The Great Gatsby: Chapters 6-9

When I read the first five chapters of The Great Gatsby, I was very skeptical as to why this novel is a tragedy. Those chapters were full of hopes and dreams, but once I continued reading, I realized everything wasn't as absolute as it seemed. At the end of the sixth chapter, Daisy attends one of Gatsby's parties. This point signifies a turning point in the book because all of Gatsby's parties had one goal: to get Daisy's attention. When Daisy makes an appearance at the party, she doesn't seem as impressed as Gatsby would like her to. He worked so hard to get her there, but then he is disappointed about Daisy's reaction. The not-everything-is-as-good-as-it-seems attitude is extremely prevalent in this section of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby had this dream about Daisy, but he is coming to realize that he had built her up to be more than she was during the five year hiatus in their relationship. I would say that this is the start of the transition to tragedy, and in chapter seven, the tragedies start to accumulate. After Tom discovers Daisy's affair and Gatsby prompts Daisy to admit that she was never in love with Tom, Daisy fails to admit that there was never a connection between the pair. At this point, Daisy hurts Gatsby emotionally and by leaving him to take the brunt of Tom's anger. On the drive home, Daisy runs over Myrtle, Tom's mistress, in a hit and run collision. In the next chapter, Gatsby is shot and killed by Wilson (Myrtle's husband) because Tom tipped him off as to his wife's murderer. The lack of mourners at Gatsby's funeral is the cherry on top of a tragic ice cream sundae.
Every tragedy in the book is based on materialism and its consequences. Daisy's materialistic are what eventually made her less appealing to Gatsby, and Myrtle's materialistic views caused both Gatsby's and her death. If she hadn't desired to life the lifestyle of the rich and famous (funded by Tom, of coarse) and have an affair, her husband would never have found out about the affair and locked her in the closet. She would not have escaped and run on to the street, Daisy wouldn't have hit her, and Wilson would have had no reason to kill Gatsby and himself.