The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald exposes the economic traps and social norms of the 1920s in through symbolism context and setting. Set in the 1920s, Jay Gatsby is a character that rose the poverty to millionaire status. He represents the new money during the 1920s. Tom Buchanan symbolizes old wealth. Daisy Buchanan represents a woman who marries for money, not love and regrets it her whole life. Myrtle is Toms Buchanan mistress and she represents a compromised, victimized stuck in limbo because of her social position. Nick Carraway narraters the novel as a neutral mid westerner who finds himself in the lurid east. He looses his equilibrium and dives into the vices of the east coast only to discover its moral emptiness symbolizes by the valley of ashes.
Daisy comes from a wealthy upper-class family and she has been raised in privilege while Myrtle has to fight for everything she has. Myrtle is attempting to give the impression of a wealthy, high-class woman, but she does not have the figure of a high-class woman. She has a “thick fish figure” (25) which connotes that she is not a skinny type nor beautiful. The appearance of Daisy is the contrast of Myrtle. When Daisy appears for the first time in the book, the author associates her character with light, purity and innocence. With her dress, “they were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering”(8), she
While talking about her relationship with her husband, Myrtle says, “The only crazy I was when I married [Wilson]” (Fitzgerald 35). Though Myrtle is talking about her husband, Wilson, her comment also reveals an important dynamic of the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. Myrtle reveals that she regrets marrying her husband because he had little money. This regret shows itself through the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. Tom, a wealthier man, holds a greater status and power than Wilson, a poorer man. The relationship between Myrtle and Tom is defined by this. Fitzgerald uses this relationship purposefully to emphasize how Tom’s relationships revolve around the power he gains from his socioeconomic
After Myrtle answers Catherine questions and why she married George Wilson which indicates that Myrtle doesn 't think he is fit enough to be her husband. She was basically using him for the things she thought he had. And now she 's saying that he isn 't even worthy enough to lick her shoes. This is basically saying that he is worthless. During this time people consume more alcohol than nowadays and alcohol is a great want and need for the lives of most people to get away from stressful times, to have fun or to make a living. Then Myrtle tells Nick how the affair between her and Tom began. They were riding the train together and happen to sit on the only seats available which happen to face each other. She decides how Tom was dress and that
In “The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald, Myrtle Wilson plays a role in not only her own death, but also the tragic demise of J. Gatsby. In chapter 2 she is described as “in her middle thirties and faintly stout” (29). Myrtle Wilson is the wife of degenerate garage owner George Wilson. She expresses her feelings for her decision on marrying George as “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (34-35). She regretted being married to her husband. She “thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (34), feeling as if her husband George wasn’t good enough for her. By her words, she displays her true feelings for her husband. This showed the character is selfish and has
Myrtle and Daisy had chased both love and money, at different point in their life. For both of them, it is their ambition and dreams that they seek to fulfill themselves with. Regardless of their backgrounds, they remain the same in their wants towards something they don’t have, or in Daisy’s case, choosing what they want over everything else, regardless of how much they already have of it. Myrtle had married Wilson, not for the money he had owned, as he did not own any, but simply because she “thought that he was a gentleman”. However, Myrtle’s ambition was money, because when Wilson neither produced riches nor at the very least, gave her the love initially wanted, she turned to Tom to receive them both. Myrtle was a “gold-digger”, but she also believed that he would genuinely love her and pick her over Daisy, even though Tom gave no indication of doing so. Like Daisy, breathed out wealth, Myrtle had breathed out vitality and sensuality, hoping for Tom to chose her as his love and for him to give her riches and luxury.
Dreams are just illusions that our brain creates to help us want to succeed in life or achieve a personal goal. Sometimes our dreams can be so relevant in our minds we will do almost anything to make it a reality. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses syntax, similies, and diction to represent a place where cruel, mean men receive women longed for by dreamers like Gatsby and Wilson.
When Myrtle begs Tom for a dog, he nonchalantly hands her too much money and “decisively” says “Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it” (Fitzgerald 28).Tom’s angry and ‘decisive’ tone of voice is because he uses Myrtle’s must assert dominance through materialism. As, Myrtle does not need ten dogs, yet Tom wishes to flaunt both his wealth and dominance by commanding her to buy them. Because of Tom, Myrtle also lives in excess and must face moral corruption. As after she buys the dog, Nick describes that she Therefore, she wishes to buy a dog, simply to show that Tom’s money allows her to and has no intention of actually caring for it. Therefore, Tom and Myrtle’s relationship is sustained shared desire to flaunt their wealth and display a lack of compassion.
How does the desire to pursue money and power negatively impact the characters' moral sense of right or wrong?
The American Dream for many individuals, is a goal. Some achieve it, others result in failure. So what is the American Dream and why does it seem so appealing to the average person? The American Dream is the idea that anyone can work hard and achieve wealth and success in America. This is so inspiring and uplifting because most people want to better themselves, especially back in the 1920’s. This idea is portrayed as an important theme in the book, The Great Gatsby. The author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals many characters in the book that strive for the American Dream. However, it’s controversial if they achieved the American Dream or failed.
Within The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presented Myrtle as a character who was unaffected by true love and craved extreme wealth. Many people like Myrtle in the 1920s felt having lots of money meant being able to live a luxurious and happy lifestyle. They refused to accept the idea of a simplistic lifestyle and always anticipated more. Fitzgerald’s writing revealed more than Myrtle constantly insulting her husband’s situation. He exposed the corruption of the “new” American Dream and the relationships it destroyed as a
In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates society in the 1920’s and the desire for the people with in it to achieve the American Dream, which embodies the hope that one can achieve power, love and a higher economic/social status through one’s commitment and effort. The novel develops the story of a man named Jay Gatsby and his dream of marrying what he describes as his “golden girl”, also known as, Daisy Buchanan, his former lover. Fitzgerald explores the corruption of the American dream through the Characters; Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy.
Although the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the parties and prosperity of the American 1920's, it reveals many major characters meeting tragic ends. The characters who meet these ends - Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson - possess the same tragic characteristic: they endeavor for something more out of their lives than what they have. This ambition for what they could not have ultimately spelled their doom: Gatsby wanted money and Daisy; Myrtle wanted wealth and luxury, and sought it from Tom Buchanan; Wilson earned what he could only to please Myrtle. The Great Gatsby reveals a tragic nature through the trials and tribulations these characters endure to progress and prosper, only to receive death for their ambition. The exciting and wild time period of the "Roaring Twenties" provides a stark contrast to the deaths in order to further highlight the tragic nature of the novel, and leaves a theme that even those with the most hope and strong ambitions can fail and die miserably, no matter how much money they have.
The desire for a luxurious life is what gets Myrtle into having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Her immoral decision harms her marriage with George, which leads to her loss of happiness and dreams of a rich life. Myrtle is full of life and dreams, perfect for a
Love is the most powerful and mysterious force in the universe and a vital part of love is one’s sexuality, because it decides who you love. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a tragic novel set in the roaring twenties. The central theme in the story is love, and what it means in this time period of extravagance and lavish lifestyles. Questions arise about power and wealth, and what this signifies in a romantic relationship. The reality is that this is a loveless tale, because there is no love between the characters. On the other hand, sexuality is an underlying theme, vital to numerous characters. There are scenes that have a deeper level of meaning, suggesting events that only Fitzgerald knows the correct meaning of.