How Is Myrtle Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, an educated young man named Nick Carraway moves to New York in look for business, but then becomes fascinated by how the rich society lives. He strikes to live like his wealthy friends: his neighbor Jay Gatsby, his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. He becomes a bondsman while attending mansion parties, drinking and always celebrating without having to worry about what truly is going on in the rest of the world. Nonetheless, confronting the life style of these wealthy people makes him realize who they truly are. Gatsby, who has an affair with Daisy, is accused and murdered for running over Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, while it was truly Daisy’s fault. Tom, already angry enough at Daisy and Gatsby’s

One afternoon, after Gatsby has already been killed for Myrtle’s death, Nick finds Tom “…in his alert, aggressive way, his hands out a little from his body as if to fight off interference (Fitzgerald 178), proving Tom insecureness towards other people’s movements. With Tom’s “restless eyes” (Fitzgerald 178), as if he on a constant lookout for any threat sees Nick from the reflection of a window and holds out to shake hands with him; it asserts the he doesn’t see Nick as a threat. Nick denies his handshake, questioning what Tom told Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, about the accident. “He was crazy enough to kill me,” says Tom, “if I hadn’t told him who owned the car.” (Fitzgerald 178), Thought Tom emerges as a physically strong man, unharmed by any threat, he does share a vulnerable moments. Wilson’s actions when he had “his hand on a revolver in his pocket every minute he was in the house” (Fitzgerald 178), threatened Tom on the inside. Nonetheless, to hide his defenselessness, he states without any shame “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to

Nick knows Tom won’t ever take responsibility for his actions; he is just an uncaring person. By asserting, “I sat down and cried like a baby” (Fitzgerald 178), Tom begins to victimize himself when talking about Myrtle’s death. Tom also feels threatened that Nick might know something else, the truth. This threat appears not to be physical, but in fact metaphysical threat. It is evident that Tom still feels anger towards Gatsby and him getting away with other problems, such as his affair with Daisy. As Tom states “He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one” (Fitzgerald 178), it exemplifies his rancor towards Gatsby. Telling Wilson that the car that killed Myrtle was in fact Gatsby’s, for sure knowing it would bring Gatsby more trouble, makes Tom feel satisfaction. It proves Tom is just a careless and inconsiderate person. He who only cares about his own life; he does not want to feel threatened anything, remaining with all the