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Social classes in the great gatsby
Social classes in the great gatsby
Social class as a theme in the great gatsby
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Myrtle Wilson, a gaudy woman, with great social aspirations, is from the dull Valley of Ashes. She is shallow and judges people based solely on their appearance. While travelling on the train, Myrtle sees Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man, from East Egg. She immediately takes note of his “dress suit” and “patent leather shoes.” Tom’s clothing catches Myrtle’s attention right away. The dress shirt and patent leather shoes signify value, being made from good quality materials. Judging by appearance, She recognizes Tom’s supremacy through his clothing, which Myrtle is drawn to. Myrtle, “couldn’t keep [her] eyes off him,” on the train. She is in awe of Tom, as he replicates the person she aspires to be. Myrtle’s shallow behavior is clearly seen, as she
is solely attracted to Tom’s possessions and not the person he truly is on the inside. Every time Tom glances in Myrtle’s direction, she would “look at the advertisements over his head.” Advertisements are often associated with money and wealth; her interest in the advertisements give a façade that she can afford them. Trying to create a false impression , that she herself is also from high social rank, like Tom. Their first physical encounter is when Tom’s “white shirt front” presses against her. Myrtle, coming from the dark Valley of Ashes, does not often encounter the color white. This causes her attraction for Tom to increase, as she is now fully aware that he is not from a poverty-stricken town. This further displays her superficial behaviour. Lastly, Myrtle is described to have an “artificial laughter” in the presence of company. Myrtle likes to put on a deceitful impression of herself in front of people because she desperately wants people to believe that she is wealthy and puts on a show in front of people to attain it Myrtle is a shallow character who judges people by their appearance. She is constantly chasing after wealth as she strives to appear affluent.
Life is a series of experiences in which each one of us grows into the individual we are now. Every move, each word and thought shapes our person.
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
Murderer, liar, manipulator; these are only a few words that describe the enigmatic Sergeant John Wilson. In the historical book, The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson: A True Story of Love & Murder, written by Lois Simmie, we get acquainted with the complex balancing act of a life John Wilson lived. We find out about his two-faced love life, the bloody solution, and the elaborate cover up. In Simmie’s thought-provoking book, John Wilson abandons his family in Scotland, for a better life in Canada on the force. John battles debilitating sickness along with the decision to double-cross his wife. His young love interest Jessie cares for him as he battles tuberculosis. While, “many young women Jessie’s age would have had second thoughts about commitment
Would you risk your life to save a lonely friend who was about to die on account of malicious gossip? In the Witch of Blackbird Pond the setting is New England along it's bleak shores. The main character Katherine is from Barbados because her grandpa had just died and she was traveling to America to live with her Uncle and Aunt who did not even know she she was coming. When she arrived her Aunt whose name was Rachel received her with open arms but her Uncle was not as open and wanted her to earn her keep. There was another character who was unmentioned for a while, her name was Hannah Tupper. Kits initial reaction to Hannah was anxiety and fear But she then softened up to Hannah. Her first interaction with Hannah was a helpful one in her time of need and self pity. The view and opinion of Hannah changed through the book from a kind old lady to admiration and unconditional love.
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
The characters play a large role, without them books, movies, ect., dull. Baz Luhrmann captured what F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in the book, even though there were minor differences in the movie. Myrtle Wilson, also known as Tom’s mistress. An uneducated and snobby woman that tried to be someone else. However, the book gives a vivid description telling... that Myrtle…...The movie told a different story, Myrtle was of average build and she was beautiful.
The Wrights home was a poor, lonely type of home. The trees that surround the house grew in a sad state. The road that led up to the farm was an unoccupied path. Minnie Wright is the woman who lives on these lonely grounds. She is friendless and mostly keeps to herself. There is no one for her to talk to, her husband died recently, thus, she lives out her life as an outcast. In hindsight, Mrs. Hale, a woman who knows Mrs. Wright, explains to her friend, “'But I tell you what I do wish, Mrs. Peters I wish I had come over sometimes when she was here I wish– I had.’ I [too] wish I had come over to see Minnie sometimes.’” Since no one takes the time out of their busy schedules to visit Mrs. Wright, Minnie feels unwanted.
In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character, Troy Maxson is involved in numerous relationships with family members throughout the entire eight years that the story takes place. Troy is a father, husband, and brother to other characters in the play. Unfortunately for Troy, a strong-minded and aggressive man, he constantly complicates the relationships with his family members. Troy's hurtful actions and words make it nearly impossible for him to sustain healthy relationships with not only his two sons, but also his wife and brother.
You have to always keep after them” (Fitzgerald 32). For a low-class woman, whose home is the Valley of Ashes, Myrtle has a very snooty personality, as if she was a European monarch, getting their daily diamond embedded into their crown. She is convincing her friends and winning Tom’s heart, this filthy woman is one step closer to achieving her goal. Myrtle also knows what she wants, due to her acting like a European monarch and getting the heart of a rich man to be her master.
She wants someone who has a lot of wealth in order for her to live a luxiours life. She begins to have an affair with Tom and it causes harm to her marriage which she has with George. She says to herself when meeting Tom the first time, "You can 't live forever; you can 't live forever" (38). Myrtle realizes Tom is a wealthy individual and having an affair with him will help her climb out of the social class in which she is trapped in. She sees him as the perfect man representing the American Dream. She lives in the Valley of the Ashes with her husband, George, who is the owner of a garage. She married him because she thought he was a gentlemen and he knew something about breeding. But it turned out he was not financially stable and it causes Myrtle not to love him. This shows how Myrtle is acquisitive and she does not appreciate George for who he is. She realizes life is fading away from her along with her youth and in order to live the life she always desires, she must become Tom’s mistress. She wants to live the rich and famous life style which George could not provide. This shows how Myrtle is morally corrupt because she does not see the harm in having an extramarital affair and just looks to pursue wealth. This eventually leads to her own death. The chase for the American Dream causes corruption and destruction within
Myrtle’s ambition proves to be her fatal flaw in being the tragic hero. The goal of her ambition is to lead her to a higher social status. In pursuit of her ambition she expresses that her husband, George Wilson, serves as an obstacle since he is in the opposite direction of where she wishes to be. She expresses disgust in George for committing actions that are considered lowly by her standards. She was particularly unenthused with her husband after it is revealed that “he borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married” without telling her. (35) She expresses her marriage as regretful, which illustrates her ambition to strive for better, being Tom. Essentially it illustrates that she would rather be treated with little respect to achieve status, rather than to be treated with respect without status. Myrtle not only exudes her ambition through her pompous attitude, but also in the manner in which she carries herself. She is a young woman in her “middle thirties, and faintly stout, but (carries) her surplus flesh sensuously,” and although she is not attributed with beauty she is somewhat charismatic. (25) The way in which she carries herself may be considered sexual, and her persona is alluring for men such as Tom. Her seducing persona illustrates her ambition in being a temptress in order to move up the social ladder.
Late last night on July 17th, a woman of the name Myrtle Wilson was found dead in the middle of the street around midnight. It is pretty clear, based off of the scene that it happened because of the impact of a car moving at high speeds. The area where it happened had signs of skid marks going left and right, right before where Mrs. Wilson was hit. There were very few witnesses to what happened due to the time of night that this occurred but one witness stated “I was just closing up my store when I saw some woman who looked like she was crazy run into the street with several bruises and scars, she saw the car that was coming and seemed that she expected it to stop, but it didn’t. After she was hit, the mysterious car was gone in seconds like as if nothing happened”. Based off if this Witnesses words, police are now trying to look into the reasoning for the bruises that she had before the accident happened. Another Witness stated, “as I was walking home from my friend’s house I noticed a woman lying dead on the ground and it scared me to death, then the car that had hit her sped by me and I could see a man and woman in the car but I didn’t recognize them. They were gone within seconds”. Police have been detailing the scene for over 24 hours at this point but cannot pin point the car
For example, George and Myrtle Wilson are stuck in an unhappy relationship on which Myrtle says, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman… I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (CITATION). She obviously does not care for Wilson because he is not wealthy, or fit, enough to satisfy all of her wants. Tom on the other hand is financially able to afford whatever she could want. After seeing a cute dog she demands that “[She] want[s] to get one of those dogs” (CITATION). Tom of course proceeds to buy her whatever she wants. It is obvious to readers that the only reason Myrtle wants Tom is his enormous wealth and his ability to provide anything for her. This love for something as artificial as money leads to Wilson confronting Myrtle about her affair and causes her to flee towards Gatsby, who she mistakes for Tom, and is killed by his car. Another character who is seen as ingenuine is Myrtle’s sister Catherine who the narrator, Nick, meets at a party in New York. Readers gain some insight on Catherine’s purpose to the novel in her initial description “Her eyebrows had been plucked then drawn on again at a more rakish angle, but the efforts of nature toward the restoration of the old alignment gave a blurred air to her face” (CITATION). Even from reader’s first impression of Catherine, they can tell that Fitzgerald is
These facades can actually work either in a positive or negative way. Specifically; In the novel Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan's mistress, learned that reinventing yourself does not always yield a happy ending. Mrs. Wilson desperately wants to be sophisticated and wealthy. Tom is her key to becoming a part of the upper class. When the New York apartment gathering happened Nick notices “her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment…” (31). Myrtle is unhappy and disappointed with her marriage. For example, when Catherine says at some point she must have been crazy about Mr.Wilson, but Myrtle expresses “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (35). Mrs.Wilson
The reader is encouraged to find disgust in the way Tom Buchanan handles his affair with Myrtle Wilson. When it comes down to it, he is not having an affair with her for any particular reason other than to please himself. He is so wrapped up in the way he feels about everything going on in his life, that he does not think twice about anyone else’s feelings. He does not ever say how happy Myrtle makes him, or that he is truly in love with her. As a matter of fact, he never gives any solid reason as to why he continues to see her. He has no worry about his social status with her, and she does not ever expect to receive any kind of gift from him, since she is of a lower class.