“Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. "These people! You have to keep after them all the time." (69)
The timeless classic novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows two complex characters; Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. It illustrates their seemingly everlasting love and the endless obstacles they individually face. Yet, Daisy is in a lifeless marriage with a man by the name of Tom Buchanan, who is extremely wealthy and is not so loyal himself. They live together on East Egg with one daughter, the two only separated by the dark secrets they hold from each other. Myrtle Wilson is Tom’s mistress who lives in the Valley of Ashes, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow…show more content… So now what? The modernist dilemma”, by Laura M. N. makes the claim that in the Great Gatsby the American Dream has gone wrong. It also states that there is a universal theme throughout the book illustrating how society has become a Godless Universe. Through the characters this is definitely apparent, especially when the poster of T.J. Eckleburg is addressed. This article sets up the idea of nihilism, that surrounds the theme of the book. Nihilism means the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. One character in particular, fits in with this writer's claim seamlessly; Myrtle…show more content… T.J. Eckleburg is mostly seen as representing godlessness or the loss of faith, but the eyes are a blue that are unchanged and see only color and such the destroyed town. This seems to represent the small hope for the American dream that is seemingly impossible to most. You don't just have to settle for grey, and then a town like the valley of ashes there's always a little hope of becoming something. Myrtle dreams of leaving the valley of ashes yet she has never been able to accomplish this dream. Her character in a way is much like Gatsby's. She did everything she could to expand her wealth, yet by the end of the book it becomes apparent that it just wasn't meant to be. With the strong belief in the American Dream, people wanted tangible things; wealth and parties. They would do the unthinkable to accomplish their underlying goal, whatever it may have been. It ended in each and every character feeling some sort of emptiness. There were different views on the American Dream. Myrtle for example wanted to obtain her wealth fast and did so by essentially ruining a marriage. She never was able to inherit the money she desired, but that might have been intentional. It seems there was a purpose as to why the author made Myrtle live in the Valley of Ashes. Myrtle was simply meant to be part of the lower class. She always dreamed of fulfilling her American Dream of being wealthy and living a luxurious life, but was never able to accomplish this dream. Even with her
