Turning Point In “Great Gatsby”

In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald there is a definite turning point.
The turning point in ‘The Great Gatsby’ happens in Chapter Seven, in the Plaza hotel in New York City. This is when Gatsby’s American Dream starts to crumble around him because Tom has unearthed the truth about Gatsby’s wealth and causes Daisy to run back to Tom. Even though it is evident that Gatsby’s dream is not going to come true, Gatsby still believes he will fulfil it. The conflict between Gatsby and Tom has been apparent since their first meeting; their main conflict is over Daisy.
In Chapter Seven the tension comes to a tipping point, caused by Gatsby forcing Daisy to lie to Tom that she never loved him and also by Toms unveiling of the ‘real’ Gatsby. Gatsby is rejected by Daisy when she tells him that she ‘loved him too’ when he hears this he feels his idea that Daisy only married Tom for money not for love is shattered and his disappointment is evident. “Oh, you want too much!” Daisy is overwhelmed by Gatsby’s demands saying that he holds her to such a high standard that she will not be able to achieve. Daisy is also weak and cannot live with Tom’s revelations about Gatsby.

This scene has a huge impact on Gatsby as he realises that Daisy may have been his once but she isn’t his now and never will be. Gatsby can feel his American Dream slipping away, but still clings on to the hope that it might come true. “He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free”. Gatsby took the blame for Myrtle’s death to protect Daisy, knowing this would mean he would have to suffer the consequences. Tom and Daisy had a similar idea in which Gatsby takes the blame. George Wilson turns up at Gatsby’s mansion with a gun and murders Gatsby. Gatsby American Dream had failed completely.
The impact of the turning point in the novel is felt throughout all of the characters. The impact on the Wilsons starts when Toms stops at the Wilsons garage for petrol. George has discovered that his wife is having an affair and decides to move him and his wife out west in a hope to make the marriage work. His plans however do not work when Daisy kills Myrtle in a hit and run. Daisy is extremely upset after the incident in the hotel and felt that driving would steady her nerves. “The hot struggles of the poor”. George is overcome with grief. A strong desire for revenge causes him to kill Gatsby and then turn the gun on himself. The Wilsons themselves and the Valley of Ashes, where they live, is a representation of the failure of the American dream.
The turning point also has an impact on the Buchanan’s as it makes them both draw closer to each other by their selfishness and compulsion to protect them from any involvement. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…”. The Buchanan’s only care about themselves and because of this they are able to quite simply move on.
To conclude in the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald there is a definite turning point. The turning point has an impact on all of the characters in the novel.