Difference Between Tom Buchanan And Myrtle In The Great Gatsby

Throughout our lives, we are constantly told to chase our dreams. Although an amazing motivational method, there are some people whose dreams can result in the destruction of themselves or of others. The Great Gatsby is a novel written in 1925 by Francis Scott Fitzgerald about a man named Jay Gatsby and his quest to reconnect with past lover, Daisy Buchanan. Although this seems like a simple fairy tale of two lost lovers, when looking into their lives and those around them, a darker, more sinister theme comes to light; using other people in a negative way in order to achieve their goals.
One way that the characters use each other is to gain a higher social standing. Evident in the novel is the difference between the social standing of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. For Myrtle, by having this relationship with Tom, she is given an insight to the luxury of having vast amounts of money. Alongside this, when Tom “broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 39) she didn’t make a big fuss and continued the relationship as though it never occurred. She is in an abusive relationship which

Throughout the novel there is constant evidence of her lying and cheating to get ahead of others. Evidence of this is found on page 58 where Nick discusses her first big gold tournament. The way the accusation of her moving the ball was so readily dismissed by witnesses gives a strong sense of manipulation, power and greed. With her cheating and lying, it shows that it is her pushing herself up to be better than others. She is making these choices to get ahead of the other competitors and to reach the top however, just as Myrtle’s actions had consequences, so did Jordan’s. As she chose to deceit others, she forfeited having much of a friendship circle. The only people we know her to interact with on a somewhat regular basis are Nick, Gatsby, Daisy and Tom, however, her relationship with them even seems