Women In The Great Gatsby

His actions show that he is not loyal nor respectful towards Daisy, instead displaying apathy and disinterest. In addition to acting uncompassionate towards Daisy, he is also not taking into consideration Myrtle’s feelings. In fact, he lies to her in order to stop himself from being forced into a committed relationship. This lie that Tom tells Myrtle is not only extremely false, but also shows he is simply using her. “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce” (Fitzgerald 33). Tom lying to Myrtle shows he has no intention of marrying her, instead he only wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state. Myrtle is unhappy and desperate to fulfill her dream of moving up social classes. Instead of acting sympathetically towards her situation, he exploits her weakness. Likewise, Daisy and Gatsby’s affair shows similar exploitation for one’s own personal needs over the emotions of their counterpart. Without Tom’s knowledge, Daisy has an affair with her long lost love, Gatsby. Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour… (Fitzgerald 105). During this affair Daisy shows no acknowledgement of Tom’s feelings, the man she married and pledged to be loyal to. At the same time, she is also exploiting Gatsby. Authors say, “...his desire to marry Daisy as an attempt to enter/create

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

Even though the 1920s is the era of women’s rights, women are still treated poorly. Even woman in the middle class are looked at with expectations. In the article it stated, “she concludes that although there were changes in women’s lives, their achievements were, limited, with ‘progress in some spheres… matched by disappointment and defeat in others’” (Hannam 64). This relates to Myrtles situation because even though she is not in the eyes of society she is expected to obey her husband and do as she is told. Myrtle does not always do as she is told around her husband, George Wilson. She is not the perfect female with him. She actually acts a little more masculine and aggressive to show she is not weak, but around her lover, Tom Buchanan, she becomes a more weak and obedient female. That would be approved by society if they were actually married. She changes how she conforms to the expectations of society depending on who she is around. She really does not control her own life like Jordan, but she also is not forced by society to do something she does not want to do like

Daisy sees this as does almost the exact same thing, only with Gatsby. By expressing this carelessness for each other, one can only begin to imagine the carelessness they have for other human beings. Tom treats Myrtle even worse than he treats Daisy, but Myrtle doesn’t seem to care, because she is mainly interested in his money. Tom doesn’t seem to worry about anyone but himself. In his own spite he ruins his life, as well as Daisy’s, Gatsby’s, and Myrtle’s. Daisy shows her carelessness during the time where Jordan, Tom, Daisy, Nick and Gatsby go to town. Her and Gatsby act like they are in love and make Tom incredibly jealous even though he is having his own affair. Tom accuses Gatsby of trying to start trouble in the Buchanan house, and they begin to fight. Daisy yells at Tom and tells him that she no longer loves him and is in love with Gatsby. Tom proceeds to tell everyone how Gatsby came across his money, and once Daisy finds out it was by illegal gambling and crime, she seems much less interested in him. Daisy appears to be more interested on what is on the outside of people, rather than the inside.

Daisy and Myrtle are greedy people who do what they want, not caring who they hurt. Daisy and Myrtle are both inconsiderate, selfish, and careless. In the novel, Myrtle does not care that she is cheating on Wilson with Tom. She does not take into account that Wilson and Daisy will end up hurt from her actions. Daisy is inconsiderate because she is just using Gatsby. She may truly love Gatsby, however, she is using him because she wants love, which she does not have with Tom. She will end up hurting Gatsby because she is giving him hope that she will leave Tom for Gatsby. Realistically, Daisy knows she will never leave Tom. Daisy Buchanan, like Myrtle Wilson, will also hurt her husband, Tom, when he finds out she is cheating on him, even though he is having an affair with Myrtle. Daisy ends up admitting she loves Gatsby in front of Tom, she says, “You always look so cool” (Fitzgerald 119). Tom is shocked and hurt by this because he thought he had his wife “under control.” Daisy and

Myrtle is unhappy with her standard of living and George. A quote to support this is, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman” she said finally. “I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (2.34). It is shown in this quote that Myrtle overestimated George’s money because he’s a mechanic and is unhappy she is living over a garage. In addition, that’s where Tom comes in and she has an affair with him. A quote to assist this would be, “Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know she’s alive” (2.26). In analysis of this quote, Myrtle uses Tom to get away from George and because Tom is wealthy and buys things for her. There was more than one reason to Myrtle’s affair with

Myrtle values the wealthy lifestyle greatly. She would even go so far as to create a facade of what she believes those of high societal class would act like in order to achieve that, and ironically, mocks the poor in the process. In Chapter 2 she exclaims toward Nick, “ I told that boy about the ice...you have to keep after them all the time”(32). here it is proven that Myrtle believes in order to give everyone the impression that she is high class, she must act in a snobbish manner. Whereas Daisy who was born into wealth, values convenience majorly over the latter. Some may disagree and say that she values love, and it is true that she does search for love; However, this is contradicted when at the end of the day she stays with Tom Buchanan rather than Gatsby, as is shown in the last scene with them together, “ Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite of each other at the kitchen table with a plate of cold fried chicken between them, and two bottles of ale” (145). She stays with Tom only for her own societal convenience, and she is willing to follow through with it even though he is a generally abusive

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.

Tom and Daisy Buchanan disguise themselves as wealthy, upper-class people from the East, but, when their immorality threatens their reputation, they find they are no better than their heritage, which stems from the Midwest. When Tom and Daisy constantly try to position themselves as having a better reputation, it establishes that they do not have the status necessary to be part of eastern upper-class. Tom and Daisy both initiate affairs in which neither truly care for the person they are having the affair with. Nick witnesses “Tom Buchanan [break Myrtle's] nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). Tom uses Myrtle, his mistress, for sexual pleasure, but does not care for her well-being. Tom uses her because his marriage with Daisy was not made for love, but rather to increase their social standing. Daisy also has an affair with her former lover, Gatsby, and after observing his wealth, she develops a relationship with him. Both Tom and Daisy are unsatisfied with their relationship, but rather than tarnish their social status with divorce they choose infidelity. Tom and Daisy’s desperation to maintain their status causes their immorality. Furthermore, in many instances Tom insults Gatsby, especially to degrade his wealth and achievements. For example, Tom says, “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” (130). Tom knows that he can only cause true damage by insulting Gatsby’s accomplishments. Tom desires to damage Daisy’s

Myrtle Wilson is the other partner in Tom Buchannan’s affair. She is of a simpler lifestyle living on the “edge of the wasteland…contiguous to absolutely nothing.”(Gatsby 24). Nick describes her “a thick woman” “in [her] middle thirties” (Gatsby 25), the average woman in that time. Once she and Tom get off the train, she immediately buys a dog, and then makes a point to buy a rather expensive dog as well. When she arrives to her sister’s house, where a party is taking place, Nick says that she “changed her costume” (Gatsby 30). Because a costume is also the attire performers wear, Nick is giving us the impression that all of this is a play, a facade to act wealthy when in fact she is not. Nick also says “with the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (Gatsby 30), again another indicator of her “performance” of a wealthy woman. Soon, she and Tom “discuss in impassioned voices” whether she had any “right to mention Daisy’s name” (Gatsby 37). Tom punches her after this, but still left the party with her. Myrtle is now a woman with no self-respect, due to her allowing a man, though he may be rich, to physically assault her, instead of having a man who truly cares for her not being well off.

Although the 1920’s were a time of female liberation, men still played large role in womens’ statuses. Women were defined by the social status of their men. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, womens’ statuses were defined by their male counterparts such as with Daisy, a wealthy woman with a wealthy husband; Jordan, an unwed middle class golfer; and Myrtle, a lower class woman in the valley of ashes. Daisy was a wealthy woman with a wealthy husband. Daisy had been born into a wealthy family.

Women today have many opportunities the women of the 1920’s did not have, although many will still marry for sole reason of having someone to support them. In F.scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, he writes about several female characters who are clearly displayed to us. Although the story revolves around a man chasing his dreams, the female character stand out. Daisy bushman, myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker all have different wants and needs in their lives but the restrictions of their lives affect them all differently.

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

In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle is given no respect and is being treated like an object. This happened in the chapter 2 when Tom takes Nick and Myrtle to party in a hotel in New York with others. Later in the party Myrtle and Tom comes out of a room arguing about Daisy.“Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name. I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! And Da-” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” This quote explains how women like myrtle are being abused by Tom and he is treating her like an object despite not having a healthy relationship. This paragraph is important because it talks about how in F. Scott’s novel The Great Gatsby Myrtle is given no respect and is being treated like an object despite being a women.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the time period of the 1920s where drama, corruption and revolutionary changes transformed the society. It is a story perceived from the perspective of Nick Carraway, an essential character to the plot, who objectively witnesses affairs and deceitful actions of others. The Great Gatsby symbolizes the American dream through the aspirations of each individual character. Although the storyline of this book can be viewed in different aspects, it can also be interpreted as a strong critique on the American women. The author specify differences among lifestyles, conduct of behavior, and social cognitive aspects by interrelating them with the role of wealth. Fitzgerald demonstrates the female characters