Could there have been a different ending in The Great Gatsby and still have the same effect?

I don't believe that F. Scott Fitzgerald could have
changed the end to The Great Gatsby and still had the same effect
on the reader.

The story is a tragic one where reality and
idealism battle for supremacy. The characters in the story exist more in a world of
illusion than of reality. For instance, Jay Gatsby is living with the idea of Daisy five
years after they first met. In his mind, she has not changed, and he acts as if they can
pick up where they left off, even though she is now married. Daisy lives in an
unrealistic world as well, believing that she can somehow have a real relationship with
Gatsby without leaving her husband.

Tom has an affair with
Myrtle, but Wilson does not seem aware of it, believing that Gatsby
is having an affair with her. The plot is driven by wishes as to what could
have been, rather than the truth of what life has become
for these people.

Had Wilson not killed Gatsby, I believe
Daisy would have stayed with Tom, who would have continued his relationship with Myrtle.
No one seems to be aware of what they have or what is at stake as they lead foolish
lives. The cycle would still have continued in some fashion and no one would have found
the satisfaction they hoped to find in their irresponsible
behaviors.

Jay's only chance to be freed from this
obsession of Daisy was to lose her completely: in this case, by his death. He shows no
signs of being able to dismiss his unrealistic feelings for her, and doesn't seem strong
enough to leave at his own volition—even though he is warned that he might be in danger
since his car struck Myrtle, Jay refuses to separate himself from
Daisy.

It is a tragic story, but I cannot imagine a way
where the same feelings would have been generated in light of a different
ending.