ipl-logo

Sacrifice In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

693 Words3 Pages

“Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out, even to the edge of doom.” These words were said by famous playwright William Shakespeare in Sonnet 116. Selfless protagonists in literature will make sacrifices regardless of their consequences for what they strive to achieve or for who they’re captivated by. In the infamous American novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores how making sacrifices for what you know is wrong won’t always lead to success through his characterization of Jay Gatsby, the symbolism of Myrtle and Tom adopting a dog, and his use of dramatic irony in the deaths of his two major characters Myrtle and Gatsby. Jay Gatsby marches forward to give up his reputation, time, and eventually, his life …show more content…

Myrtle Wilson, a wife living in the lower class living in the Valley of Ashes, complains about being married to George WIlson; he’s not characterized as a “larger-than-life” person, and it is exactly why she plans on leaving her marriage to pursue a glamorous life with Tom Buchanan. Myrtle expresses, “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.” (27). Living in the 1920s, women were chastised and shunned for leaving their marriages, and having Myrtle Wilson be so willing to start a new one with Tom, a man who’s reckless and doesn’t mind being spotted with multiple women at once, displays her largest of sacrifice of her livelihood and reputation for wealth. Furthermore, it becomes clear that Myrtle is attempting to domesticate the relationship that she established with Tom Buchanan. The dog that Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson adopt together symbolizes the future that they would have shared as well as a second life that they both agreed to lead behind their partners’ backs. Buchanan mourns her death, expressing, “And if you think I didn’t have my share of suffering — look

Show More
Related
1472 Words | 6 Pages

George Wilson is Myrtle’s ideal husband in that he is oblivious to her affairs and focused on his garage business. His unawareness allows Myrtle to take advantage of him, and escape reality through her affair with Tom Buchanan. When Tom visits the Wilson home, both Myrtle and him deceive George into believing Tom’s intentions include business inquiries. Nick describes Myrtle to be “walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” as she tells George to “‘get some chairs … so somebody can sit down”’ (26).

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

A person's values say a lot about them, but what they are willing to sacrifice says even more. Jay Gatsby is known in the literary world for a variety of reasons. In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby values something that seems very foreign to most people. He did not value life experiences, a collection of cards, or the fact he did not live on a farm. Gatsby valued the possibility of love.

Read More
1920 Words | 8 Pages

Myrtle downright ignores her own husband, “walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” and approaching Tom with a smile on her face (Fitzgerald 25-26). Though Myrtle and her husband have been married for a long time, Myrtle never got the money and status she wanted. As soon as she met Tom, all she could see was the money that surrounded him. In fact, she even changed her clothes around Tom, “attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room” (Fitzgerald 30). Myrtle often tries to come off richer than she is, proven by her various outfit changes in a small party where she wants to “prove herself a woman of Daisy's status through a melange of color, fashion, and commodities” (Goldsmith).

Read More
677 Words | 3 Pages

The majority of people put their lives on the line to achieve the American Dream. As if without having to have the American Dream come true, their life would seem meaningless. However, little do they know the sacrifices they would face in their pursuit of this idolized lifestyle.

Read More
1482 Words | 6 Pages

Myrtle, as a woman of the 1920’s, should be a paragon of feminism and independence, however, she is used by Fitzgerald in order to show how unrealistic these ideals truly are. As a lower-class female living in the valley of the ashes, Myrtle has no chance of achieving the goals of the ‘new woman’ of the 1920s, and consequently, must try to gain upward mobility by seducing Tom Buchanan. She believes that as his mistress she will be able to overcome the barriers between her lower-class life and her upper-class dreams, but in the end, Tom only treats her as a glorified pet he can treat however he wants. This is seen when Tom, “[breaks Myrtle’s] nose with his open hand.” P.g.30.

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

George Wilson, a poor car mechanic had been lucky enough to marry a “stunning women” like Myrtle, and he refused to let her leave. He would have given up a part of his life if Myrtle had left, leaving him with the title of a selfish man. He didn’t care whether or not Myrtle was happy, he just wanted her with him at all times. Tom on the other hand had a different perspective on life, but he still was a selfish man. He had been associated with a numerous amount of affairs, and still felt as though it was Daisy’s fault for her wanting to leave him.

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

This quote emphasizes the extreme lengths that Tom is willing to go to manipulate Myrtle and her feelings to have her believing that he loves her and wants to be with her but can’t because his wife is religious, which is a total lie. In addition Tom also manipulates Myrtle physically. “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 32). Tom punches Myrtle when she doesn’t stop saying his wife’s name. This shows that level of self-control that Tom does not have and that he thinks that taking his anger out on a person is ok.

Read More
1479 Words | 6 Pages

Self-sacrifice is the act of forsaking one's personal interests or well-being for the sake of others. When we love someone, we place the other person's interests and needs before our own as we prioritise their happiness over our own. Hence, loving someone truly requires self-sacrifice. This essay will be looking at The Great Gatsby, authored by F S Fitzgerald, and Cartagena, authored by Nam Le. There are several instances in which an individual self-sacrifices in the interests of another person they love and care for.

Read More
696 Words | 3 Pages

Myrtle Wilson’s husband is named George Wilson, unfortunately, she is miserable being married with him. She is having an affair with Tom, “There is always a halt there of at least a minute and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress.” (Fitzgerald ## ) Nick Carraway implies that Myrtle is having an affair with Tom. Myrtle married George Wilson because she thought that he had money so she married him, later she discovered that he is not wealthy and married Myrtle with a borrowed suit. She feels better that she cheats on him with Tom Buchanan.

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

In a book about a tragic love story, one would not expect to find a deeper meaning behind the dangers of jealousy or peril of lust. However, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a deeper meaning beyond jealousy and love. In The Great Gatsby, the author uses an empathetic storyline as a symbol to unwittingly give a complex depiction of the nuisance that people create that not only destroy our world but our society and gives warning to what will occur if we continue the path of destruction. With this intention, the brilliant opinionated writer, expressed his opinion through symbols such as the characters he uses, the setting the story takes place in, and the objects he uses in the book.

Read More
464 Words | 2 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, a man with recently acquired wealth, tries to win over Daisy Buchanan, a married woman from Gatsby’s past, with money. Gatsby sacrificed plenty of his wealth on a big home across the bay from Daisy where he could see a green light coming from a dock across the bay from his house. Gatsby would spend thousands of dollars throwing extravagant parties to try to get her attention, hoping one day she would attend them. Later in the book, Gatsby shows off his fancy cars and silk shirts to Daisy, which impresses her, to the point where she starts to cry. The wealth in The Great Gatsby sacrificed is consistent in Destino by a woman, who is the main character of the film.

Read More
1052 Words | 5 Pages

Although the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the parties and prosperity of the American 1920's, it reveals many major characters meeting tragic ends. The characters who meet these ends - Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson - possess the same tragic characteristic: they endeavor for something more out of their lives than what they have. This ambition for what they could not have ultimately spelled their doom: Gatsby wanted money and Daisy; Myrtle wanted wealth and luxury, and sought it from Tom Buchanan; Wilson earned what he could only to please Myrtle. The Great Gatsby reveals a tragic nature through the trials and tribulations these characters endure to progress and prosper, only to receive death for their ambition. The exciting and wild time period of the "Roaring Twenties" provides a stark contrast to the deaths in order to further highlight the tragic nature of the novel, and leaves a theme that even those with the most hope and strong ambitions can fail and die miserably, no matter how much money they have.

Read More
600 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream is an emphasis on hope and devotion, but the cause of great sacrifice. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a world where the American Dream comes with many sacrifices. This story is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway. Nick is the neighbor of Jay Gatsby and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan. As well as his sacrifices in pursuing wealth and high social status otherwise perceived as the American Dream.

Read More
2003 Words | 9 Pages

The theme of carelessness represented by Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan is crucial for the development of the plot of this novel. Myrtle Wilson is a prime example of carelessness within the novel. She knows that Tom is a married man, and is very violent, yet, she continues to see him. Myrtle is focused on what

Read More
997 Words | 4 Pages

Tom is married to Daisy Buchanan and the only reason why they have not divorced is because, Daisy is a catholic and “catholics do not believe in divorce”(37). However, Myrtle is married as well to George Wilson, which she is not happy to be with and is having an affair with Tom. The only difference is that Tom has always had an affair with multiple women which shows that he may not even be taking Myrtle as serious as she is towards him. For example, according to the story, “ Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. Myrtle shouts, Daisy!

Read More

More about Sacrifice In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Related Topics

Open Document