Since the beginning of human kind, people have wanted to break down the social barriers between each other. Some barriers started to fall away during the 20th century when women were given the right to vote and people were given the right to become rich based on their skill groups, not based on how their families were like. Although these social barriers started to fade away, defeating a social barrier completely was still a huge problem. The Great Gatsby by the author F. Scott Fitzgerald, offers a glance of the life in America during the 1920s. Jay Gatsby dreams about overcoming the class barriers and marrying Daisy. He finally becomes wealthy at the end, but never can reach her social class. Myrtle on the other hand is having an affair with …show more content…
Gatsby has been obsessed with Daisy, and ready to do everything in order to get back her love, even if he needs to do illegal stuff to earn his wealth to reach her status. But Myrtle is completely different from Gatsby; she is so obsessed with being in a high social class that she would do anything in order to reach her goal even if she needs to cheat on her husband. Gatsby very quickly fell in love with Daisy but due to his lower class status never could marry her. "She never loved you, do you hear? She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me" (130). Myrtle on the other hand is having affairs with Tom in order to feel the satisfaction of being in the upper class. Myrtle loved her husband Mr. Wilson when they got married, but she got very disappointed by her husband’s lack of money and the social status that she is suffering in for eleven years. Now she is regretting the day she married with him, her sister Catharine says “She really ought to get away from him. They’ve been living over that garage for eleven years, And Tom’s the first sweetie she ever had”. Even if Myrtle and Gatsby becomes rich they can’t possibly have the taste that the “old money” people has, the fact that they are coming from the lower class means that no matter how they try, …show more content…
After eleven years of an unhappy marriage Myrtle sees her affair with Tom as an escape from the awful like she is living in. The fact that she knows so little about the upper class men and the poor judgement of her character makes her an easy target for Tom to take advantage of her. Although she finally buys everything that she desired for, she never could have Tom’s heart all to herself. Tom would rather not leave Daisy because their marriage represents a larger meaning than only love it almost a symbol that show their social status. "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. (2.124-6) After Tom’s treatment towards Myrtle makes us readers to understand that for him Myrtle is just another affair. Despite this awful scene their affair continuous due to the fact that Myrtle is obsessed with the plan of escaping from her marriage. The another messed up relationship is between Gatsby and Daisy. Like Myrtle, Gatsby wants to become a part of the high social class and escape from the name tag of “New Money”. Gatsby falls in love with Daisy and her wealth that she represents. He becomes obsessed with her in a level that he would cover up and take full responsibility for all of her misbehavers. Like her husband, Daisy starts using the
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Show MoreTom is married to Daisy but is having an affair with Myrtle. In Daisy and Tom’s relationship, the spark is gone because there is nothing new. Tom is able to impress Myrtle but Daisy already knows Myrtle knives in the Valley Ashes where the working class lived with her husband George Wilson. Myrtle wants to better her life that is why she
Tom is so engrossed in his world and affair with Myrtle that he does not realize that he can also be cheated on. After finding out that Daisy has been seeing Gatsby, he gets defensive and possessive over his wife even though he has been seeing another woman, he gets uptight and states “...I love Daisy too. Once in awhile i go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back” (131), even as he says this Tom never admits to Daisy that he is having one of those “sprees” during that same time. He says that he will always come back to her but it does not mean that he will stop having affairs with other women in the future. Tom becomes depraved because of his greed and insecurities leading him to lose two people
Although Myrtle herself is part of the lower-middle class, her one desire in life to be wealthy. This is precisely the reason why she cheats on her husband, as she feels that he is not able to provide the life that she wants. She chooses Tom to start having an affair with due to his luxurious lifestyle. However, this eventually leads to her death. One day, she sees Tom’s car, and excitedly runs out to meet him.
What she doesn't understand, in any case, is that Tom and his companions will never acknowledge her into their circle. (Notice how Tom has an example of picking lower-class ladies to lay down with. For him, their frailty makes his particular position considerably more prevalent. Strangy, being with ladies who seek to his class improves him feel about himself and enables him to sustain the dream that he is a decent and imperative man.) Myrtle is close to a toy to Tom and to those he speaks to.
Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.
Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.
Breaking Social Boundaries The era of the 1920s was a pinnacle time in American History and the literature that was produced from this era showcases the social change happening. This was the time of social upheaval where the people were challenging social boundaries. The values that had been sought after in the period before this were becoming less and else prevalent in the new society. There are many viewpoints of this time period so the literature of this time was very diverse and many works showed the changing cultures.
Myrtle is focusing on the fact Tom is with another woman, who Myrtle assumes to be Tom’s wife. She hasn’t considered that if Tom is having an affair with her, then he could have an affair with another woman, even though he isn’t. Wilson cares so much for Myrtle that he is physically sick yet, Myrtle is only focused on the fact Tom had brought another woman with him. Tom couldn’t care less about who he hurts and Myrtle knows she can’t trust him but she still cares for tom and would rather be with him, as a distraction, instead of being with her husband Wilson who actually loves
Myrtle Wilson’s husband is named George Wilson, unfortunately, she is miserable being married with him. She is having an affair with Tom, “There is always a halt there of at least a minute and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress.” (Fitzgerald ## ) Nick Carraway implies that Myrtle is having an affair with Tom. Myrtle married George Wilson because she thought that he had money so she married him, later she discovered that he is not wealthy and married Myrtle with a borrowed suit. She feels better that she cheats on him with Tom Buchanan.
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.
Throughout The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson desired to fit in with the upper class; however, her marriage to George Wilson prevented such from occurring. Myrtle failed to recognize her husband’s hard work and true character due to her efforts to rise in social status. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald emphasized Myrtle’s hatred towards her marriage through her conversation with Catherine, depicting how people of the twenties focused more on wealth and power compared to moral American values. As readers closely evaluate the moment of Myrtle’s dialogue, she dictated her feelings towards her marriage in a way that supposedly justified her infidelity.
In the novel The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald set in the 1920s, a man named Jay Gatsby who became rich through illegal means tries to win the heart of a woman named Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan’s wife. The wife of a garage owner named George Wilson, Myrtle, is also having an affair with Tom. Throughout the course of the novel, Tom and Wilson run into similar encounters. Both of them discover that their wives have been cheating on them and have comparable reactions. These discoveries and related events reveal their attitudes toward women and become violent.
The Corruption of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby 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.
The author explains that Gatsby did all in his effort to get better for Daisy, but ended up dying in the midst of it. The author depicts this by stating, “Furthermore, his success obviously doesn’t last – he still pines for Daisy and loses everything in his attempt to get her back” (Wulick). The author also brings in the idea of George and Myrtle Wilson trying to achieve the American Dream. It is mentioned that George wants a better life just as much as Myrtle does. However, Myrtle seeks a better life through Tom and having him buy her materials.
As we get to know throughout the novel, both of them have an affair, Daisy meets again with her old love, Gatsby, and Myrtle is the mistress of Tom. 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.