Rising up the social ladder is something that the majority of mankind has tried to do at least once. Sometimes, people achieve their goals, and reap the benefits of a high status life: money, connections, respect, protection, and an air of superiority. Unfortunately, the majority of these individuals will fall short of their dreams of changing their social status, as this goal is unattainable. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, important side character Myrtle Wilson is introduced as the poor, vulgar, Valley of Ashes mistress to high status, East Egg figure, Tom Buchanan. In the novel, Myrtle makes attempts to be more like Tom, to have more money, nicer clothes, host fancy parties, and feel as though she belongs as his peer. …show more content…
Fitzgerald illustrates, “‘I told that boy about the ice.” Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. The “These people” are the best! You have to keep after them all the time’” (Fitzgerald 28). Myrtle is hosting a small gathering at her apartment. Those in attendance included Tom, her lover, Nick, who was pressured into coming by Tom, Myrtle’s sister, Catherine, and the McKee’s, the downstairs neighbors. Tom tells Myrtle to get more ice so that the guests can have drinks, and Myrtle once again becomes a whole different person. Ignoring her past and current status, Myrtle rises above, belittling the servants for not getting ice, acting so above them. Myrtle being insulting and boorish towards her staff is how she believes someone with lots of money would treat their staff. Through her actions, Myrtle is establishing a narrative that shows her wealth, to gain respect from her peers. Adversely, Myrtle Wilson never genuinely improved her social status. Myrtle Wilson’s vocabulary is a major indicator of the fact that she is not a high status …show more content…
A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog, and one of those cute little ash-trays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother’s grave that’ll last all summer. I got to write down a list so I won’t forget all the things I got to do’” (Fitzgerald 31). During her get-together, Myrtle starts telling her guests all of the things that she is going to do the next day. Through her use of “I’ve got to get”, and “I got to write down”, Myrtle is exposing the fact that if she were truly a high status member of society, she would have had a better education, and would use the proper grammar and way of speaking, such as “I need to get”, or “I have to write down”. Myrtle’s vocabulary is an indicator of her lack of class. She will never be on par with those who were born into money, such as Tom Buchanan. In addition, The Literary Criticism Article, “On Possessions and Character in The Great Gatsby” by Scott Donaldson, divulges a violent interaction between Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan. In Myrtle’s apartment, Tom begins to patronize and mock Myrtle, suggesting that Mr. McKee, one of Myrtle’s guests who is a photographer, be introduced to Myrtle’s husband, the owner of a garage, so that Mr. McKee can capture images of Myrtle’s husband at the
From early civilizations to modern day social systems, economic status has always been a determining factor of power. Kings, queens, dukes, princes, and princesses possessed the greatest amount of wealth and thus the greatest amount of power over others. By having large amounts of wealth, royalty could control the actions of others below their economic status. This fact even applies the functions of modern American society. For instance, regardless of the specific circumstance, wealthy individuals have power over the actions of those below them. They control others by buying their loyalty or simply through others’ envy of them. Such principles can be applied to both men and women of wealth. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting — before he could move from his door the business was over. The “death car,” as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend. Michaelis wasn’t even sure of its color — he told the first policeman that it was light green. The other car, the one going toward New York, came to rest a hundred yards beyond, and its driver hurried back to where Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust. Michaelis and this man reached her first, but when they had torn open her shirtwaist, still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap,
Whilst lounging among her ‘friends’ and colleagues, Fitzgerald is able to show how Myrte is submissive to anyone who poses as a threat to her. During the time period in which the novel is taking place,the roaring twenties, the male in any relationship was dominant over the woman. The word “broke” also shows a strong development in words. Fitzgerald did not give Myrtle's character a fractured nose, but instead, gave her a more painful alternative,a nose that was “broke.” Fitzgerald is also able to show how Myrtle can be stricken and will not say a word about it due to the cause of her own fear. Since Tom Buchanan was angry , he physically hurt her in a
"These people! You have to keep after them all the time”(Fitzgerald 2). Tom has invited Nick to an apartment to have party, and they are having a conversation with other people. When Myrtle is around Tom she acts like she owns the whole building, treating the employees like tools. When Tom is around it automatically rises Myrtles social status. When i read this I can make a pretty good picture on how Mytel would look saying this, having the look of a dictator.
A Scandalous affair marks the life of Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby by F. Scotts Fitzgerald. During the novel Mrs. Wilson and Mr Buchanan disregard their spouses in order to have an affair. Both characters play a significant part in the novel making their development by the reader needed to understand the novel. Fitzgerald uses language in order to develop the charecters Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson in separate ways.
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.
The 1920s served as a significant period of time for women as it was then that they broke away from all the traditional social constrains.However, this leads to the issue of the negative representaion of women in the novel. It is noted that none of the main women in the Great Gatsby is portrayed in a good light. There is Daisy, who is beautiful, but also extremely shallow and materialistic- seeing that she only married Tom for his wealth.Next, readers meet Jordan, Daisy’s friend. Jordan is portrayed as extremely independent and self- sufficient. However she is also seen to be a little detached, this is highlighted when Nick’s first description of her was that she was ‘motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balaancing something on it which was quite likey to her’, and we can infer that Jordan has an air of aloofness that makes her seem rather unapproachable. There is also Myrtle, Tom’s mistress. Myrtle and Daisy are binary opposites in terms of appearance, however, Myrtle like Daisy, is extremely materialistic. Myrtle chooses to have an affair with Tom while fully knowing that he was married because he was able to provide her with material things she could never afford. Furthermore, she insults her loving husband, and claims that he is ‘not fit to lick [her] shoe’ simply because he was not rich. Here, readers can clearly see that Myrtle is a woman with loose morals who is completely
Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson of The Great Gatsby. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the two central women presented are Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. These two women, although different, have similar personalities. Throughout the novel, there are instances in which the reader feels bad for and dislikes both Daisy and Myrtle.
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.
Myrtle Wilson takes on the task of gaining social status and wealth in a corrupt way. Myrtle Wilson betrays her husband to climb the ladder of wealth. Tom Buchanan becomes used by Myrtle to acquire glistening mounds of wealth. “Myrtle Wilson does not have many material items. She has a loyal husband, but Myrtle wants everything else… She feels she deserves more; she feels that she deserves more; she feels she deserves Tom, his money, power, and influence” (Dawson). Myrtle Wilson’s intentions become obvious during The Great Gatsby. If Myrtle Wilson wanted love, she could have looked to her husband, George Wilson, who truly loved her. Her dream of wealth, however, dominated her desire of love. Myrtle could have easily ended her relationship with Tom due to his frequent violence if it was simply about love. Myrtle could endure the violence if it meant she could achieve her American
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
Myrtle was born in and lives in the lower, working class, which is why she is used a direct representation of the lower class by Fitzgerald. Myrtle is a woman who lives in the “valley of ashes” in the book, which is supposed to show her poverty. She always thinks that she is better than the lower class and dreams to escape it. There are two ways she plans on escaping it: through her relationship with Tom or through actual hard work. These both seem to the reader like ways that might possibly be successful for Myrtle to complete her dream. When the character is first introduced as Tom’s mistress, it appears as though this relationship might actually go somewhere serious and this might be her escape route when it says that they would “get a divorce” from their current spouses “and get married to each other right away” if it were not for Tom’s wife who “[doesn’t] believe in divorce” (33). This builds the expectation that Myrtle might actually have a way out of the lower class, which heightens the situational irony at the end of the novel. Another thing that builds hope for Myrtle is her hard work and “vitality that [is] so remarkable in the garage” (30). This makes the reader think that by pumping gas and working hard she might actually make it out of the lower class. Both of these possibilities are destroyed when “her life [was] violently extinguished” when she gets hit by a car, ironically driven by Daisey (137). This is such a tragic turnaround that no one expects it, which is how Fitzgerald uses situational irony to make his readers realize the falsehood of the American dream. Fitzgerald wants his readers to snap out of their own dreams in believing that they can do anything they dream of. Gatsby also comes out of poverty, he also is used to represent the lower
At first glance, The Great Gatsby is merely a classic American tragedy, portraying the story of a man's obsession with a fantasy, and his resulting downfall. However, Fitzgerald seems to weave much more than that into the intricate web of emotional interactions he creates for the reader. One interesting element is the concepts of greatness each has. For Daisy, it lies in material wealth, and in the comfort and security associated with it. Daisy seems to be easily impressed by material success, as when she is touring Gatsby's mansion and seems deeply moved by his collection of fine, tailored shirts. It would seem that Tom's relative wealth, also, had at one time impressed her enough to win her in marriage. In contrast to that, Gatsby seems to not care a bit about money itself, but rather only about the possibility that it can win over Daisy. In fact, Gatsby's extreme generosity gives the reader the impression that Gatsby would otherwise have never even worked at attaining wealth had it not been for Daisy. For Gatsby, the only thing of real importance was his pursuit of Daisy. It would seem that these elements are combined, too in the character Myrtle.
The characters of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby experience dissatisfaction throughout their lives and attempt achieve a better state through their actions. Jay Gatsby embodies the idea of wanting more in life, abandoning his old life and changing his name, inventing a new person that “sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 98). His new persona is successful, however Gatsby continues to feel incomplete without a partner. Myrtle Wilson is unhappy with her life in the Valley of Ashes, so she seeks a better life through her affairs with Tom Buchanan. Daisy is likewise disappointed in her marriage; she cannot divorce Tom, whom she is aware is having an affair, and has one herself. Dissatisfaction heavily impacts the actions people take to improve their lives. All people will inevitably reach a state of dissatisfaction and of desire for a better life, and the characters of The Great Gatsby change their lives as a result of being unhappy with what they have.
In this paper, I will argue that conscription should not be practiced in South Korea. One argument against conscription is that a person has the right to chose what they do with their lives. Some other arguments are the it affects the types of relationships enlistees can have and it