ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Chapter 2 Analysis

464 Words2 Pages

The description in the opening paragraphs of Chapter 2 is appropriate to the total atmosphere of this chapter because it shows, by reusing the words “gray” and “ash”, that everyone is unhappy, sullen, and are not content with what they have. “The valley of ashes” shows how these people feel. The wealthy only care about themselves and doing extravagant things to make themselves happy. It also shows how people like George Wilson, who lives in the ashes, struggles to be able to get what he wants and does everything to make it happen. George Wilson believes that “the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg” are the eyes of God and that they are watching over him and all the poor. George thinks the eyes are judging him and all of the decisions he makes. …show more content…

Myrtle thinks that marrying him was mistake and she tries to get people to feel sorry for her since George had to borrow suit for their wedding. She seems to try to be justifying why she married him in the first place. As well she knows that Tom is not going to leave Daisy so she is not going to leave Tom.
Myrtle’s speech reveals her character by talking about the past and what she plans to do in the future. She also likes talking about what she has and doesn’t have and the stuff she wants. Myrtle wants a puppy and Tom gets her one right on the spot. Her husband borrowed a tuxedo for her wedding and she was very upset when she found out. She is happy based on what she has.
The scene in the New York apartment reveals that Tom has money and doesn’t care about spending it. He would buy anything for Myrtle if she wanted it: such as the dog. Money has no value for him. This also reveals how much Myrtle would like to be apart of the upper class but she isn’t, she is married to a poor man and stuck in a little house in the “valley of

Show More
Related

Myrtle Wilson: Looking For Superiority

162 Words | 1 Pages

Although Tom treats her like a dog, Myrtle continues to stay with him in order to achieve what she is looking for. Being around Tom will satisfy Myrtle as she’s able to experience superiority whenever she 's in his presence. This will satisfy her because she 's amoral.

Read More

How Does Fitzgerald Present Myrtle In The Great Gatsby

487 Words | 2 Pages

In New York they can appear together in public even with his acquaintances without worrying to cause a scandal. Myrtle feels that because she is having an affair with Tom she has the right to call him anytime as she wants to continue believing she is a part of the higher social class. She lets Tom bash her around as she feels better to be treated badly by a rich man than to be just cared for by a poor one. Myrtle believes that she is a part of the upper class crowd and continually tries to control the people that she is mingling with. Myrtle has no appreciation for George and often disrespects him in a way that shows she comes from a higher social status than him.

Read More

How Does Myrtle Influence The Great Gatsby

1197 Words | 5 Pages

She carries her full figured self to attract the eye of her lover. Myrtle is a foolish girl believing that the only reason Tom does not leave Daisy is because she is Catholic, which is far from the truth. “And I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head.” (Fitzgerald 36) Myrtle plays dumb when it comes to Tom having an interest in her when they first met on the train.

Read More

How Does Myrtle Use Love In The Great Gatsby

1498 Words | 6 Pages

Within the story, Myrtle Wilson Uses Love as a weapon to deceive both George and Tom for the purpose to gain for herself. When Myrtle, Tom, and Nick start strolling around the city, they encounter a man with a box of puppies that are worth 10 dollars each to where Myrtle asks the dealer “How much is it”? And Tom buying replying “Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it”(Fitzgerald 28). A prime example that Myrtle uses her love for Tom so she can gain access to buy rich accessories, dogs, or etc because unlike Tom, George is pretty poor, which indicates that he can’t use money to look cool or get pets because again, he can’t afford it.

Read More

How Is Myrtle Wilson Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

1316 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

Independence Of Women In The Great Gatsby

1075 Words | 5 Pages

From the start, Myrtle is born into poverty which automatically decreases her chances of attaining her American Dream. Although Myrtle’s options were limited in terms of building an empire for herself, she still managed to seek out men that could give her what she wanted. In chapter two, Fitzgerald introduces Myrtle in a way that demonstrates her bold confidence despite her lack of money and social status. Because of this, it catches Tom’s eye; he demonstrates a savior complex because she is below him in terms of wealth and status. Essentially, Myrtle falls out of love with men and falls in love with money.

Read More

How Does Myrtle Create Happiness In The Great Gatsby

747 Words | 3 Pages

Myrtle explains she only married Wilson because, “ I thought he was a gentleman, I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe.” (Fitzgerald 34). Myrtle's love for Tom is all based on wealth because Myrtle is happier with Tom due to Tom's money and how she can get anything she wants. In contrast to her current relationship with Wilson; who generates a very low income and cannot spoil Myrtle with any belongings, but only his love. Tom is able to make Myrtle happy with the only thing she cares about, Money.

Read More

What Is Myrtle's Opposition To Gatsby

627 Words | 3 Pages

In opposition to Gatsby, Myrtle is only trying to please one person­­­—herself. She feels stuck in her marriage to Wilson and desperately longs for an escape. When she stumbles into Tom on the train, she instantly knows he can help her attain her ideal life. Myrtle can be described as a gold digger. She showcases this through her actions: having an affair with a man who can give her a glamorous lifestyle.

Read More

Examples Of Alcoholism In The Great Gatsby

609 Words | 3 Pages

Tom’s altercation with Myrtle accentuates his hypocrisy and lack of self-control; while he doesn’t feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, he feels that he has the right to maintain his authority over Myrtle. In this same scene, Myrtle, who is also drunk, draws attention to the negative aspects of her personality.

Read More

Myrtle's Use Of Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

1168 Words | 5 Pages

Engaging in an affair with Tom shows that infidelity is no issue for Myrtle as she will do anything to get what she has always wanted: money and power. Through the eyes of her, pursuing money and power at the expense of infidelity is

Read More

Passage Analysis The Great Gatsby

309 Words | 2 Pages

This passage is taken from the first chapter of the classic novel The Great Gatsby. During this part of the novel Daisy Buchanan is talking to Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway about when her daughter was being born. She discovers that her baby is a girl and states that she “hope(s) she’ll be a fool” because “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world.” This quote shows how Daisy perceives what it is like to be a girl during the 20s. Although this quote does not relate directly to the themes presented within the novel, it is significant because it gives insight for the reader towards who Daisy is as a character.

Read More

Money And Power In The Great Gatsby Analysis

1149 Words | 5 Pages

Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.

Read More

Examples Of Elitism In The Great Gatsby

879 Words | 4 Pages

What she doesn't understand, in any case, is that Tom and his companions will never acknowledge her into their circle. (Notice how Tom has an example of picking lower-class ladies to lay down with. For him, their frailty makes his particular position considerably more prevalent. Strangy, being with ladies who seek to his class improves him feel about himself and enables him to sustain the dream that he is a decent and imperative man.) Myrtle is close to a toy to Tom and to those he speaks to.

Read More

Love And Desire In The Great Gatsby

1890 Words | 8 Pages

Myrtle was a “gold-digger”, but she also believed that he would genuinely love her and pick her over Daisy, even though Tom gave no indication of doing so. Like Daisy, breathed out wealth, Myrtle had breathed out vitality and sensuality, hoping for Tom to chose her as his love and for him to give her riches and luxury. As for Daisy, much like Myrtle, was also chasing both money and love, at different points in her life. Daisy, initially wanted love, and she displayed that, by first waiting for Gatsby and then once again when she was newly married with Tom. Over time, like with Myrtle, this dream of love evolved to of riches further on in her life.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Passage Analysis

951 Words | 4 Pages

In the last passage of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the reader gains insight into Gatsby’s life through the reflections of Nick Carraway. These reflections provide a summary of Gatsby’s life and also parallel the main themes in the novel. Through Fitzgerald’s use of diction and descriptions, he criticizes the American dream for transformation of new world America from an untainted frontier to a corrupted industrialized society. In the novel, Fitzgerald never mentions the phase “American Dream,” however the idea is significant to the story.

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Chapter 2 Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document