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The Great Gatsby Feminist Analysis

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In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is cheating on his wife, Daisy with his mistress Myrtle. In the relationship, Myrtle is using her sexuality to attract Tom and he abuses her by breaking her nose. A reader with a Marxist perspective and a feminist perspective may interpret this relationship differently. A Marxist perspective focuses on the struggle between the lower and upper class and the issues of power and money in literature. Readers with a Marxist perspective would look for the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. They would perhaps also look at the commodification of people, where people are taken advantage off. They might also focus on how social classes are represented and how they interact or conflict. A feminist perspective …show more content…

"I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out.” Tom feels like a victim because "Mr. Nobody" referring to Gatsby, is having an affair with Daisy, even though he takes mistresses himself. A feminist point of view might interpret this as Tom being a hypocrite, because he shows Myrtle off in public, but resents Daisy from being with Gatsby. In the second chapter Tom ends up breaking Myrtle’s nose after she shouts “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to Daisy! Dai-“. A reader with a Marxist perspective may interpret this situation as a way of the upper class showing dominance and controlling the lower class. A key point in Marxism is the eternal struggle between the upper class and the lower class. By hitting Myrtle, Tom gets full control over her, establishing his dominance. In order for Tom continuing to be apart in the upper class he must control and exploit the lower …show more content…

From a Marxist perspective their affair is a way for Tom to treat Myrtle as a commodity. While from a feminist perspective, it is acceptable for Tom to cheat on his wife. Tom’s abuse of Myrtle can be seen as a way for him to establish dominance over Myrtle from a Marxist perspective. While from a feminist perspective, Myrtle is Tom’s property that he can abuse. Myrtle’s use of her sexuality can be interpreted as a way for her to undermine the power disparity between their classes. However, from a feminist perspective she is trying to improve her status, through the use of her

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