Passing the "human" test

Each Thursday, I comment on two blogs of my peers. And each Thursday, I struggle to “prove [I’m] not a robot,” as Blogger directs, to publish my comments. The website requires each user to type a sequence of numbers and letters illustrated ambiguously in a picture. Although this seems an easy task, it takes me two or three attempts to decode the annoyingly deceptive sequence. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, it takes the characters more than typing a jumbled code to prove their human capabilities. Determining whether or not a character possesses the redeeming qualities to be considered a human becomes the conflict. Throughout the novel, a showcase of the seemingly perfect lives of New York’s elite social class, few characters prove themselves as living, breathing and compassionate human beings. Fitzgerald portrays the remainder of the characters as insensitive, paralleling them to those blog-hacking robots that I attempt to separate myself from every Thursday. Often, the true identity of a person becomes apparent during or following a traumatic experience. Fitzgerald emphasizes this claim through the reactions of the characters amidst the hit-and-run incident that killed Myrtle. For instance, Fitzgerald portrays Nick as one of the few characters whom the accident affected. He revealed that he had “had enough of all of them” (142). His disapproving tone indirectly characterizes him as compassionate, ultimately foiling him to the other characters that did not feel guilt following Myrtle’s death. Next, he depicts Tom as sensitive through his thoughtful act of “picking up Wilson like a doll,” to console his mistress’s husband (141). His behavior indirectly characterizes him as caring, also foiling him to the unaffected “non-humans.” Contrastingly, he illustrates Gatsby and Daisy the characters who committed the crime, as more concerned about themselves, therefore, portraying them as apathetic “robots.” Gatsby behaved as if “Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered,” indirectly characterizing him as ignorant to the true problem: his role of accessory to murder (143). Gatsby became more involved with personal matters instead of dealing with the consequences of his actions. Similarly, Daisy “stood [the accident” (143). By indirectly characterizing her as content, even after killing a human being, Fitzgerald underscores her lack of empathy towards other individuals. Gatsby and Daisy’s reactions to the crime they committed would not pass my “prove you are not a robot” test.