You ever finish a book and immediately argue with it in your head? That's what happens with The Great Gatsby. Specifically one question that won't let go: did Daisy kill Myrtle on purpose?
I've read the thing three times and talked to enough English teachers to know the "official" answer is no. But real talk — the text leaves enough room that plenty of readers walk away suspicious. And honestly, that ambiguity is the whole point.
What Is the Daisy and Myrtle Situation
If you need the short version: Daisy Buchanan is driving Jay Gatsby's yellow car. Myrtle dies. The car hits her. Myrtle Wilson, who happens to be Tom Buchanan's mistress, runs out into the road. Consider this: daisy was behind the wheel. Gatsby takes the blame and later gets shot by Myrtle's husband, George.
Here's the thing — the question "did Daisy kill Myrtle on purpose" isn't just a plot detail. She's a wealthy, restless woman trapped in a marriage she's half-aware is hollow. Daisy isn't a cartoon villain. It's a test of how you read character. Here's the thing — myrtle, on the other hand, is the woman sleeping with Daisy's husband. So when people ask if Daisy meant to do it, they're really asking: was this an accident, or was it the one moment Daisy stopped being passive?
Who Was Driving and Why It Matters
Gatsby's car that day is a symbol before it's a vehicle. He lent it to Daisy. But she was the one gripping the wheel after a tense afternoon in New York where Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby all snapped at each other. Tom had just revealed Gatsby's shady business. Daisy was shaken.
In practice, the person driving matters because the law — and the narrative — need a body to blame. Now, gatsby stands up and says he was driving. But we the readers know the truth. And that truth sits in Daisy's silence.
Quick note before moving on.
The Moment of Impact
Nick Carraway, our narrator, hears about it secondhand. The description is brutal and fast. Myrtle is described as "violently shattering" the car. Worth adding: the language almost makes it sound like she threw herself at the machine. But she didn't. She saw the yellow car — the one her lover Tom drives — and ran toward it, thinking Tom was inside Practical, not theoretical..
Worth pausing on this one.
Daisy didn't swerve. That's the detail everyone remembers Simple, but easy to overlook..
Why People Care If Daisy Did It on Purpose
Why does this matter? Because most people skip the moral weight of the question. If it's an accident, Daisy is cowardly but not murderous. If it's intentional, she's something far colder — a woman who protected her own comfort by ending another's life and then let an innocent man die for it.
The class angle is impossible to ignore. In 1920s America, that gap meant Daisy's mistake would never cost her the way it cost Myrtle. Gatsby loses his life. George Wilson loses his wife and then his mind. Myrtle is poor. Daisy is rich. Daisy loses nothing but a bit of peace, and even that's debatable And it works..
Turns out, readers care because the answer tells us what kind of world Fitzgerald built. If Daisy is a killer, the American Dream is a lie with blood on its hands. If she's just careless, it's almost worse — because carelessness from the powerful destroys the powerless without even trying Most people skip this — try not to..
The Careless vs Cruel Debate
Nick famously calls Tom and Daisy "careless people.Cruelty is a choice. " He doesn't call them murderers. That word choice is deliberate. Fitzgerald wants you to sit with the difference between cruelty and indifference. Indifference is a lifestyle for the rich.
But here's what most guides get wrong: they treat "careless" as the final answer and stop there. Appalled isn't the face of a planner. The book gives us a Daisy who, in Chapter 7, is described as "shut up" and "appalled" after the crash. It's the face of someone who just realized her world cracked.
How the Scene Actually Plays Out
Let's walk through it without the classroom polish.
The Afternoon Before the Crash
Tom, Daisy, Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby drive into the city. Even so, it's hot. Day to day, everyone's irritable. Consider this: at the Plaza Hotel, Tom rips Gatsby apart. Plus, daisy realizes Gatsby can't actually give her the life he promised. She's crying. They drive back separately. Gatsby and Daisy in the yellow car. Tom takes the others in another.
That emotional state — Daisy freshly humiliated and undecided — matters. She's not calm. She's not plotting.
The Road in the Valley of Ashes
Myrtle is locked upstairs by George, who's figured out she's cheating. Thinks it's Tom coming back for her. She sees the yellow car. She breaks free and runs into the road waving her arms It's one of those things that adds up. Took long enough..
Daisy sees her. Doesn't stop. Doesn't turn. The car hits Myrtle and keeps going.
I know it sounds simple — but it's easy to miss how fast it is. There's no monologue. No evil smile. Just a woman behind a wheel and a body in the dust.
Gatsby's Version vs the Truth
Later, Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy "didn't even stop" but that "it was all my fault." He protects her. We never get Daisy's full account. In real terms, he says she was scared. He says he'd do it again. She disappears into her money and her marriage Surprisingly effective..
That silence is the loudest part of the book Simple, but easy to overlook..
Common Mistakes People Make Reading This
Most high school essays claim Daisy is obviously guilty because she's rich and selfish. That said, that's lazy. The text doesn't show intent. It shows panic Worth keeping that in mind. And it works..
Another mistake: assuming Myrtle "deserved" it because she was the mistress. In practice, that's a moral leap the book never makes. Myrtle is flawed and hungry and alive — and then she isn't.
And the big one — people confuse narrative symmetry with proof. Because Daisy is Tom's wife and Myrtle is Tom's mistress, readers want a catfight climax. They invent intent where Fitzgerald wrote ambiguity. The author gives us a car, a road, and a choice not to swerve. He doesn't give us a confession Simple, but easy to overlook..
Why "She Didn't Swerve" Isn't Proof
A person not swerving in a panic isn't the same as aiming. Myrtle ran into the center of the road. Daisy was in the lane. That said, at speed, reaction time is garbage. The book says Daisy was "driving," not "steering at Myrtle.
Look, if you've ever been in a near-miss, you know how the brain blanks. That's likely what happened. But the possibility she didn't care enough to try is what haunts the story Took long enough..
Practical Tips for Reading Gatsby Without Missing the Point
If you're tackling this for class or just for fun, here's what actually works.
Read Daisy as a person, not a symbol. Plus, when you flatten her into "the bad wife," you miss the terror of that drive. She's someone who's been told her whole life that her feelings don't matter unless they're polite. Behind the wheel, for maybe the first time, her actions matter more than her manners It's one of those things that adds up..
No fluff here — just what actually works.
Pay attention to what Nick doesn't say. Now, he's an unreliable narrator with a crush on Gatsby. His label of "careless" is his coping mechanism. Push past it.
Watch the class lines. That's not an accident of plotting. The poor die; the rich relocate. It's the thesis Worth keeping that in mind..
And don't demand a clean answer. Fitzgerald wrote a tragedy, not a courtroom transcript. The question "did Daisy kill Myrtle on purpose" is meant to sit with you the way it sat with Nick — unresolved and a little sickening That's the whole idea..
What to Write in Your Essay If You Have To
If a teacher asks, the safe and honest line is: the text suggests accidental death caused by panic and privilege, but Daisy's failure to stop or take responsibility reflects a deeper moral negligence. That covers both sides. You won't get pinned for misreading, and you'll show you actually thought about it.
Not the most exciting part, but easily the most useful.
FAQ
Did Daisy know she hit Myrtle? Yes. Gatsby confirms the car struck her and Daisy kept driving. She knew. The debate is whether she meant to.
**Why did Gatsby say he was driving
?**
Because he loved her and wanted to absorb the consequences—another instance of the rich shielding the rich. Gatsby's lie isn't just loyalty; it's the system working exactly as designed. He takes the blame so Daisy can return to her money and her marriage untouched It's one of those things that adds up..
Could Tom have prevented it? Not the crash itself, but he fueled the powder keg. His affair, his carelessness with people, his casual cruelty—all of it led to that road. Tom is never charged with anything, which is the point.
Is Myrtle's death feminist? Not in a clean way. She dies pursuing a fantasy sold to her by men. But she's also the only one in the book who actively reaches for a different life. The tragedy is that the reaching gets her killed.
Conclusion
The reason the Daisy question won't die is that The Great Gatsby refuses to give us a verdict. On top of that, whether Daisy swerved in her soul or only failed to swerve with her hands, the result is the same: a life ended, a privilege protected, a question left rotting in the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald hands us a dead woman on a road, a shaken girl in a yellow car, and a narrator too biased to tell us the truth—and then expects us to live with the silence. Read the book not to solve it, but to sit in the discomfort of knowing that sometimes the scariest answer is that no one will ever be sure—and the people who could tell us have already driven away.
