Passage analysis - Jenny

“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. . . .
I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child. Then he went into the jewelry store to buy a pearl necklace—or perhaps only a pair of cuff buttons—rid of my provincial squeamishness forever.” (Chapter 9, page 187)

This passage is after Gatsby’s death and his funeral; Nick is talking to Tom two months later. He is discovering how rich people, like Daisy and Tom, act and how careless they can be. He also notices that they only care for themselves and they can hurt many people to keep themselves safe or happy. Throughout the book, Nick realizes little things that lead up to this passage. Something that helps him realize this is when Daisy kills Myrtle in a car accident and he lets Gatsby takes the blame. Tom tells Wilson that it is Gatsby’s car, not telling him that Gatsby is not driving. Tom believes that he did the right thing and did not lie. He also believes that Gatsby is not a good man and he deserves to be dead. This is a careless act and is childish play. Towards the end of this passage, Nick believes he should mention that Tom is going to the jewelry store to buy something expensive for himself or Daisy. He mentions this to prove that summer did not faze Tom and he already moves on. The passage literally explains the theme of the book as a whole. It is about the rich people and what they do to keep themselves satisfied and how they will do it. Another big theme that is shown in this passage is their money. Rich people and their mind set is somewhat skewed and it does not matter to them whether they harm people as long as they have their money and they can depend on it.