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Society and class in Great Gatsby
Society and class in Great Gatsby
Women's social status in the Great Gatsby
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Meet Tom Buchanan, “The Polo Player”, a rich, old money man who resides in East Egg. Then there’s George Wilson, a poor mechanic who lives and owns a gas station in the Valley of Ashes. They are two characters from the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. These men, however on opposite ends of the social order, share some similarities, but they also are different when it comes to women, their cheating wives, as well as how they show violence. Similarly, both men deeply love their wives. George is devastated by Myrtle's death. Tom makes his love known when Daisy (Tom’s spouse) is about to leave him: “He nodded sagely, “And what’s more, I love Daisy too...”(Fitzgerald 131). Tom, although loving his wife, cheats and takes advantage of women. George however, seems to be loyal and treats women with respect. …show more content…
Tom actually only lost his temper once after Myrtle bad mouthed Daisy, followed by Tom throwing a punch at Myrtle’s face, ultimately breaking her nose. George also hits Myrtle, however, he slapped her after discovering that she’s been unfaithful. The difference between the two begins when their limits are pushed. George gets extremely violent, going as far as to kill the man who supposedly killed his wife. Tom actually gets less violent. He begins to throw around, carefully placed accusations to undermine his enemies. For example, “...I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong.”
Shannon L. Alder once said, “If you want to discover the true character of a person, you have only to observe what they are passionate about.” There are many ways to see the truth about a person whether it is through what they do or how they act. True colors often show when people least expect it and many would be surprised. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby”, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby may seem like very similar people, but there is more than meets the eye.
In the Great Gatsby, the character Tom Buchanan is the ‘loving’ husband of Daisy Buchanan. His character is an extremely wealthy man who only really cares about himself. Sound familiar? I believe that Tom Buchanan is a living resemblance of Donald Trump for many reasons other than wealth. Both Tom and Donald have had a history treating many wives/mistresses badly. Interview after interview, Trump is now known for his unkind words towards women. They are both huge white supremacists which means they both believe that white people are superior to those of all other races. It’s a little scary to think that the modern-day Tom Buchanan is now president, and really makes you think how much has really changed since the 1920’s.
Wanting to be with her true love again, she sneaks visits with him without Tom knowing. Just like Myrtle had, Daisy torn into her own marriage. She loved both men, but as soon as it was found out, the men began fighting for her. “I glanced at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband…” (Fitzgerald 143). This isn’t what Daisy wanted at all. At some point Daisy loved Tom, and it’s very likely that she still does, regardless of all of his cheating. Living a life of riches for so long has affected her with affluenza, blinding her morals as it did to Tom. When someone already has everything they could ever ask for, they’re still going to want more. Something to work for, or else life becomes boring as Daisy points out many times in the novel. When both men she loves are threatening each other and fighting for her fondness she’s realized what she’s done wrong. She’s fallen into the same trap as Myrtle, being stuck between two men, but she still has feelings for Tom.“I saw them in Santa Barbara when they came back and I thought I’d never seen a girl so mad about her husband. If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say ‘Where’s Tom gone?’” (Fitzgerald 83). Gatsby tries to convince Daisy that she loves him and only him, yet Daisy actually loves them both. After Daisy was married she could think about anything except Tom, while Gatsby has spent the five
George, on the other hand, is not wealthy. He is a working class guy, that doesn’t have the financial resources that Tom has. George’s wife, Myrtle, wants more money and a higher social standing. She belittles George because of this and ends up in an affair with Tom, hoping he is the way to getting what she wants.
Myrtle. Daisy loves Tom. Gatsby loves Daisy. George loves Myrtle. It´s quite the romance. At
Tom realizes her desperate situation and takes total advantage of her. The clearest example of this is when Myrtle shouts Daisy’s name and Tom warns her not to say it again but Myrtle says Daisy's name anyway. Tom Buchanan in a “A short deft movement..., breaks her nose with his open hand.” Tom views her as not even being allowed to lick the dirt of his shoe. She is just another one of Tom’s possessions. Myrtle isn’t even allowed to say Daisy's name. He knows that she's in desperate situation. Tom is all she has and he knows this, he could do whatever he wants. He realizes that without her she will have to go back to George’s measly garage and she doesn't want that. Therefore Tom takes control of her desperation. Additionally, at the party, Catherine tells Nick that neither of them can stand the person they’re married to. They don't divorce and marry one another because Daisy is a Catholic. Nick knows that Tom is lying indicating to the reader, yet again, that Tom uses Myrtle for his own pleasure. She is nothing to him and he could do this because of Myrtle’s desperation. Another example in the novel is Mr. McKee asks Tom for a reference to be able to work in West Egg and Tom replies “Ask Myrtle,” said Tom, breaking into a short shout of laughter as Mrs. Wilson entered with a tray. “She’ll give you a letter of introduction, won’t you Myrtle?” She answers in confusion “Do what?” Tom is mocking her in front of
First off, Tom states, “And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 131). Tom thinks because he loves Daisy
Tom and George both show their treachery towards women on multiple occasions. Tom’s first physical violent act is towards Myrtle when she constantly says, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to!” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke
Daisy knows very well that tom is cheating on her, but doesn’t care because it's more convenient to stay in her unhappy marriage. Even though she wants to be with Gatsby, she wants to keep her social status and being with Tom makes this all the easier. Now, this is quite the opposite of Myrtle. She has a loving husband who would do anything for her, but her social status is all she cares about. Myrtle is willing to hurt George and ruin their marriage in order to climb up the social ladder. Neither of these women have respect for themselves. Both Daisy and Myrtle allow Tom to treat them
Throughout the novel, one of Tom 's biggest careless acts was when he cheated on Daisy. Tom is a cocky, confident man shown many times throughout the novel like when Nick arrived at his house and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch" (Fitzgerald 6). His stance showed his arrogance, and how highly he thought of himself because of his wealth. Tom was a man who often acted without thinking things through, like having an affair with Myrtle. Despite both Tom and Myrtle being married, they both had affairs. Tom doesn 't hide his affair from Nick and introduces him to his mistress Myrtle at Wilson 's garage. Tom doesn 't seem to care if anyone finds out because he feels as though nothing would change due to his wealth. While at Myrtle 's husbands garage, Tom tells Myrtle to meet him at the train station. They end up going to their apartment in New York City that they keep for their affair. While at the Morningside Height 's apartment Myrtle starts to talk about Tom 's wife Daisy, ""Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I 'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-"" (Fitzgerald 37). Tom didn 't like Myrtle overstepping her boundaries and to show
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 two characters are both married to a different man and woman. Tom is married to Daisy, and Myrtle is married to George. Another thing that shows Tom’s lack of morals is when he hits Myrtle at the party. “Tom broke her nose with his open hand” (40). Tom hit her because she kept shouting, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (41). First of all he doesn’t even feel gu...
Cinderella went through numerous challenges to get to her Prince Charming. Fortunately, for her, one of the things she did not endure was the competition of another woman. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby characters face hardships such as grief, stress, confusion, and even a lack of love. Some characters have an abundance of adoration, while others like Tom and Myrtle seem as if they should belong in a loveless world. As Tom begins to fix his attention on his mistress, Daisy finds herself falling for Gatsby all over again. On the other hand Wilson is abandoned and clueless. Ultimately Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby. As unfaithful, arrogant, and rude as Tom is to Daisy, is he full of love or just loveless?
George Wilson is the naïve husband to Myrtle Wilson, the woman having an affair with Tom Buchanan, who is the "brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen"(Fitzgerald 16) husband to Daisy Buchanan, the woman whom Jay Gatsby, the main character, is in love with: a very removed yet significant role in the story. Evidently playing the role of the common man, in a story revolving around wealth and possessions, George Wilson is the owner of an auto body shop and is described as a "spiritless man, anemic and faintly handsome"(29). Wilson's common man image helps to further develop the theme of Wilson is deeply in love with Myrtle to a point where he is paranoid of losing her. "`I've got my wife locked in up there,' explained Wilson calmly. `She's going to stay there till the day after tomorrow and then we're going to move away"(143).
Tom wanted the "possession" of Myrtle, Myrtle wanted Tom's "luxuries and wealth," and Daisy wanted Gatsby simply for his wealth. Both Tom and Daisy know each other's affairs, but neither one truly cares. As the story progresses, it seems as though each of them is trying to make the other jealous. Honesty and Love, two words known only by the faithful, George Wilson. George certainly had his flaws, but he loved his wife dearly and couldn't live without her. "He was his wife's man and not his own." When he became aware of Tom and Myrtle's affair, he was "really sick, pale as his own pale hair and shaking all over." He locked her up in fear that she would run away with Tom forever.
Myrtle is, as Daisy, impressed with Tom's wealth and appearance, but, like Jay Gatsby, is stuck in a fantastic, idealized perception of her object of affection. Even when abused and trampled over by Tom, Myrtle continues to adore him, just as Gatsby continues to dote upon Daisy after being obviously rejected by her. As far as ethical considerations, Gatsby tends to prove himself a sincere and caring person, while Daisy and Tom just destroy the lives of two people and then leave town to escape the consequences of their actions.