How Does Myrtle Change In The Great Gatsby

In the book, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fiztgerald explores Roaring ‘20s American society through the lens of contrasting characters on different ends of the social hierarchy spectrum. Post WWI, the Roaring ‘20s was a decade of mass consumerism and urbanization, therefore leading to profound social change among all classes. The most significant representation of the elite class are Daisy & Tom Buchanan who come from old money, while Gatsby, who could be considered new money, had to climb the social ladder and inevitably met his downfall. Myrtle emulates the urban working class- striving to escape poverty in an era where elitism runs throughout every strata of society. F. Scott Fitzgerald's emphasis on character values and behaviors expresses

Fitzgerald utilizes character behaviors to contrast different characters, therefore making a statement about the rich and poor characters of The Great Gatsby. With the characters of Daisy and Myrtle, the color white is always attached to Daisy, picturing her as pure and heavenly, her voice is like silk; she's an angel that could never possibly do anything wrong. Meanwhile, Myrtle is characterized as blatantly obnoxious and narcissistic, and a desperate social climber. Myrtle shouts at her supposed ‘inferiors’, “I told that boy about the ice.” Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. “These people! You have to keep after them all the time” (Fitzgerald, pg. 30). Myrtle makes herself seem like someone more important and looked after than she actually is. Her obnoxiousness and arrogance in her actions show how snobby is for someone with “fake social prestige”. This clashes with Daisy’s classiness and elegance - especially as someone with real high social prestige. Myrtle's efforts to move up the social ladder is shown through her attempt at an extravagant house party, and her impression on her guests. She's motivated by her strong desire for wealth and status, while someone like Daisy

It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald, pg. 179). Meanwhile, the elite are protected from any struggle, and seem to always succeed “...of the very rich without their protective armor of wealth. The thirst for money is a crucial motive in Gatsby as in Fitzgerald's other novels, and yet none of his major characters are materialists, for money is never their final goal. The rich are too accustomed to money to covet it. It is simply the badge of their "superiority" and the justification of their consuming snobberies. For those who are not very rich--for the Myrtle Wilsons as well as the Jay Gatsbys it is the alchemic reagent that transmutes the ordinary worthlessness of life” (Ornstein, pg. 140). The established wealth that the elite class has provides a sense of security and safety for them. With this money, they’re protected more than the lower class, even more than those who are attempting to/become successful because they obtain that safety net of wealth that runs in the family. The elite class can act as carelessly as they please, and it's justified because they’re superior to those below them and upper class. This