with it due to their wealthy social status.

This excerpt upholds The Great Gatsby’s theme of superficiality of the wealthy. Nick explains that Daisy and Tom seem to care very little about the impact of their actions and the consequences that follow. They have it all, they embody the ‘American Dream’, however they haven’t achieved happiness. They are angry, they constantly fight, and they destroy things. Despite having economically achieved success, they were lacking happiness. Nick pointed out that “they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or vast carelessness”. Their relationship also symbolizes the destructive power of the American Dream. This so-called ‘dream’  produced a society that valued money, corruption, and power. This kind of society would not have cared about the people that were hurt and used along their pathway to success. Their destructive and corrupt behavior can be examined many times throughout the book. The aesthetic impact this excerpt intended was to make the reader feel a sense of distaste for the American dream. It exemplified that corruption of this system and the wealthy’s over indulgence, greediness, and distastefulness.  

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