Download Carson Talley Honors English III 5th Hour February 25, 2014

Carson Talley
Honors English III
5th Hour
February 25, 2014
Argument Analysis for “The Great Gatsby Mystery?” Literary Criticism
In Anne Crow’s, “The Great Gatsby Mystery?”, Jay Gatsby’s death is further explored
and looked at as more than just an act of revenge by Mr. Wilson, but more of a conspiracy theory
planned by those closest to Gatsby. Crow’s evidence backing this claim includes the fact that
George Wilson was simply not capable of murderer, and that Meyer Wolfsheim was a man of
great power especially when it came to the police. She believes this because if Gatsby was able
to receive favors from the police, Wolfsheim (who seemed to have even more power than
Gatsby) certainly would have the same privileges. Could this result in a non-thorough
investigation on Jay Gatsby’s death? Crow thinks so. GREAT SUMMARY
The first piece of evidence presented by Crow is George Wilson’s inability to commit
such a horrific crime. As mentioned in her essay, George Wilson owned a small, unsuccessful
car garage with only a single car in the back, ‘the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched
in a dim corner’. Anne Crow notices the fact that Wilson didn’t even have the courage to try to
find out who was having an affair with his wife. Instead, he brainstormed a much simpler way of
dealing with the issue, which was to lock up his wife Myrtle until he had the money for the both
of them to move west. This shows that Wilson was a simple man, who dealt with problems
privately. This theory is also proven by the way George reacts to the affair in front of Myrtle. "I
told her she might fool me but she couldn't fool God. I told her to look to the window... and said
'God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you
can't fool God'” (159). Instead of George demanding that Myrtle tell him who her secret lover is,
he simply tries to make her feel guilty by reassuring her that God knows what she was doing.
Crow then goes into further detail about the murder weapon, and how George could have
used it. Taking into consideration the level of financial success being brought to George Wilson
from his job in the car garage, it isn’t logical to claim that Wilson could afford a gun
sophisticated enough to kill a man with one single shot without even puncturing the pool
mattress. However, Anne Crow claims that it is possible that Wilson could have obtained the gun
with help from one of the many wealthy men living in New York. She then turns the attention to
Meyer Wolfsheim.
Meyer Wolfsheim had always been a sketchy character. This is big part of the reason why
it is a possibility that Wolsheim could have been behind Gatsby’s death, as touched upon in
Crow’s essay. “‘Meyer Wolfsheim? No, he’s a gambler.’ Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly:
‘He’s the man that fixed the World Series back in 1919,’” (73). He was a man that had a
reputation of being a gambler who was involved in illegal business activity. Because of his great
power, Wolfsheim had access to many more people and finances that other people could only
dream of. The only thing now needed to accuse Wolfsheim would be a motive. Was Daisy
getting in the way of Gatsby’s work ethic towards his business with Wolfsheim? After all,
Gatsby’s servants were replaced by those recommended by Meyer after he began seeing Daisy.
“I wanted someone who wouldn’t gossip. Daisy comes over quite often--in the afternoons,”
(114). Was this a favor of Wolfsheim’s in order to provide better privacy? Or a tactic used in
order to spy on Gatsby. Crow also questions the real reasoning behind Meyer’s absence at
Gatsby’s funeral. “’I can’t do it—I can’t get mixed up in it,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing to get
mixed up in. it’s all over now.’ ‘When a man get killed I never like to get mixed up in it anyway.
I keep out.’” Wolfsheim knew better than to make an appearance at Gatsby’s funeral because
that might give the public a reason to point fingers in his direction.
The police might also be at fault when considering the fact that Gatsby’s death may have
been investigated poorly, if even at all. It is no secret that both Jay Gatsby and Meyer Wolfsheim
were men of great influence and power in New York. This is shown in the book when Nick and
Gatsby are pulled over on their way to lunch, only to be let go with a snap of a finger. “‘We
slowed down. Taking a white card from him wallet, he waved it before the man’s eyes. ‘Right you
are,’ agreed the policeman, tipping his cap. ‘Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me!’”(68). If
Gatsby was a man so powerful that he could avoid police enforcement with nothing but a white card,
where did that leave Meyer Wolfsheim, a man of more power? Could Wolsheim have influenced the
police by having them fake Gatsby’s investigation? The evidence points to yes. Other than the gun
that was found fairly close to his body, there was no substantial evidence pointing to the fact that
George Wilson was the person who killed Jay Gatsby. George wasn’t alive to defend himself on trial,
and nobody stood up for him in his place. The only bit of information that law enforcement received
from the trial was from Myrtle’s sister, who told a lie that could have potentially saved Wilson.
“…And swore that her sister had never seen Gatsby, that her sister was completely happy with her
husband, that her sister had been into no mischief whatever,” (164). If Myrtle was faithful to George,
he would have had no reason to be angry at Gatsby in the first place, because he wouldn’t have
thought that Gatsby was Myrtle’s secret lover. However, because that was the only small piece of
evidence that easily stood out, the police turned the situation into a murder case with George Wilson
as the brutal killer, only because it was what seemed the most simple.
All in all, it would be simply unfair to convict George Wilson of the terrible murder of Jay
Gatsby without a fair trial. There are many logical explanations as to what else could have happened
on that tragic night which were presented by Anne Crow. These explanations include Wilson’s
inability to commit murder, both personality wise and financially, Meyer Wolfsheim’s inarguable
hidden agenda in regards to Gatsby as well as the amount of power he holds behind law enforcement,
and the police’s incapability to conduct a proper trial. Anne crow is onto something big when
investigating Jay Gatsby’s murder even further, and I agree with her.
CARSON: Evidence of very strong critical reading here. Make sure you separate out Crow’s
claims, evidence and warrants from your own. This can be done by adding tag phrases like “What
Crow doesn’t point out is…” “Additional evidence Crow doesn’t mention is…” “In addition to what
Crow points out…”. This will help clarify what you are bringing to the party, so to speak. I sense
your response in here but without this help for your audience we might mistake this for simply a
detailed summary of Crow’s essay. Let me know if you have further questions.