The two heroines being contrasted are Emily Grierson and Alice Kingsleigh. Emily Grierson truly wanted to get married and meet men, but while her father was alive, she was not permitted to socialize and meet men. “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away…” (Faulkner 4) Due to her father’s overprotectiveness, she did not know how to flirt with men, so when a fellow by the name of Homer came by, she fell in love with him knowing that he was not the marrying type. Instead of using her charms to win him over, she lost all confidence once her
The American Dream all the characters are chasing is ruined by reality of life. Gatsby dream involves him falling in love with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby feared that Daisy did not wait for him because he was not rich. That’s why Gatsby did crime to get rich. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan.
He cheats on her, and when she finds out, it seems he could not care less. But Daisy cannot even leave him because she is too scared, and has no one to run to. Through Daisy’s situation, Fitzgerald is expressing that even when people are treated horribly, they still rely on wealth and high status. Even in society today, we see people deteriorating because of their goals to meet society’s standards. The neglect from her husband causes Daisy to wilt, much like the flower if it were treated harshly.
The more money they had, the more admired and well looked upon their family was. There is evidence of this when Silas needs help deciding whether or not to sell the paint business at an unfair price to the English agents. She does not help him, and all she can do is shed tears because they are about to lose their only source of income. Furthermore, Persis is a great representation of an American woman who is not able to assist her husband when he needs help and guidance the most in his life. A different role that women play in the business enterprise is that of attaining wealth through social standards.
Myrtle Wilson and George Wilson try to find their American identity through wealth and status. Both of them do not like where they are living or how they are living so they do as much as possible to change their situations. Myrtle Wilson captures the quintessence of the American identity in the 1920’s by cheating on her husband with the wealthy, Tom Buchanan, thinking that she will gain riches. Myrtle then tries to act the part of a wealthy woman by dressing in nicer clothes because in the 1920’s, the clothing one wears, is synonymous to one success according to Jacqueline Herald. When Tom Buchanan first takes Nick Carraway to meet Myrtle she contains “no facet or gleam of beauty”(Fitzgerald 25), but as soon as she is about the city with Tom she buys a moving-picture magazine, ice cream, and a small flask of perfume.
Although, he is not in love with the Daisy’s personality, he is infatuated by her looks. One could say that he is in love with the illusion of daisy. The idea of her still being the same girl he left behind before going to war is the idea he obsesses over. He does not realize that he can not just pick up where he left off. When he returned to his beloved Daisy, she had broken her promise and married a wealthy man as well as had a child.
The green light at the end of Daisy's dock represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Daisy and Tom’s marriage is proof of the fall of the American dream. Even though they belong to the West Egg social group and have a lot of wealth, they are unhappy. Tom and Daisy are both unsatisfied with life and are searching for something better. For example, Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle.
Then there is Myrtle who also comes from the low-middle class but her desperation to be rich is so big, she ends up having an affair with Tom. Myrtle seems to distance herself from her morals and values and cheats on her husband for her to be able to have the lifestyle that she wants, if only for a little while. But what she doesn’t realize is that she will never be accepted into the circle of people with money. Tom is only using her to feel powerful and admired by a woman, who is desperate to have him and what he has, which makes him feel better about himself, but that’s something she will never notice, but instead she tries to act
He cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'"(pg. 110) says Gatsby himself. Even though Daisy is married and has a family of her own, Gatsby believes that she will go back to him. As crazy as it sounds, he really thinks that just because he is now rich, him and Daisy will get back together like they were in the past.
Because Eliza is jealous of Georgiana, she prevents Georgiana from eloping with the man she loves. And that’s why they hate each other. Both of Misses Reed are selfish, they don't care about their mother's illness or death. While Mrs. Reed is suffering from her deteriorating health, Georgiana feels bored and wishes if her aunt who lives in London invites her to their home, and Eliza is busy in planning for her life after her mother's death. When Mrs. Reed dies Jane says, "Neither of us had dropped a tear."