The Great Gatsby: Dramatic Irony (Prepare Yourself for Another Rant)

"We saw the three or four automobiles and the crowd when we were still some distance away.
'Wreck!' said Tom. 'That's good. Wilson'll have a little business at last.'" pg. 138

So essentially Tom is the most awful person in the world. First you find out he's arrogant and annoying. Then, you find out he cheats on his wife. Then, you find out its with a married woman. Then, you find out that he's lying to her too. OH! And now, he sees a wreck and the first words out of his mouth are "that's good". So basically, he just serves the purpose of ruining everyone's lives and being an insensitive brat. However, the dramatic irony in this scene does work against him, which made me a little happy, even though its in the worst way possible. Little does Tom know that a woman died in the accident and that woman happens to be his mistress. The reader does know, though, and because the reader knows the truth, Tom's awful insensitivity becomes overwhelmingly apparent. It makes it obvious that this man gives little thought to anyone but himself. He sees a wreck and his first reaction is a snide comment. Seriously, whatta jerk. But that snide comment does serve a purpose in characterizing Tom and revealing his selfishness. Had the reader not known that Myrtle died in the accident, they might have just overlooked Tom's comment as a typical annoying remark (we already know he's an idiot). But because the reader knows Myrtle's fate, the comment carries twice the weight, and the reader recognizes Tom as the evil person that he is. I honestly would not be surprised if he served as an inspiration to Hitler.