Essay on Love vs. Materialism in the Great Gatsby

Myrtle yearns to be with Tom and live in his wealth but is prevented from doing so by Tom and Daisy. For instance, when Daisy tries to leave Tom for Gatsby, Tom does not exactly dismiss Myrtle, “…but there is no question that she would eventually be discarded” (Donaldson). Myrtle is so infatuated with Tom, she forgot that he can just as well choose Daisy over her. He has the upper hand, as a rich man with control over women especially when it comes to his relationships. While to Tom, Myrtle’s gender has made her just one of his possessions, to Myrtle, Tom’s rich and high status as a man has made him her only path to a higher class. Due to her infatuation with Tom, she often becomes jealous and possessive when she finds a threat to their relationship. Myrtle is so overcome with desire for Tom that she cannot stand the thought of him with another women. Even when she sees Tom in the car with Jordan Baker, Myrtle’s, “… eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she too to be his wife” (Fitzgerald 125). Myrtle is so convinced that Tom is hers, when in reality, she is really Tom’s. Myrtle has almost forgotten the fact that as an inferior women, she has little control over the situation. The reality is that Tom was in control of the relationship and used Myrtle for his lustrous desires. Tom’s rejection of Myrtle causes her to become overrun with jealousy. In

Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George, and the lover of Tom Buchanan, is brutally murdered toward the end of the novel. After an uncivilized afternoon in New York, Daisy and Gatsby head swiftly back to East Egg. Gatsby explains to Nick, “It all happened in a minute, but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew” (Fitzgerald 109). Myrtle ran out toward the car looking for Tom but sadly for her it is not him. Many know about Tom’s affair, but not with whom he is having it, especially Daisy. Daisy never slows the car down, and she never realizes who she hits. This shows that Daisy is oblivious to Myrtles existence. Myrtle is sleeping with her husband, she ruins their marriage, and Daisy kills her. The irony exists in this because Daisy actually saves her marriage by killing

There is a fine line between love and lust. If love is only a will to possess, it is not love. To love someone is to hold them dear to one's heart. In The Great Gatsby, the characters, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are said to be in love, but in reality, this seems to be a misconception. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the themes of love, lust and obsession, through the character of Jay Gatsby, who confuses lust and obsession with love. By the end of the novel however, Jay Gatsby is denied his "love" and suffers an untimely death. The author interconnects the relationships of the various prominent characters to support these ideas.

This narration illustrates how Myrtle dreams of making it out of her social class by marrying George Wilson, an apparent “gentleman”. Similarly to Gatsby, her dream of shortcutting the American Dream by marrying herself out of her social class are flawed as she lusts after a higher place in life. Her evident failure and bitter attitude regarding this is clearly reflected in her tone regarding George Wilson as he is unable to provide her with the wealth and benefits she needs to join the upper class. This continued lust evidently foreshadows a next chapter in her life, as she wants something out of her grasp, she turns to alternative methods and immoral deeds in her envy. This foreshadowing is put into motion when she strikes an affair with Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband and a pioneer of the upper class.

Then he meets Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is a lower-class woman, who is the opposite of Daisy, she is not very bright or beautiful, and she is Tom Buchanan’s mistress. She is married to George Wilson a submissive and faithful man, the exact opposite of Tom. Myrtle is looking for a dominant and powerful man, who can help her get into the upper class. Tom likes Myrtle Wilson because he can control and impress her with everything he does, and even though Tom is abusing her Myrtle still loves him. She knows she is out of both Tom’s and the social circle he revolves in’s league, but she hopes desperately and pathetically to fit

Myrtle is married to a poor man named George Wilson, and he has no idea that she is cheating on him. Anytime Myrtle goes to see Tom, George thinks she is visiting her sister. Daisy knows Tom is cheating on her, but accepts it because she wants him for his money and will do anything to stay with him. Tom sits at dinner and talks about the fact that he meets up with Myrtle, and Daisy doesn’t even flinch. She tries not to show that it bothers her.

Myrtle is married to a man by the name of George Wilson who owns a rundown auto shop in the valley of the ashes. She loved her husband at one point but he didn't turn out to be the man that she expected him to be. Tom and Myrtle while She was heading to New York City to see her sister. She and Tom ended up on two little seats on the train facing each other and whatever happened on that trains must've really meant something to Myrtle. Even though she lived in a poor man's land she was corrupted by her unreachable dreams of extreme wealth and fortune. She knows Tom is married to Daisy and at one point she mentions her name at a party in their apartment together in the city. "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai –– ". Tom had quickly stopped Myrtle from finishing her word by hitting her in her face and breaking her nose with an opened hand. Tom is showing his desire to keep the two parts of his life completely separate. He had Daisy, his beautiful, socially elevated, wealthy wife, whom he loved and protected in his own brutal fashion. He also had Myrtle, whose lust for life fed his ego and whose sexual attraction was undeniable. Tom is also demonstrating his expectation that he should always be able to make the rules and that they should be obeyed without question. Tom is accustomed to having his own way; when Myrtle doesn't immediately

Myrtle runs into the street, a desperate attempt to escape, getting hit by Daisy thinking it’s Tom. It is found that Daisy cheats on her husband with Jay Gatsby. “He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (Fitzgerald 89). This relationship is different from Tom and Myrtle’s one in that it is based on a previous love that she used to have for Gatsby, which he still has for her.

Myrtle, the wife of George Wilson, is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Despite the way Tom treats her and that she is aware of his marital status, she still is in a sense hopeful in regards to their “relationship.” Jordan Baker, Daisy’s close friend in the novel, is initially introduced as a fraudulent woman, “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage…” (Fitzgerald 58).

She is a woman with a bigger, curved body, and her personality has a certain darkness to it. Upon meeting Tom, she instantly falls for him because of his wealth and status, which she craves to have in life. Although she is married to George, she finds him to be pathetic and lazy because he doesn’t have money like Tom. Myrtle doesn’t care that she ruined Tom and Daisy’s relationship, since she wants him all to herself no matter the consequences. Both women live a different lifestyle, but in the end they share the same

Materialism is a timely, social problem which is evident throughout history and in today’s world. Materialism is one issue where people may blind themselves from their moral values and drift away from family or their true selves. It can run and/or ruin a person’s life. Material parenting and the unhealthy lifestyle of a materialist are just two areas where leading a materialistic life may be fostered or lead. The materialistic world may be filled with joys and riches, however the material objects can not bring true happiness to any one person.

In “The Great Gatsby” F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a portrait of America that we still see today. The materialism that each character is addicted to is a large flaw that Fitzgerald strongly disagreed with, due to the fact that when this book was wrote materialism was growing stronger and this completely annoyed Fitzgerald. The pursuit of wealth is what led Gatsby to his death, while the Industrialization of New York destroyed the beautiful city that was turned into a wasteland known as the “Valley of Ashes” Fitzgerald also points out the common notion that money cannot buy happiness or love in this world.

Daisy kills Myrtle, a lower class woman. Daisy runs over myrtle with a Jay Gatsby’s car without his knowledge, and does not assist him when he is blamed for her murder. Afterwards, Daisy does not   He talks about how they smashed people up and then, "retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together…" (Fitzgerald, F. Scott 188). Nick points out the similarity between Tom and Daisy’s characters and attitudes about money. Tom and Daisy were concerned not only with the money, but everything that went along with being wealthy.  Daisy's carelessness reveals her corruption. Daisy Buchanan uses her wealth and social position to escape any problems. Daisy Buchanan flees from the murder of Tom’s mistress Myrtle.  Daisy uses Gatsby’s car to kill Myrtle and allows Gatsby to take the blame, thus proving her corruption. Daisy did not want to risk leaving the east egg, a place of high economic standing. Daisy’s actions exemplify the dishonest use of power for personal gain. Daisy uses her money as a means to take advantage of people from a lower class such as Myrtle. The materialistic nature that Daisy exhibits corrupts her and causes her to become a self-centered and callous person. Daisy's attachment to wealth causes her corrupted. Furthermore, Daisy's materialistic attitude causes her to show no compassion for human beings altogether. Daisy Buchanan is a woman of higher

    "It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which is not likely I shall ever find again." (2). The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that takes place in the Roaring 20's. It's about a man who changes everything he is for the inaccessible woman of his dreams. After losing her before the war because of his financial status, he finally tries to win her heart back through his newly attained money. She is faced with a cheating husband and a man who wants to repeat the past. In the end, she has blood on her hands. After all his effort, he loses her in a heated argument and he loses his life to a

New ideas took shape as the United States departed from WWI, coined as the “war to end all wars,” to a new decade of the 1920’s. The American people was endured this war, but have grown tired of the reforms as well as the results of progressivism. This war was to have brought peace and prosperity, yet these promises were broken to Europe. Materialism amongst the middle class has overcome the movement of idealism in the US, inciting both men and women to enjoy this prosperity of the country. After the war, Americans were tired of and these people wanted to enjoy the flourishing lifestyle that came about afterwards.