What Does Myrtle Wilson Represent In The Great Gatsby

The term “The American Dream” was coined in 1931 by American writer James Truslow Adams and described America as a place of opportunity based on one’s ability and hard work. Although the term originated in 1931, the fundamental ideas of the American Dream debuted in 1920’s society and contrasted greatly with previous notions of a stagnant class structure. This was due to the booming post-WWI economy, which provided an increase in accessibility to leisure items and activities, allowing luxuries typically reserved for the upper class to be enjoyed by the masses. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, reflects these social and economic changes. The novel follows the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby, who achieved prosperity in spite of being born the son of a poor, North Dakota farmer. Though many believed in an emergence of class mobility in the 1920’s, the novel The Great Gatsby demonstrates the ultimate inaccessibility of the American Dream - a holistic realization of social and economic equality.

In the apartment, she turns to her sister in a pompous tone “I had a woman up here last week to look at my feet and when she gave me the bill you’d of thought she had my appendicitis out’” (31) Myrtle tells her sister, even though appendicitis is a disease, not the organ that is removed. Despite the fact that she herself is married to a mechanic and is a mistress, which are in no means prestigious positions, she talks in a very condescending manner towards her sister, making it sound like she’s had decades more of the higher-life experience. Myrtle also talks about her supposed wealth when “she turned to Mrs. McKee and the room rang full of her artificial laughter. ‘My dear’ she cried, ‘I’m going to give you this dress as soon as I’m through with it. I’ve got to get another one tomorrow. I’m going to make a list of all the things I’ve got to get. 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’”(36). She talks about money like it is no big deal and a common topic even though it’s the exact opposite. By listing out all of the things that she has to buy, it makes her seem richer and of higher maintenance, even though she really can’t afford any of that. She even offers to give up what she is making out to be a very expensive dress like it’s no big deal. She makes it sound like all of Tom’s money is her own. Likewise, she is patronizing when she refers to her husband and says “‘I married him because I thought he was a gentleman, ... I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe’”(34). She thinks she’s so much better than her husband even though she lives in a

Myrtle is married to a man named George Wilson who is a car mechanist. She lives in the Valley of Ashes which is described to be, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke…” It is basically a poor part of the town. When Nick Carraway first sees her, he describes her as, “…in a moment the thickish figure of a woman...” Nick Carraway also says that she was in her mid-thirties and is, “…faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously...” She is also described not to have a gleam of beauty in her face. Myrtle Wilson is having an affair with Tom Buchanan and met him while riding a train. She doesn’t feel bad about cheating on her husband and idolizes Tom but it seems like Tom treats her like a sexual object rather than a

The 1920s were years of economic prosperity and radical change both socially and politically. During the decade, the American Dream was sought-after by numerous people throughout America, which is reflected in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The novel is a highly symbolic meditation of America in the 1920s, focusing particularly on the disintegration of the American Dream in a time of unprecedented prosperity and material excess. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby, George and Myrtle Wilson, and Nick Carraway to illustrate that the American Dream is unnatainable, and striving for it only creates an disasterous ending.

The American dream can mean many different things and can be interpreted in different ways. To some people, the American dream is the belief that if a person works hard enough, he or she can be successful in America no matter what race, gender, or nationality. In the 1920’s, the concept of the American dream was very much the same, that an individual can achieve success in life regardless of family history or social status if he or she works hard enough. By having money, a car, a big house, expensive clothes, and a loving family symbolizes the American dream. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1920’s is a time period in which the American dream becomes corrupt and dangerous. For Jay Gatsby, a main character in the novel, his American dream is about gaining wealth and material possessions in order to find happiness. Through his decision to symbolize wealth, superficiality, irresponsibility, and foreshadowing, Fitzgerald conveys the the theme that the American dream is a perfect concept and is something that can never be accomplished, but can always be reached for.

Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays women in a light that does not follow this ideology. The characters contain viewpoints that showcase how during that era women were thought to be lesser than men. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, the job and attitudes of women were determined by men not the women themselves. We see this in the several different aspects. These aspects include: Daisy's hopes and wishes for her daughter, Myrtle's death and cadaver, and the stereotypes that surrounded Jordan Baker's career and physical appearance.

Ahhh The American Dream, the one entity that most people are reaching out trying to grasp. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the life of America in the 1920s, “The Roaring Twenties”. The twenties were a time of prosperity for America. The Great Gatsby lived in a time of new cars, expensive parties and as some in the roaring twenties might say it was “spiffy!” The American Dream seems unattainable to some but to others, it is right around the corner. Jay Gatsby had the rags-to-riches story that hits all of us so dear. The Great Gatsby had The American Dream by working hard to get where he was. Everyone has the inner desire to do something great and achieve The American Dream. There are many routes people take in order to get there such as; inheritance, deceit, or working hard for it. It is the ideal that everyone should have the opportunity by working hard to achieve success.

In chapter two, the McKees, who are Myrtle Wilson’s apartment neighbors are introduced through the narration of Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald’s purpose in introducing the McKees in this chapter is to emphasize the degradation of a drunken party and to show the kind of people Myrtle Wilson associates with. In other words, they present the reader with background information and give the story more definition.

In the 1920’s, the ideal of change was deeply ingrained into American society. This was due to the increase of industrialism and materialism following World War I which inspired the search for new freedoms and encouraged the establishment of radical concepts, such as class mobility. This period of liberation and its effect on the mindset of American citizens is illustrated through The Great Gatsby. In the novel, the characters of Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby serve as representations of optimistic people during the Roaring Twenties who fell victim to the prospect of advancement and ultimately fell short of their goals. With the introduction of social mobility, much of the lower class attempted to move up in society during the 1920’s, although

To begin, the perception of wealth is mind deluding. At first glance, it is hard to tell the value of wealth an individual holds. Hence, in this case, to look prosperous is to deceive people into thinking that they are made of money. In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson is the perfect example for this deception. Residing in the Valley of Ashes, located in between the East and the West Egg with a population living in poverty, Myrtle cheats on her husband with Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man from the East Egg who is also married. Nick describes Myrtle’s change of appearance as soon as she arrives to her apartment with Tom, “she had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin, which stretched right over her rather wide hips as Tom helped her to the

Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, it is revealed that Gatsby endlessly chased Daisy while knowing that she was married to Tom Buchanan of Chicago. Gatsby, unable to forget the girl he met at Louisiana before the war, finally moved to a mansion in the West Egg, right across the river from Buchanan’s house, which he could spot the green light emitted from Daisy’s dock. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that Gatsby’s entire life was devoted to the love and nostalgia of Daisy. Even Gatsby could not avoid his tragic fate implemented by Fitzgerald to convey a profound message that obsession over impossible love could lead to disastrous events. After Myrtle’s death, George Wilson is blinded by outrage, and makes a desperate attempt to

The Roaring Twenties is when the Americans, especially wealthy people, are being so wasteful on spending money and are addicted to alcohol and drugs. During that time, many people have hopes for the American Dream. The American Dream is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work. Different people have different understandings of American Dream and different ways to pursue their dream. Some key ideas of the American Dream are equality, rights, opportunities and the pursuit of happiness. In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the American Dream is an unattainable illusion and the materialism led to the corruption of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties. Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle all have been fail to achieve their dreams in the book and destroy by the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby is a novel that illustrates the society in the 1920's and the associated beliefs, values and dreams of the American population at that time. These beliefs, values and dreams can be summed up be what is termed the "American Dream", a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. This underworld infiltrated the upper echelons and created such a moral decay within general society that paved the way for the ruining of dreams and dashing of hopes as they were placed confidently in the chance for opportunities that could be seized by one and all. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the

In the 1920’s the United States was rapidly changing. World war 1 was great for American businesses, and the economy grew immensely. Americans, of all races and gender, were living the high life, and the American dream was born. The idea of this dream was that everyone should be rich, happy, loving, and can be if they work hard enough. The American dream was very diverse and looked different for everyone; women were completely new people, African Americans were free, and immigrants were flooding into America. In the story, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald does a poor job of portraying the American dream for most of the country.

The Roaring 20's was an era of decadence and endless possibility. The American Dream was something that everyone coveted. Essentially, The American Dream meant that anyone who had the talent and worked hard enough, could achieve it. Money, a loving spouse, and status all showed that a person had been successful in their life and were vital points to the American Dreams of the Characters in the Great Gatsby. Many of them strived in their own way to achieve “the dream”, however, twisted ideals of love, wealth, and class led to the eventual fall of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby.