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The portrayal of women in the great gatsby
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Daisy and Myrtle: The Women of The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a fascinating work that details the corruptive influence of greed. The main character is a man named Gatsby. The two main female characters are Daisy and Myrtle. These two women provide an interesting contrast while complementing each other at the same time. Daisy is living a life of luxury while Myrtle is struggling to make ends meet. They both play major roles in the novel, and, although their intentions seem pure and promising enough, they both are doomed to succumb to greed which causes eventual death.
Even though Daisy and Myrtle are the extremes of one another, there are still haunting bonds between them. Death is one of these bonds, due to a twist in plot, as Daisy kills Myrtle. Daisy inadvertently hits Myrtle as she speeds to safety, but Fitzgerald hints that, subconsciously, Daisy had always wished Myrtle had not been part of her life. Happiness is another emotion that binds Daisy and Myrtle together. Daisy's happiness is dependent on Myrtle's sadness. This concept is based on the fact that Myrtle has taken away something that was once in Daisy's power; her husband Tom. Throughout the book Daisy and Myrtle almost strive to take power away from one another, ultimately leading to the death of Myrtle, leaving Daisy the only woman to live out her superficial life.
Myrtle Wilson is characterized to be an "average" woman. She is a woman who lives a middle class lifestyle but she wants what Daisy and women of her status crave, to be swept off her feet by some devilishly handsome man with a bank account to spend on her. Myrtle, like Daisy, wants romance; she desires lust, wealth, and security that in her mind only a...
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...Daisy takes a path she is accustomed to; a path that allows her to live a sad but true lie.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." In Modern Critical Interpretations: The Great Gatsby. edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. 11-27.
Lehan, Richard. "The Grotesque End Product of the American Dream." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 104-110.
McAdams, Tony. "Ethics in Gatsby: An Examination of American Values." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 111-120.
Rowe, Joyce A. "Delusions of American Idealism." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 87-95.