Compare and Contrast: Daisy and Myrtle in 'The Great Gatsby'

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott. Fitzgerald explores the lives of adults in American society and the pursuit of their dreams. In order to represent several themes that are portrayed in the novel, the author displays two of the main characters: Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson to show some of the similarities and differences of the lives of Americans and the desires people had during the roaring twenties. The similarities are shown as both of the characters are not living their happiest life and are both unrealistic and selfish. However, the differences are shown from their appearances, their status in the society and the huge gap between the amount of wealth they obtain, which makes them have their own version of the American Dream. Hence, the novel gives opportunity to compare and contrast Daisy and Myrtle contrasting characteristics.

Characters Portrayal: Compare and Contrast Daisy and Myrtle

Myrtle and Daisy are both portrayed as unhappy women because of their marriage in the novel. Myrtle lives in the valley of ashes, “where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke” with her husband, George Wilson who runs the automotive repair shop. She is living a depressing life in her poor surroundings and she blames her husband for the desperate situation she is living in. She marries George because she thought “he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe' and extremely regrets her decision as “the only crazy I [she] was was when I [she] married him.” Similarly, Daisy is portrayed as an unhappy woman due to her marriage with Tom Buchanan but for a slightly different reason since she doesn’t worry about her wealth as Tom’s “family were enormously wealthy even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach'. However, Daisy is searching for a man that could truly take care of her and her future (her American Dream) and she believes that Tom isn’t the right person, as he continuously cheats on her despite the fact that they are married. However, she needs Tom for his money, their daughter, Pammy and for her position in the society. Thus, Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan are both not living the happiest life due to their marriage.

This leads to another comparability that Myrtle and Daisy have: They are both selfish and unrealistic. First, they both have an affair with someone else: Myrtle with Tom and Daisy with Gatsby, which is a selfish and immoral act to do when married to another man. Myrtle believes that only money can release her from the desperate life she is living in. Therefore, Myrtle goes out with Tom, who has an uncountable amount of money from his family. Myrtle dates Tom mostly for his money and all the luxurious jewelry he can get for her. She has more opportunities to have fancy parties and generally pretend to be a rich woman when she’s spending Tom’s money, which fulfills her selfish desires. Additionally, she doesn't consider George’s feelings when she's constantly cheating on him, going to New York and other places with Tom every time. Myrtle is also very unrealistic as she thinks that Tom would marry her, only if he never married Daisy. She claims that Daisy is “a Catholic, and they don't believe in divorce.” But the truth is, “Daisy was not a Catholic, and I [Nick] was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie.” Myrtle thinks Tom loves her when, in reality, Tom treats her almost like an object. Likewise, Daisy has an affair with Gatsby, as Gatsby’s her first love and she is tired of the way Tom treats her. Her self-centeredness is shown as she didn’t wait for Gatsby when they first met and decided to marry a rich family instead. Throughout the novel, Gatsby and Daisy reunite and she enjoys her romantic relationship with him, but when he takes her feelings seriously and faces Tom by saying 'She's never loved you. She loves me”, Daisy confronts Gatsby saying “Oh, you want too much! She cried to Gatsby.” Daisy couldn’t lose Tom’s position and it seems like she just used Gatsby to fulfill her loveless life. Daisy is unrealistic about her relationship with Gatsby since she thinks Gatsby as more of her past and her enjoyment for just the moment while giving Gatsby the false hope of having Daisy in his future.

In contrast, the most obvious difference between Daisy and Myrtle are their looks. Daisy is described to be “lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth' while Myrtle is referred to be “in the middle thirties, and faintly stout”. The novel illustrates Daisy as a glamorous and attractive woman while it describes Myrtle as overweight and no gleam of beauty. Beginning from their distinct difference in their appearance, the novel shows the difference in their status in society. Daisy grew up in a wealthy family and is continuously rich from marrying Tom while Myrtle did not grow up in the most fitting environment and is married to a poor man. Daisy doesn’t worry about wealth as she’s provided with a lot of money, whereas, Myrtle desires for wealth and jewelry that she can never have in her possession because of her socio-economic status in the society. Due to this, Myrtle can only pretend to be a rich woman around Tom, for example, in the first party in New York. Thus, this guides to the different American Dreams they have. Daisy and Myrtle yearn for different achievements. Daisy desires for a true love that can fulfill her loveless life, on the other hand, Myrtle is desperate for money and a higher status in society. This makes the two of them have their own version of the American Dream. Myrtle’s American Dream is to have a stable, comfortable life like Daisy’s while Daisy’s American Dream is to have someone that can complete her love life. However, both of them couldn't achieve their dreams, as Myrtle got hit by Daisy and Daisy left the town with Tom after Gatsby’s death.

Conclusion

All in all, Daisy and Myrtle contribute to the novel, to a large extent, as they represent the successful, yet tragic American lives during the roaring twenties. By comparing and contrasting these two main characters it shows, either rich or poor, that there are always aspects of being unhappy, having selfish longings, and have unrealistic goals in their life. However, due to the huge wealth gap between these characters, they clearly have different dreams they want to attain, just like every American yearning to achieve different types of dreams in their life.