Myrtle: A Short Story

Nick is aware that Daisy is not Catholic and that Tom’s response shows his duplicitous nature. Once Myrtle’s husband finds out that she has been unfaithful to him, he decides that he and Myrtle are leaving town, which marks the end of the relationship between Tom and Myrtle. If Tom had possessed the same feelings toward Myrtle as she did for him and had cared about their future together, he would have married her and avoided Myrtle’s husband taking her away and her no longer being part of his life. Nick, as an outside observer of Tom and Myrtle’s relationship, realizes that the lack of mutual feelings and willingness to make a commitment result in the dissolution of the relationship. By understanding the reasons behind the failure of their relationship, Nick arrives at an understanding that, for a relationship to be successful, there must be mutual commitment between the parties.

In chapter 2 Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle, his lover, in the Valley of Ashes, where her home is. They all then go to New York, to the apartment bought by Tom for Myrtle, and Myrtle organises a ‘party’, during which she argues with Tom, which ends with him punching her.

After her death, George is devastated and starts to go crazy. Because of his love for Myrtle, he enters a mental state that is only concerned with avenging her death. George confronts Tom, but Tom convinces George that the person truly responsible for Myrtle’s death was Gatsby. George believes Tom and travels to west egg where he shoots Gatsby and himself. Tom’s actions are another example of the rich being careless. He knows that George about to do something dangerous and desperate, but instead of trying to defuse the situation, he merely redirects the aggression towards Gatsby. Tom shows his belief that he was justified in sending Wilson after Gatsby when he tells Nick, "What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy's, but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you'd run over a dog and never even stopped his car.” As a result of Tom’s careless actions, two more people die, and Tom leaves the mess for other people to clean

Nick does not think Tom and Myrtle really loves each other (Hays, “Fitzgerald”). Everyone knew about Tom’s affair with Myrtle expect Myrtle’s husband. Nick left Tom and Myrtle at his house when he went to the store. Nick buys some cigarettes and finds Tom and Myrtle in his bedroom (Hays, “Fitzgerald”).

First, Tom and Daisy demonstrate their carelessness through their insensitiveness. When Tom is visiting his mistress, Myrtle, she taunts Tom by repeatedly saying “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (Fitzgerald, 39). This causes Tom to get aggravated and strike Myrtle in the face, breaking her nose. Tom physically abuses Myrtle and while he is under the influence of alcohol, he has the intent of hurting her, not caring if she gets injured. Tom also lies to Myrtle, telling her that he would marry her if is wife wasn’t Catholic. Tom does not care about the feelings of his mistress, seeing her as an object and not a human. Myrtle is nothing more than a way for Tom to feel powerful due to her low social status and insecurities. It is mentioned that Tom has cheated on Daisy before with a maid, further proving that Toms motive for having an affair is power. It also proves that Tom is not cheating on Daisy because he is bored, but because he does not truly love her or care for her. Tom’s lack of concern for those around him proves his insensitiveness and overall carelessness.

Myrtle and Tom began a scandalous affair and retreated to an apartment in New York.. Myrtle, unfaithful to her husband and falling for a married man, foolishly believed that Tom would leave his wife and child for her. She wanted Daisy’s rich and lavish lifestyle despite having a husband who truly adored her and worked day in and out to make her happy; for Myrtle it wasn’t enough. She betrayed the working loving man she had, for a rich snobby man like Tom; all for money and material things. It is a shame that people are somewhat controlled by money, and will do anything to achieve that-even betray the people that love and care for you.

            Tom knew Myrtle better than any of the main characters.  He had met her on a train headed for New York.  When the train reached the city, she went with him in a taxi, and their affair began.  Tom never made much of an effort to keep their relationship secret.  In fact, he almost paraded her around in the presence of his acquaintances.

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

Wilson gives to Myrtle his complete trust in the same way he provides Myrtle with what she asks for, but she abuses it. She takes her husband for granted while at the same time, she gazes at Tom sitting on a pedestal she has made for him. Tom is the man that can make Myrtle's every fantasy come true, but also the man that will lead to her early death. Myrtle is seen to be a fun and floozy mistress, but not as a real wife. She, as superficial as it may be, is not someone that Tom could take to parties and introduce to his parents. Myrtle controls Wilson, while Tom manipulates her simply for enjoyment. For example, Tom tells Myrtle that the reason they could never wed is because his wife, Daisy, is Catholic and she would never stand for a divorce. In this scene, Catherine, Myrtle's sister, tells Nick Carraway, the narrator, about the reasons why Tom and Myrtle may never come

They met again in New York and took a taxi to the apartment that Tom had purchased for the two of them. Myrtle called her sister Catherine and the McKees that she and Tom were friends with on the phone and the six of them sat around in the apartment and got exceptionally drunk once they arrived. During this time, Nick learned about Tom and Myrtle, as well as the fact that neither of them could stand their spouse. Nick could hardly remember what had gone on that night at the apartment and the next thing he knew, he was in Penn Station waiting for the four o’ clock train to go home.

Next, when Myrtle sees that she can live the more luxurious life she always wanted she has an affair with Tom. Myrtle is a woman living in the slums of the city, unhappy with her marriage, and feels her husband cannot provide the lifestyle she wants. When Myrtle is having guest over at her and Tom’s apartment, they discussion Myrtle's marriage, to which she states; “I thought he knew something about breeding, but he was not fit to lick my shoe...The only crazy I was was when I married him, I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never even

Tom was having an affair with Myrtle. He says, “I want to see you, and get on the next train.” She replies, “All right, I’ll meet you by the news-stand” (30). These

Nick was taking a train with Tom to New York when Tom decided they should get off at the valley of ashes so Nick could meet his mistress who lived in a repair shop there. Ms. Wilson, George B. Wilson owns the shop and is the husband of Myrtle. Wilson, Tom’s mistress. After Tom, Myrtle, and Nick travel into the city, Myrtle buys a dog and they all go to Tom and Myrtle’s apartment. The group gets drunk and more people show up to the apartment, including Myrtle’s sister, Catherine, a neighbor, Chester Mckee, and his wife, Mrs. Mckee. The group discusses Tom and Myrtle’s affair along with information about George and Daisy. Tom broke Myrtle’s nose because she kept saying Daisy’s name.

Mrs. Myrtle Wilson's reality was that she was a lower class, somewhat undesirable woman who dreamed that she could somehow elevate her status. The fantasy world that she created when she was with Tom lasted only momentarily and reality hit her mercilessly. Her desire to be a part of the elite class compromised her integrity; she was so desperate to fit in that accepted whatever treatment Tom was giving her. Chasing a painful dream and allowing herself to be abused, reality still had not sunk in for Myrtle when Tom broke her nose when she said what he did not want to hear (Fitzgerald, 41). She was married to a gas attendant, whom she did not appreciate, who was nothing like Tom and could not provide her with the lifestyle she yearned for. She blatantly disrespected him in conversation with her sister and Nick, saying, "I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe (Fitzgerald, 39)." Each time Tom picked

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