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This guide answers your question clearly, then breaks down the event’s narrative purpose, thematic weight, and practical uses for class, quizzes, and essays. All content is tailored for US high school and college literature students working with The Great Gatsby. You can use the quick answer first, then work through structured study materials as needed.
Daisy runs over Myrtle in Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby. The event occurs during the group’s return trip to Long Island after a tense confrontation in a New York City hotel room. This moment acts as the narrative turning point that sets up the novel’s tragic final chapters.
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The event where Daisy hits Myrtle with Gatsby’s car is the climax of The Great Gatsby’s rising action. It exposes the consequences of Daisy’s carelessness, ties together the novel’s separate East Egg, West Egg, and Valley of Ashes plotlines, and directly leads to Gatsby’s death. The chapter focuses on the collision of the characters’ conflicting desires and class divides.
Next step: Write down the chapter number and one immediate consequence of the event in your class notes to reference during discussion.
Action: Confirm the core details of the crash event
Output: A 3-sentence summary of the crash you can use for short answer quiz responses
Action: Connect the event to earlier plot points and character motivations
Output: A list of 3 preceding events that directly lead to the crash occurring when it does
Action: Link the crash to the novel’s larger arguments about class and privilege
Output: A 1-paragraph analysis you can adapt for class discussion or essay body paragraphs
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Action: Flip to Chapter 7, then skip to the final 1/3 of the chapter where the group leaves New York to return to Long Island.
Output: A sticky note marking the exact passage where the crash occurs, with a 1-word note about the event for quick reference.
Action: Structure your response to include the chapter number, who was driving, who was killed, and one immediate consequence.
Output: A 2-3 sentence response that earns full credit on recall-focused quiz questions about the event.
Action: Pair details of the crash with evidence of how Daisy and Tom avoid consequences later in the novel.
Output: A 5-sentence body paragraph that links the event to a core theme of The Great Gatsby.
Teacher looks for: Correct identification of the chapter, the driver, the victim, and the car’s owner, no factual errors.
How to meet it: Memorize the four core facts of the event, and double check your work to avoid mixing up character roles.
Teacher looks for: Ability to explain the lead-up to the crash and its direct consequences for other characters.
How to meet it: Map the three preceding events that lead to the crash, and list two consequences that happen in later chapters.
Teacher looks for: Ability to connect the crash to the novel’s larger arguments about class, privilege, or the American Dream.
How to meet it: Pair details of the crash with evidence of how the characters’ class status shapes their accountability for the event.
Chapter 7 follows a tense build-up of conflict between Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy. The group travels into New York City together, where Gatsby confronts Tom about his relationship with Daisy. The crash occurs on the drive back to Long Island, when Daisy is behind the wheel of Gatsby’s car to calm her nerves after the confrontation. Use this context to frame your answers during class discussion to show you understand more than just the basic fact of the crash.
Myrtle is killed instantly, and Daisy drives away without stopping. Tom stops at the crash site on his way home, and tells Myrtle’s husband George that Gatsby owns the car. George, distraught and looking for revenge, tracks Gatsby down the next day and kills him before killing himself. Jot down these three consequences in your notes to reference when answering plot-focused exam questions.
Before Chapter 7, the novel’s conflict is largely internal and interpersonal, focused on Gatsby’s quest to win Daisy back. The crash shifts the plot to external, irreversible tragedy, eliminating any chance of Gatsby achieving his dream. All remaining events in the novel stem directly from this single moment. Use this framing when writing essays about the novel’s narrative structure to earn higher marks.
Myrtle is a working-class woman who lives in the Valley of Ashes, the neglected industrial area between Long Island and New York City. Daisy and Tom are members of the old money upper class, who face no legal or social consequences for Myrtle’s death. The crash demonstrates how the privileged exploit and harm working-class people without being held accountable. Use this connection when answering thematic essay prompts about class in The Great Gatsby.
If you have a discussion about The Great Gatsby coming up, prepare one comment linking the Chapter 7 crash to the theme of accountability. You can reference the fact that Daisy never faces any consequences for killing Myrtle, while Gatsby and George both die as a result of the event. Practice your comment once before class so you can share it confidently during discussion.
If you are writing an essay about The Great Gatsby, identify whether the Chapter 7 crash fits into your argument. If you are writing about the American Dream, you can frame the crash as evidence that Gatsby’s dream was always doomed by the carelessness of the old money class he wanted to join. Add a bullet point about the crash to your essay outline before you start drafting.
No, Daisy is driving Gatsby’s car at the time of the crash. She takes the wheel after the tense hotel confrontation to calm her nerves, and hits Myrtle when Myrtle runs into the road.
Tom wants to deflect blame away from Daisy, and he also sees the lie as a way to eliminate Gatsby as a rival for Daisy’s affection. He knows George is distraught and will seek revenge against whoever he believes killed Myrtle.
No, Daisy never takes public responsibility for Myrtle’s death. She leaves Long Island with Tom shortly after Gatsby’s funeral, and never faces any consequences for the crash.
Gatsby is killed in Chapter 8, the chapter immediately after the crash that kills Myrtle. His death is a direct consequence of Tom’s lie to George about who owns the car that hit Myrtle.
Editorial note: This page is independently written for educational support. Verify specifics with assigned class materials and the original text.
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