Answer:
The true statement about Myrtle's death is:
b. Tom's first instinct is to protect himself. Later he cries.
Explanation:
The characters mentioned in the question belong to the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tom is married to Daisy, and Myrtle is married to Wilson. Tom and Myrtle have an affair, of which Wilson is starting to suspect and Daisy already knows. Daisy is also having an affair with the protagonist of the story, Gatsby. While driving back from New York to their homes in a yellow car, Daisy and Gatsby run over and kill Myrtle. They do not pull over to give any assistance.
Tom is following in another car with Nick, the story's narrator and Daisy's cousin. When he finds out his lover has died, he is in shock for a moment. He is forced to recover quickly when a witness talks about the yellow car that ran over Myrtle. It turns out that the car is Tom's, and Wilson has seen Tom driving it previously. Afraid that Wilson might blame him for the accident, Tom's instinct is to protect himself. He tells Wilson the yellow car is not his, and quickly goes away with Nick, all the time being authoritative. However, as soon as they distance themselves from the scene, Tom begins to cry.
<em>"Listen," said Tom, shaking him a little. "I just got here a minute ago, from New York. I was bringing you that coupe we've been talking about. That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn't mine - do you hear? I haven't seen it all afternoon."</em>
<em>[...]</em>
<em>In a little while I heard a low husky sob, and saw that the tears were overflowing down his face.</em>
