"It all happened in a minute but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew. Well, first Daisy tuned away from the woman toward the other car, and she she lost her nerve and turned back. The second my hand reached the wheel I felt the shock- it must have killed her instantly." p. 151
This part of the book is the perfect example of dramatic irony. Mrs. Wilson, thinking that the car was being driven by Tom, attempted to stop the vehicle to talk to her lover, most likely about her being required to leave with Mr. Wilson because he found out she was cheating on him. Maybe she was warning him that Mr. Wilson was going to kill him. However, this will never be known because she didn't make it that far (and I can't say that I'm sorry about that fact). The ironic part is that Tom's mistress was killed by Tom's wife. How's that for a twist? It was apparent early on in the book that Daisy was upset by the fact that Tom was cheating on her, but she seemed to do little about it. So it was a coincidence that she indirectly took action as soon as she decided that she wanted to stay with Tom and not with her own lover, Gatsby.
I also thought this was a perfect example of dramatic irony, especially when Tom said the wreck would be good business for Wilson not knowing that Wilson's wife had just been killed by a car. It was ironic because the reader knew that Myrtle had been killed, and Tom unknowing said the most insensitive thing possible.
ReplyDeleteThis cracked me up! I couldn't believe the coincidence that Tom's wife killed his mistress. Good ole F. Scott pulling the old twist on us.
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