How Is Myrtle Wilson Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

Alan Benitez
Ms. Johnson
English 101
January 25, 2018
Inferiority of Women in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby consists of characters who are living the American Dream in the 1920’s. The only problem is that men are making all the money and supporting the lavish lifestyles and if that is the case, then what are women doing in all this? Throughout the novel we are met with three female characters: Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker. Daisy is a beautiful and charming women but is also presented to be shallow and fake. She makes it obvious that she is only interested in wealth and materialistic objects. Myrtle is portrayed to be foolish and adulterous who leaves her husband George for Tom Buchanan because of his wealth. She is

They are the ones who have worked for wealth while women are in the position of being there for the satisfaction of men. We see this with Daisy Buchanan, a prominent character. She comes from a wealthy family and is married to Tom Buchanan who is also a wealthy figure in this story. They live on East Egg, an island which is home to a group of wealthy people otherwise known as the “old rich.” Daisy’s social position has always been positive throughout her life. She was a young debutante in Louisville and was popular with the military officers near her home due to her wealth and beauty. Among these officers was Jay Gatsby, who was deceptive with Daisy by convincing her that he came from a wealthy family in order to win her over. Being successful in convincing Daisy, she promised that she would wait for Gatsby after his return from war. She, however, married Tom Buchanan, a handsome young man that could give her a rich lifestyle. A rich lifestyle is all that Daisy desires and feels as if she has achieved this in the marriage with Tom as well as being respected within the high social circles. However, she knows that her husband has been unfaithful to her with a mistress and instead of confronting Tom she continues to act like she is incognizant of his infidelity. She does this because she is aware of women’s role in society. In the eyes of men, women are expected to accept what happens around them and act like they do not

Much like Daisy, she is foolish and adulterous. Her social status was not as flawless as Jordan’s or Daisy’s. She lived with her husband George in the Valley of Ashes, a desolate land covered in the filth of industrial ashes. She was miserable with her life due to not being rich and was extremely jealous of Daisy Buchanan. She regrets marrying George because she believed that he was rich but was mistaken and shows just how shallow she is. She aspires for wealth and privilege which leads her to have an affair with Tom. She seeks to gain riches and a higher social status in being with someone such as him all while ignoring and belittling her husband. Her relationship with Tom made her highly inferior. Tom would abuse her and see her as an object of desire that he could control. Myrtle, being the foolish women that she was, continued to remain in the relationship just so she could escape her lower status and in hopes of becoming wealthy. She believed that Tom would leave Daisy for her but she was naive to believe so. Her lack of sympathy is clearly seen throughout the novel due to her adulterous act in her poor attempt for personal gain that would eventually lead to her