Fitzgerald uses Myrtle in the novel to speak about the truth and the reality beneath the American Dream. In the novel, she represents the working class who dreams of ascending the social ladder as their personal American dream. She shows that unlike what the American Dream means, “one rises another falls”; No one truly gets equal opportunity to make their lives valuable (Hearne 191). Myrtle, like any other characters in the novel, is corrupt: she shows materialism and desire for wealth and money (Hearne 191). First, Fitzgerald uses Myrtle to criticise the people who contribute to the creation of materialistic economy of the twenties. Myrtle married her husband, George Wilson, because she thought he would be a “gentleman” and “knew something …show more content…
about breeding” (47). She calls the marriage to her husband “a mistake” when she discovers that he is from a lower class and “borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in” (47). Myrtle tries to find happiness through material possession, but realizes at the end that money brings corruption in life. Moreover, Myrtle’s desire to fit into higher social group shows the American’s belief that more money and wealth equals to more happiness, a similar crisis as Daisy’s.
Myrtle feels dissatisfied with her husband who truly love her. She feels chained by the fact that her husband belongs to the working class like her, and cannot afford what she desires and needs to fulfill her American Dream. Even though she knows that Tom is already married to Daisy, she believes that he will one day marry her and be able to move her up the social ladder. Through Myrtle’s inability to realize the real happiness, receiving her husband’s love, Fitzgerald is criticizing the Americans of that period who were blinded by the eagerness for more money. Lastly, Fitzgerald uses the tragic ending of Myrtle’s life in the novel to demonstrate the how he views the American Dream as dead. She presents the corrupt American dreamers who realize that the dream never within people’s reach. Using Myrtle’s death, Fitzgerald sends the message that the desire for more material possession as a way of feeling happiness only brings nothing but the death of the American dream. One critic analyses Gatsby’s car as a “symbol of death, of a tarnished dream”, which leads not only Myrtle but also Wilson and Gatsby “to the grave” (Seiters
85). The death is caused by Gatsby’s “rich cream colour” car, which represents the materialism (83). The author purposely uses this as a subtext, showing that the underdoing of the American dream is the greed of people favouring material possessions rather than what has meaning.
Myrtle Wilson came from a working class family with a low social standing. Due to her family’s lack of money, Myrtle’s options were limited to marrying men of equal or lower economic status than herself. As a result, Myrtle married George Wilson, a poor car mechanic. In her relationship with George, Myrtle lacked control due to her status as a woman and was thus forced to listen to her husband. However, because of her lower status, Myrtle did learn to use her physical attributes to her own advantage. In other words, Myrtle knew how to exaggerate her physical beauty in order to attract men such as Tom Buchanan; who would pay her with money and expensive gifts in return. Thus, “there is a clear connection between the material disadvantages” Myrtle faced and her lack of morals; given “the paucity of her allotment of the fundamental decencies” (Voegeli). In other words, because of her lack of economic backing, Myrtle Wilson grew up as a woman of lower class with less options in life; which limited her social power and drove her to act unlike any high class lady. Thus, Myrtle’s only option for increasing her status was through material services such as her relationship with Tom Buchanan. All in all, Myrtle Wilson’s economic status limited her to the life of a low class woman and her power others in her
The first time that the reader catches an insight of Myrtle, Fitzgerald develops Myrtle to be a mere object of Tom's’ desire. Fitzgerald does this to extenuate the fact that Tom will not move on past Daisy to be with her. Tom “got some women” that supposedly is a secret but there is a lack of secretism on Myrtles end seeing as she is now calling during evening meals from “New York” just to talk to Tom. This further proves that she is in need of attention, something her husband can not fully give her at any random moment of the day. Myrtle is willing to express herself even when she’s already married. It reveals that she is deceiving her own husband, who is later mentioned in the novel. This allows for Myrtle to be looked down upon by the reader, it also entails her to be seen as an attention seeker. Again, Fitzgerald appeals to present-day behaviors by allowing Myrtle to be viewed as someone who wants to be showcased. Almost everyone can relate that they’ve wanted attention in their life at some point. This connects Myrtle to the reader's past or current feelings. Fitzgerald uses this to let readers feel compassion for Myrtle which emphasizes all she needs is for someone to properly love her, treat her, and show her what she needs to do to become successful in her
“Nick-” she reluctantly drew words. “-Did I ever tell you of the letter Myrtle sent Tom, back in Christmas, about three years ago?” I already knew I didn’t want to have this conversation. I wanted to sit and hold my breath like a toddler until I got my way and she withheld this talk with me.
In the book Great Gatsby there are many examples of society and social class, many are shown to us as the book progresses. Some are shown to us very up front while, others are hidden in the text. Society and social class play a critical part in this book such as how people interact with the lower classes, to how the rich live their lives. When we look deeper into on how the Great Gatsby handles sociality and social class, which puts the characters in the positions they are in.
While comparing and contrasting Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, I will be focusing on all aspects of the characters. Physically they are very different, but by demonstrating their distinct physical differences, Fitzgerald is allowing us to pick favorites early on. Daisy and Myrtle share a number of similarities and many differences in their daily lives, such as how they look, act, and handle conflict.
Same Goal, Different Route in The Great Gatsby A more thorough investigation of The Great Gatsby is necessary to uncover a well-disguised theme by Fitzgerald in this work. Upon a simple read through one would probably not notice the great similarities of Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson, but the two characters seemed to have the same agenda for their lives. While Gatsby took the route of acquiring money at all costs to join the upper class of society and to be acceptable in the eyes of a woman, Myrtle chose to make her way up in society at the cost of her marriage by attaching herself to money. The underlying question is who had the most success. As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to
Lying has deadly effects on both the individual who lies and those around them. This concept is demonstrated in The Great Gatsby. Although Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle have different motives for being deceitful, they all lie in order to fulfill their desires and personal needs. Myrtle’s desire to be wealthy is illustrated when she first meets Tom, dressed in his expensive clothing, as her attitude changes when she puts on the luxurious dress and when she encourages Tom to buy her a dog. Tom’s deception is clear when he hides his affair with Myrtle by placing Myrtle in a different train, withholding the truth from Mr. Wilson of the affair and convincing Myrtle and Catherine that he will one day marry Myrtle. Gatsby tries to convince himself and others that he is the son of wealthy people, he creates an appearance that he is a successful, educated man through the books in his library and assures himself that Daisy loves him. Tom’s dishonesty reveals that he is selfish, while Gatsby’s distortions expose his insecurities, and Myrtle’s misrepresentations show that her sole focus in life is to achieve materialistic success. Gatsby and Myrtle both lie in order to obtain the “American dream.” However, Tom, who appears to already have achieved the “American dream”, deceives others out of boredom and because he takes his wealthy lifestyle for granted. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the human flaw of dishonesty for personal gain and how lies have inevitably tragic consequences in his characterization of Gatsby, Myrtle and Tom.
Many of the occurrences in The Great Gatsby produced far-reaching effects for several of the characters. Of these occurrences, one of the most influential and important incidents was the death of Myrtle Wilson. While her life and death greatly affected the lives of all of the main and supporting characters, her death had a very significant effect on the lives of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby.
Throughout the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Myrtle is a victim of her own desperation. This sense of despair stems from her marriage to George Wilson. As soon as she marries George she knows she made a mistake and she pays for that mistake every second of her life. This despair that originates from her marriage then translates into her cheating on her husband with a married man, Tom Buchanan and completely ignoring him. Due to her obvious desperation, Tom is able to boss her around on numerous occasions and makes her do what he wants because of her desperation.
This line reveals that Myrtle is not one of beauty or features that make her superior. Myrtle is characterized as a larger women who is exploding with anger . She is a demanding lady who tries to put on a front and fake wealth. Myrtle is from a lower hierarchy being from the Valley of Ashes . She is very poor but puts on a front being in an affair with Tom who is very wealthy. By Fitzgerald using imagery, readers get a realistic look at the physical appearance she is composed of as well as her tenacious attitude. With Fitzgerald using figurative language we deeply feel the contrast of two different ladies and the lifestyles they live.
They are both born into impoverished families, but deny acceptance of their lower status. Myrtle and Gatsby also share similar aspirations, to gain money and higher status. They are attempting to rise above their social class. Fitzgerald’s interpretation of Gatsby however, is much different from his portrayal of Gatsby. Gatsby is a tragic hero. He has nothing but good intentions and aspires for love, while Myrtle is simply shown as a foolish woman who is so absorbed in greed that she sacrifices her morals and sanity, in exchange for money and higher status. Gatsby, unlike Myrtle, maintains redeemable qualities until his murder. Everything he does is for his love, Daisy, because he wants only the best for her even if his life turns to ruins as a result. In contrast, Myrtle who has the same aspirations as Gatsby, exhibits impure intentions. She wants to achieve her goals of becoming a wealthy, elite member of society, purely to feed her selfish, eager desires, at the cost of her husbands’ sanity. This is what removes any sympathy a person may have had for Myrtle. She is depicted as a silly imbecile who cheats her way out her marriage and into her
A minor character in The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the Valley of Ashes with her poor husband George Wilson, represents the degeneration of the once valued American ideals of hard work and honesty as Myrtle attempts to rise on the social scale by becoming the mistress of the wealthy Tom Buchanan. She embodies lucidly the loose morals and hedonism of the 1920s, for, when Tom visits, Myrtle, in front of her husband, walks up to Tom, “[looks] him flush in the eye, [wets] her lips,” and attempts to act as sensuous as possible so as to attract his favor and interest (Fitzgerald 30). Furthermore, she frequently lies to her husband, telling him that she plans to visit her sister when really, she leaves her home in order to engage in sexual intercourse with Tom, who lures Myrtle w...
Myrtle is married to a mechanic, but is sleeping with Tom. Fitzgerald's novel seems to affirm the Biblical adage that the love of money is the root of all evil, for his characters value money inordinately. And this attitude is a central moral concern in the novel. Fitzgerald's characters erroneously believe money can buy them love, friends, and happiness. Gatsby tries to buy Daisy's love throughout the book.
Throughout the existence of the human species, men have always been superior to women. It could of been a biblical standpoint that created this ideology, but it influenced many American literature today and for many years. In Fitzgerald's novel, “The Great Gatsby,” is describes life after the second world war, and since prohibition is in effect, many become wealthy through bootlegging. Nick Carraway, the main character, is the cousin of Daisy, and the neighbor of Gatsby, and plays the ultimate role in Gatsby’s and Daisy’s affair. Women for the most part in this book, are seen truly as trophy wives, encouraging the concept of being seen and not heard, "All right, I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that the best thing a girl can
Some people have two sides to what The Great Gatsby about relationships. Some people think there is romance and others think there is negative relationships. The Great Gatsby looks at a cynical look at society towards relationships.