Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Sociology and human behavior
Sociology and human behavior
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
From early civilizations to modern day social systems, economic status has always been a determining factor of power. Kings, queens, dukes, princes, and princesses possessed the greatest amount of wealth and thus the greatest amount of power over others. By having large amounts of wealth, royalty could control the actions of others below their economic status. This fact even applies the functions of modern American society. For instance, regardless of the specific circumstance, wealthy individuals have power over the actions of those below them. They control others by buying their loyalty or simply through others’ envy of them. Such principles can be applied to both men and women of wealth. The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, …show more content…
Myrtle Wilson came from a working class family with a low social standing. Due to her family’s lack of money, Myrtle’s options were limited to marrying men of equal or lower economic status than herself. As a result, Myrtle married George Wilson, a poor car mechanic. In her relationship with George, Myrtle lacked control due to her status as a woman and was thus forced to listen to her husband. However, because of her lower status, Myrtle did learn to use her physical attributes to her own advantage. In other words, Myrtle knew how to exaggerate her physical beauty in order to attract men such as Tom Buchanan; who would pay her with money and expensive gifts in return. Thus, “there is a clear connection between the material disadvantages” Myrtle faced and her lack of morals; given “the paucity of her allotment of the fundamental decencies” (Voegeli). In other words, because of her lack of economic backing, Myrtle Wilson grew up as a woman of lower class with less options in life; which limited her social power and drove her to act unlike any high class lady. Thus, Myrtle’s only option for increasing her status was through material services such as her relationship with Tom Buchanan. All in all, Myrtle Wilson’s economic status limited her to the life of a low class woman and her power others in her
In the book Great Gatsby there are many examples of society and social class, many are shown to us as the book progresses. Some are shown to us very up front while, others are hidden in the text. Society and social class play a critical part in this book such as how people interact with the lower classes, to how the rich live their lives. When we look deeper into on how the Great Gatsby handles sociality and social class, which puts the characters in the positions they are in.
Myrtle eventually had similar goals as Gatsby, but her life did not begin the same way. She was of the lower class of society and married a simple man. The two pursued a poor life, but Myrtle’s husband George was a decent man. Nevertheless, Myrtle became unsatisfied, and when the opportunity arose to better the quality of her life, she took it. Daisy’s husband Tom, an unfaithful, rough man not very committed to his marriage, began an affair with Myrtle.
Many of the occurrences in The Great Gatsby produced far-reaching effects for several of the characters. Of these occurrences, one of the most influential and important incidents was the death of Myrtle Wilson. While her life and death greatly affected the lives of all of the main and supporting characters, her death had a very significant effect on the lives of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby.
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides some excellent examples of power. Many characters in this book that are continually going through a power struggle which, in the end, shows the true nature of power and what it is. The character Jay Gatsby is a prime example found in this book. Gatsby is young and considerably wealthy resident of West Egg (West Egg is an area where people are new to wealth and East Egg is old money. The residents of East Egg have grown up in luxury and are very materialistic.). Every Saturday evening, Jay Ga...
Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, on the surface appear to be centered around the struggle for political power, and selfish goals; however under analysis show a deeper meaning of family and love. Money means nothing without the family to share and benefit from it, the Buchanans use their wealth or protect their young daughter, the Lannisters use their wealth to protect their sons and daughter. Family means everything in these novels, and the family name and dynasty means more than anything to them. Both Fitzgerald and Martin have created scenarios of betrayal, deception and lust for power, but these seemingly dark themes are for a more personally just goal, protecting the family
Myrtle Wilson, a gaudy woman, with great social aspirations, is from the dull Valley of Ashes. She is shallow and judges people based solely on their appearance. While travelling on the train, Myrtle sees Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man, from East Egg. She immediately takes note of his “dress suit” and “patent leather shoes.” Tom’s clothing catches Myrtle’s attention right away. The dress shirt and patent leather shoes signify value, being made from good quality materials. Judging by appearance, She recognizes Tom’s supremacy through his clothing, which Myrtle is drawn to. Myrtle, “couldn’t keep [her] eyes off him,” on the train. She is in awe of Tom, as he replicates the person she aspires to be. Myrtle’s shallow behavior is clearly seen, as she
Tom speaks and acts very hypocritically. His harsh words towards Daisy about the affair made many people come to know him as degrading, so they avoided speaking to him if they could. Although he failed at accomplishing his American Dream, Tom bullies the people who he thinks keep him from getting closer to achieving his idea of a perfect life. Myrtle Wilson fell victim to the thought of joining the group of high-class people she always wanted to be a part of. Her American Dream did not differentiate from most people in the roaring twenties, she wanted to be high in social status and obtain great wealth.
The division of social classes has been an issue since before recorded history. From the revolts against the upper class in the French Revolution, to the more recent Occupy Wall Street movements, people are almost always trying to improve their social standings. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the clash between social classes in the 1920’s, mainly the areas of West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, is a pivotal theme in the book; driving the characters’ actions and goals throughout the course of the novel.
Myrtle Wilson is the “gold digger” for the reason that she was Tom’s mistress for the reason that he had tons of money. “The only crazy I was when I married him. He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.” (Fitzgerald 39). This quote shows how Myrtle found out that the guy she married did not have a great deal of money after all. All she wants is to be wealthy. When she married her husband, Mr.Wilson, she found out he wasn't rich, and that he borrowed his suit that he wore to their wedding. Afterward, Myrtle cried, indicating that she had hopes of marrying someone with lots of money, and a high social position. She would like Tom to divorce and marry her so she then could have nicer things, and feel elevated in her social position. Myrtle believes herself to be upper class, due to the fact that she is around a very rich man. When Myrtle asks for extra ice in their room and does not receive it right away, she says, “‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time.’” (Fitzgerald 36). She addresses the room servant as lower class, even though she lives in a exceedingly poor area and has a low social standing. She believes herself to sound sophisticated, when she is surely a vulgar, cheating wife. This statement from Myrtle addresses the struggle of class in this era. Money and wealth meant power, so if you had neither, you were considered useless and irrelevant. Myrtle was in denial with this reality and she would not let go of her chance of being wealthy. Myrtle thinks that acting like a snob makes her sound fancy, but it just makes her sound even more like herself: a vulgar, common, cheating woman. In the second chapter, Myrtle expresses how she feels about her husband George Wilson. “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman,” she said finally. “I thought he knew something about
In the movie the great Gatsby we are made familiar with the lavish lives of 1920’s New York. We see how money can corrupt a person. We see how people get influenced by money and can also see how their lives get controlled by money. In this movie we can see how money influences different characters. Unfortunately the effects of excessive wealth can be damaging because it makes characters with selfish, arrogant and makes them picky to choose their social circle or friends.
The want for an extravagant life is the thing that draws Myrtle into having an unsanctioned romance with Tom. This choice damages her marriage with George, which prompts her demise and loss of genuine joy. Myrtle has the expectation and want for an impeccable, well off and renowned sort life. She appreciates perusing tattle magazines which speak to her desire for the life of "the rich and well known". This shows how the one reason she needs to be with Tom, is on account of he speaks to the life of "the rich and acclaimed". At the point when Myrtle initially got hitched to George Wilson, she suspected that she was wild about him and believed that they were cheerful being as one. Myrtle says, "The main insane I was the point at which I wedded
“Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we get become; and the same is true of fame.” This profound statement by Arthur Schopenhauer denotes humanity’s desire for wealth, and the never ending descent into an ocean of heedless thinking. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that shines light on the enticing lives of the wealthy and the pitiful lives of the poor. Fitzgerald demonstrates both the lengths that people are willing to go for money and the dastardly consequences that go along with those questionable decisions. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, wealth and the desire for more wealth perpetuate careless and neglectful actions. The character Jordan Baker is facetious and a fraud, while Myrtle Wilson
Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto, theorized that people think and behave based on economic factors. Marx contemplated that people with large amounts of wealth and in the upper social class influenced and controlled those of the lower classes. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, these Marxist issues are very prevalent, as the book is focused on this greed and hierarchy of the upper class. Even though Fitzgerald may not have meant for it to be, The Great Gatsby is a commentary and warning of excess and the dangerous influence of the upper class.
All started with the affairs with the wealthy Tom Buchanan. After meeting Tom, a true desire of hers is to be wealth and in the upper class. “He had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him.” When Myrtle talked about Tom to her sister she described him designated with his clothing. She was so drawn up on the fact that she was having an affair with Tom and never really wanted to be with her husband Mr. Wilson. Her poor decisions of having an affair with Tom had made her obsessed with wanting to be wealthy like the Buchanans. “Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change.” Myrtle changes her dress because she knew that Tom was coming over. She changed her outfit for Tom to make him think she is richer than she actually is. Myrtle is obsessed with trying to be wealthy and of a higher class so she tries to prove it to Tom with her clothing and decor in her home. Tom makes the poor decisions to have an affair with Myrtle and makes her think she is something that she will never
From her affair with a married man and the attempts to raise herself up to another societal level, she exemplifies the ageless middle class struggle of trying to elevate oneself from a current status. Myrtle’s desires to surpass her daily life manifests itself in the drastic transformation which occurs once she arrives in New York with Tom and Nick, “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,” (30). Myrtle assumes an air of sophistication as a way to gain respect and an appearance of an affluent member of society. In her pursuit of the American Dream, she must denounce her former life, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman… he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe,” (34). Myrtle ignores the work her husband does so that, in their own way, they might achieve the American Dream. Nevertheless, Myrtle’s materialism and hunger for conspicuous success shatter the foundation of her relationship with her husband.