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Yin and Yang in The Great Gatsby The philosophy of Yin and Yang relates to the relationship of characters in many modern day novels. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby loves Tom’s wife Daisy and throws parties hoping that she will show up. Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, a woman from a low-class family in the Valley of Ashes. Meanwhile, Daisy’s cousin Nick Carraway moves to town and meets Jordan Baker and develops a relationship her. The philosophy of Yin and Yang is consistent with the major relationships in the novel. The Yin and Yang philosophy represents the two sides and balance in every relationship. The Yin and Yang theory is representation of a perfect and balanced relationship. “Yin-yang is an ancient Chinese …show more content…
philosophy that advocates the attainment of perfect balance between the two cosmic forces of yin and yang” (Barnard). Thus showing that everything needs to be even throughout relationships. One person cannot over power the other in the relationship if the people in the relationship wants it to last. The Yin and Yang represent everything in the world.
Each persona in the Yin and Yang symbol depicts a part of the everyday activities of people in the world. “The yin is the feminine or negative principle and is characterized as dark, wetness, cold, and passivity. The yang is the masculine or positive principle and is characterized by light, warmth, dryness, and activity” (Barnard). This quote tells us that both yin and yang represent many different elements in the world. Although each side completely differ, they contain each other in themselves. “Symbolically, the philosophy of yin-yang is depicted as a circle divided equally by an S-shaped line into dark and light segments, each containing a drop of the other” (Barnard). These two quotes shows that even though people can be completely different they can still contain a small aspect of the other …show more content…
person. Also, the ancient philosophy of Yin and Yang says that people in relationships are not the same without their other half. The philosophy states that people in a relationship cannot be without each other. “Although they are totally different—opposite—in their individual qualities and nature, they are interdependent. Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other; they are never separate” (Yin, Yang Theory). Therefore, this shows that each of the characters cannot exist without the other person in the relationship. Furthermore, the characters Nick and Jordan are very different characters meaning that they have different personalities. Jordan and Nick and are talking about Jordan’s golf game in the quote. “She was incurably dishonest” (Fitzgerald 58). Jordan lies about many things during the novel and she cannot stop lying. On the other hand, Nick is talking to Jordan and realizes how many people lie in the novel. “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59). In this quote Nick says that many of the people in the novel are dishonest and that he is the only honest person. Nick and Jordan are very different in the way that they see the correct times when it comes to being honest Although the characters Nick and Jordan are different, they do share characteristics that make them similar. In this quote Jordan is telling Nick that they cannot be together because he is dishonest like the rest of the people. “I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride” (Fitzgerald 177). Therefore, characters who are completely different can share some characteristics. In The Great Gatsby, the characters Daisy and Myrtle share personality trait of them both being ignorant to things happening to them. This quote is explaining that Daisy in hopeful for tomorrow, but blind to the important things. “Daisy is one who lives for the moment, and for whom glimpses of tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that are terrifying lapses of a willful blindness to such matters” (Hermanson). Daisy thinks that the best thing a girl can be is blind to everything that is happening. Similarly, Myrtle is blind to the fact that Tom is lying to her. “‘It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic…’ Daisy was not Catholic…” (Fitzgerald 33). Myrtle cannot realize that Tom is lying to her about why he cannot leave Daisy. Both women are being fooled by Tom and cannot or choose not to realize it. Both Myrtle and Daisy are fools and are not seeing what is right in front of them. On the other hand, Daisy described as a nice girl, while Myrtle is described as aggressive.
When the readers first meet Daisy, she is living the party lifestyle. Daisy is a nice woman, but she is very superficial (Fitzgerald 8). This tells the readers that although Daisy is fake, but is kind. On the other hand, when Myrtle is talking to Tom and her sister Catherine, she becomes defensive and aggressive. “The answer to this was unexpected. It came from Myrtle, who had overheard the question, and it was violent and obscene” (Fitzgerald 33). These to statements show that although they are both clueless, they have personality traits that set them
apart. Another relationship that reflect the Yin and Yang philosophy is the relationship between Tom and Gatsby. When the readers first hear about Gatsby, he is a mystery who no one knows his true story. Gatsby lives in the West Egg which means he has new money (Fitzgerald 5). All the readers know when they first meet Gatsby is that he lives in the West Egg, so the audience can assume that Gatsby money did not come from his family. On the contrary, when the audience first meets Tom he is very open about his life and where his money comes from. Tom is a sporty man who is very arrogant who has old money (Fitzgerald 7). Tom is open about his life and enjoys his lifestyle. Tom and Gatsby both have money, but earned it in different ways. Tom does look down on Gatsby because Gatsby has new money. Gatsby worked for his money, while Tom simply inherited money from his family. Although, Tom and Gatsby come from different types of families they do share on thing in common that no one else does. Gatsby throws his extravagant parties hoping that Daisy would come to one. "'I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night,' went on Jordan" (Fitzgerald 79). Similarly, Tom loved Daisy although he did cheat. He nodded sagely. "And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time" (Fitzgerald 131). Both characters love Daisy even though they do things wrong that hurts their relationship with Daisy. This shows that even though they are very different, they can both love the same girl. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the Yin and Yang philosophy is consistent throughout every major relationship. In Nick and Jordan’s relationship Nick is the honest character and Jordan is the dishonest character, but it turns out that Nick is just as dishonest as Jordan. In Daisy and Myrtle’s relationship both are fools in the eyes of the readers, but unlike Myrtle, who is mean and aggressive, Daisy is said to be nice and sweet. Lastly in Gatsby and Tom’s relationship both love Daisy, but Gatsby is quite and from new money and Tom is open and from old money. The Yin and Yang theory can be related to any relationship in modern times in real life and in novels.
Myrtle appears as the total opposite character to the Daisy. She is ‘thick, faintly stout” (Fitzgerald 29), but “sensuously” and “immediately perceptible about her vitality” (Fitzgerald 29). She is the woman from “the bottom” who wants to be acceptable as a lady from the upper class. She is terribly vulgar, but she is more alive and natural than Daisy is. The unpleasant scene in their apartments, where Carraway appeared because of Myrtle’s invitation, is full of the philistine contentment and boasting.
When comparing Daisy and Myrtle it is important to note that they are both extremely unhappy with the person they are married to. Both woman are having affairs, Daisy with gatsby and Myrtle with Tom. For example, daisy is described in the novel as a glamorous and charming. She is kind and always has endearing words to say when she is talking to people.
Daisy pretends everything in her life and her relationship with Tom is perfect when they are together. Similarly, Myrtle pretends that she is a higher class while she is around Tom. They both like to lead different lives, the only difference is Myrtle is somewhat happy with Tom while Daisy wishes to be with Gatsby.
Ben Stein’s quote: “The first step to getting the things you want in life is this; Decide what you want.” The quote is the key element of the The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, such as the point where different individuals are after something and are even willing to give their own life over it even if it seems like a small goal in our eyes.Through Gatsby’s and Myrtle’s goals, Fitzgerald illustrates his agreement with Ben Stein’s quote: “The first step to getting the things you want in life is this; Decide what you want.”
Daisy's carelessness reveals her corruption as a human being. She uses her wealth and social status to escape whatever she chooses, like the death of Myrtle. Additionally, her actions demonstrate the dishonest exploitation of power for personal gain and attention. Daisy’s character, due to her money, inherently values her advantage over the lower class, revealing a nature of entitlement. Additionally, she gives no respect to anyone around her, sometimes n...
Myrtle is, as Daisy, impressed with Tom's wealth and appearance, but, like Jay Gatsby, is stuck in a fantastic, idealized perception of her object of affection. Even when abused and trampled over by Tom, Myrtle continues to adore him, just as Gatsby continues to dote upon Daisy after being obviously rejected by her. As far as ethical considerations, Gatsby tends to prove himself a sincere and caring person, while Daisy and Tom just destroy the lives of two people and then leave town to escape the consequences of their actions.
Daisy never had any real power but she did defy her husband in simple ways. She would mock and tease him which slowly deteriorated Tom’s control. Tom force against Daisy was not fulfilling him enough so he decided to cheat on her. In Chapter 2, Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle. The trio heads off to the apartment that Tom bought for Myrtle and him. Friends and neighbors are invited over, alcohol is introduced, and the “fun” begins. At one point during the party, Tom and Myrtle are having a discussion on whether or not she should be able to mention Daisy’s name. Myrtle says Daisy’s name repeatedly and Tom is furious. He lost control and to gain it back he, “...broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). By this scene though we can conclude that Tom does not respect Myrtle. She wanted to express her own opinion but that was overwhelming for Tom. “I want you to meet my girl,” He never refers to Myrtle by her name, only “my girl” (Fitzgerald 24). For the most part, Myrtle thinks of Tom as this fierce and perfect man. He is wealthy and buys her almost everythings.In his eyes they do not deserve to have their names be
During the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan about Daisy, she is talked about like she is a possession to be won over. During the argument Nick “glances at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband” (Fitzgerald, page 143). Gatsby and Buchanan tell Daisy what to say instead of allowing her to tell her own truths, and if she does start to speak up for herself she is quickly quieted down. Daisy states at the beginning of the novel while talking about finding out the sex of her child that, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, page 16). Daisy is the only female character in the novel who understands that no matter what a woman accomplishes, she will always be downcasted based on her gender. This outlook is what allows her to be controlled by Gatsby and Buchanan, because she doesn’t believe that anything she can do will make her more of a human to them. Myrtle on the other hand, while still a married woman, isn’t able to see her powerlessness. She feels powerful enough to stand up to Tom and chant Daisy’s name over and over again until he breaks her nose (Fitzgerald, page 37). This scene demonstrates the way that men handled women if they ever did feel confident enough to speak for themselves. One final scene from the novel that really
Tom Buchanan is a man from the upper class of society that believes he is better than everyone and is described by Nick as a man with “Two shining arrogant eyes had established of always leaning aggressively forward.” (Fitzgerald 11) . He is a man with no morals and has an affair with a mistress named Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is part of the lower class and her morals are just as low as Tom. Myrtle attempts to use Tom to move up in society. Myrtle puts on her best dress and tries to entertain the guests when she goes out with Tom. Myrtle attempts to entertain the guest by acting like a superior because she thinks she will sound fancier. This only makes her seem more foolish and seem like the low class person she truly is. Tom sees Myrtle as an inferior human being and treats her with disrespect. Myrtle knows about Tom’s wife Daisy and uses her name to tease him. With no remorse “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald 41) when Myrtle disrespected Tom by repeating Daisy’s name. Myrtle is an easy target for Tom and finds satisfaction in feeling superior to Myrtle. Myrtle knows she's not as
She is the elephant in the room that gets Daisy all riled up not because she called at dinner time, even though that’s why she said she was mad, but instead because Tom answered the call and shut the door all secretively while they had guests. Even though Myrtle was just some no named woman, the fact that Tom had answered the call instead of just letting it ring shows her importance in Tom’s mind. Miss Baker said “you don’t know” and was surprised like it is some generic thing that everyone should know but doesn’t talk about. Myrtle is just described as Tom’s just she is just something he has and isn’t her own person. This is because she is called, “my girl” (24) and is told what to do by Tom and she only is seen when Tom wants to see her, she is never mentioned in the book without him. I question why Myrtle would let herself be treated like this, but she believed that Tom loved her and not Daisy. Tom is a conniving character to both Myrtle and Daisy. He tells them both that he loves them and to Myrtle he said they’d be married if Daisy wasn’t a Christian, but when he realizes Daisy is having an affair he gets furious with her even though he’s doing the same thing. Myrtle and Daisy are treated badly and to different standards than Tom which lowers their importance and
The gender differences in the novel are first subtly admitted by Nick, ‘I drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchannan’s.’ Nick refers to the Buchannan’s as the ‘Tom Buchannan’s’ subtly acknowledging the fact that Daisy has no control or power within the relationship. She embodies the role of Tom’s simple and self-centered ‘trophy wife’, relating to the idea she is perceived as an object rather than a person. She usually wears white or cream dresses which juxtaposes and highlights her corruption as she begins an affair with Gatsby and ultimately causes his death by running over Myrtle in his car allowing him to be blamed. Fitzgerald fails to describe Daisy with any depth or consideration towards her personality, Fitzgerald appeals
For example they both have affairs. While myrtle has an affair with Daisy’s husband Tom Buchanan, Daisy has an affair with her long lost love Jay Gatsby. Daisy met Gatsby before the war and promised to wait for him. Obviously she did not but you can clearly feel that she still has feelings for Gatsby and that is probably why she decides that being unfaithful toward Tom is the right thing to do. Also Daisy already knew that tom had an affair therefore she probably felt that she wanted some revenge. Although both women had affairs their motives of having one is not the same. Daisy had an affair with her long lost love whom she never forgot about and Myrtle’s motives of having an affair is the expensive gifts Tom bought
Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson share similarities. Both women don't sincerely love their husbands. Myrtle has an affair with Tom. “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name. "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai –– "Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald, p125-127) Daisy has an affair with Gatsby. Myrtle and Daisy are also both knowingly beautiful.
Unlike the first party, the New York party was filled with alcohol, drama and a little more people. Nick and Tom were taking a train into the city when all of a sudden Tom stands up, forcing Nick to follow him. “We’re getting off!” he insisted. “I want you to meet my girl.” (Fitzgerald 28).Tom guides Nick into George Wilsons garage, where Myrtle Wilson and Tom see each other again. When George was getting some chairs Tom whispered “ I want to see you.” said Tom intently. “Get on the next train.” (Fitzgerald 30). Later on that afternoon they meet up. Myrtle had invited her sister and another couple, the Mckee’s to join them. The party started getting out of control with immensely amount of alcohol, sip after sip, nonstop. Not only was alcohol joining the party, but drama was just around the corner causing Tom and Myrtle a massive discussion over Daisy. Myrtle started shouting out Daisy name at the party. Tom was vigorously warning her to stop saying his wifes name. Myrtle tells him she will talk about whatever she likes and starts mentioning Daisy name again.“Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!,” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-”. (Fitzgerald 41) Tom quickly responds by slapping her across the face, this brought the party to an unexpected ending. Tom feel entitled to behave aggressively to his mistress. Tom thinks that the rules don’t apply to him as he carries on his affair with
Not only was the argument itself immature by nature - the debate revolved around whether or not Myrtle was allowed to say the word “Daisy” as it reminded Tom of his infidelity - but Myrtle’s dialogue gives the reader the impression that she is less logical or reasonable than Tom is. Fitzgerald writes her shouting Daisy’s name over and over again so as to taunt Tom for the affair rather than provide a reasoned counterargument that would suggest that she does have some strand of maturity. Perhaps she is written that way to expound upon the gender injustice barriers that plagued the early 20th century, or perhaps it may be concluded the Fitzgerald himself held some of the misogynistic ideals that he expresses in his writings. At any rate, the argument that precedes the main conflict of this passage is important for character development as it is plain evidence regarding the internalized misogyny of the novel that is the belittlement of Myrtle both as a character (by Fitzgerald) and as a lover (by