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Puja Shah

Professor Jeffery Lawrence

Principles of Literary Study

25 October 2020

Relationships vs Class

The American Dream was the essence of the 1920s. It was the belief that anyone would

be able to attain whatever they would have wanted through hard work. People began to see the

possibility to live a wealthier lifestyle without any possible obstacles standing in their way. They

began to care a great deal about where they were in terms of social rank, but they were oblivious

to its downfalls. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, talks about the American

society in the 1920s through one of his characters, Nick Carraway. Throughout the novel, readers

come across many characters who are in different relationships, but do not get married by the

end. By way of these characters and relationships, Fitzgerald describes and criticizes the various

societal shortcomings that he brings to light. One affair he uses to prove his point is Tom and

Myrtle. In the 1920s, people in the lower part of the hierarchy were shown to be focused on

obtaining a higher social status, while people in the higher part were shown to be using their

power in hiding their flaws or imperfections. Tom and Myrtle’s relationship is a perfect example

in which the American society is portrayed as a classist society.

One of the main reasons that factors in why both Tom and Myrtle decided to be engage in

an extramarital affair is the fact that they were both in an unhappy marriage, Tom with Daisy and

Myrtle with George. Tom and Daisy Buchanan is one of the unhappy married couples that the

readers are introduced to in this novel. They both come from a wealthy family background and

live in East Egg, where everything is so fashionable and luxurious. Everyone seems to know that
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they are putting up an act of being a perfect married couple even though they find out that he is

having an extramarital affair with another married woman, Myrtle. Myrtle and George is the

second unhappy married couple that Fitzgerald introduces into the story. The major problem this

couple is facing is that both of them come from and are living in a middle-class lifestyle, in

which George likes to think about where and how he is going to spend his money and Myrtle

wants to spend all their money recklessly in order to attain a sense of luxury that she has always

wanted. In order to escape their somewhat torturous marriage lives, both Tom and Myrtle

decided to be in a committed relationship despite being married to their respective partners. As

the author writes,

“‘Neither of them can stand the person they’re married to.’

‘Can’t they?’

‘Can’t STAND them.’ She looked at Myrtle and then at Tom. ‘What I say is, why go on

living with them if they can’t stand them? If I was them I’d get a divorce and get married

to each other right away.’ ‘Doesn’t she like Wilson either?’” (p.37, Chapter 2)

The author’s use of the phrase “can’t stand them” goes on to show how much they despise being

in their unhappy marriages. They would not have decided to be a part of this affair if they felt

that their marriages can take a turn towards a happy ending. As the novel goes on to show, Tom

and Myrtle’s affair is a result of the classist ideology in the 1920s American society.

Through Myrtle’s marriage with George, she realized that she was never able to have a

higher standard of living. But she was able to see a glimpse of the luxurious lifestyle through her

relationship with Tom. As stated before, Myrtle has always wished to live an extravagant upper-

class lifestyle. She was ashamed and embarrassed to be married to a working- class man. All that

she could think about was ways of how she can move up the social ladder. During a party at
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Myrtle’s apartment, she says “‘The only CRAZY I was was when I married him. I knew right

away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told

me about it, ... ‘She really ought to get away from him,’ resumed Catherine to me. ‘They’ve been

living over that garage for eleven years. And Tom’s the first sweetie she ever had.’” (p. 39,

Chapter 2). Through this conversation, the readers are able to realize that Myrtle once did love

her relationship with her husband, but things might have soured since. Myrtle seems extremely

eager to leave George and wants to head towards a better lifestyle. The only way that would be

possible is through Tom. As the readers come to know in the beginning of the book, Tom is a

wealthy man and much higher than George in terms of social status. Tom showering Myrtle with

gifts, letting her buy whatever she wants, and giving her a false sense of affection has led Myrtle

to believe that Tom is her one way ticket to the top of the social hierarchy. Being around Tom

seemed to change the way she acted around other people. For example, Nick narrates “Mrs.

Wilson had changed her costume some time before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon

dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room.

With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change.” (p. 34, Chapter 2).

Through Nick’s focalization, the readers see Myrtle in a different light. Myrtle turns into a bold,

confident, and elegant woman once she puts something fancy on. Merely changing her physical

appearance made her whole personality change.

Since Myrtle had a lower social status than Tom, he was able to use his power and wealth

to hide their affair from the public eye to some extent. Tom uses his higher social rank to hide

away from any mess that he has made. During this time period, it was considered shameful to be

having an extramarital affair, but his power and wealth to hide the fact that he is in an affair to

some extent. As the author puts it, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed
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up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or

whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had

made….” (p. 191, Chapter 9). This quote perfectly illustrates the unfair advantages that Tom

seems to have as a wealthy man. His power and wealth give him a sense of control over his

relationships and how the society sees him as a person in upper class status. To Tom, money

would never be a problem which he uses to stop the spread of any rumors or maintain this image

of a perfect, elite man that every man should strive to be.

Their relationship highlights the author’s opinion that if there is a difference in the social

statuses of the two people in a relationship, it is a barrier that often cannot be overcome. One

example of this can be seen at the end of Tom and Myrtle’s party at their apartment. As the

narrative goes, “Sometime toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face

discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name.

‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai

——‘

Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (p.

41, Chapter 2).

This instance in the story makes the readers pay attention to the cold reality of their relationship.

Not only do the readers see a glimpse of Tom’s brutality, but it also shows them the superiority

Tom holds over Myrtle. It shows that to Tom, this relationship is just another means of showing

people his power. He is not scared of getting in trouble for harming Myrtle because he knows

that nobody would be courageous enough to stand against him and accuse him of something.

This also exemplifies the effect of class on their relationship. By showing Tom’s abusive

behavior towards a middle-class woman, it highlights the opinion that no matter how much one
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might try to ignore their differences in social ranks, it might prove to be an obstacle in their

relationship in one way or another.

Tom and Myrtle’s relationship allows F. Scott Fitzgerald to criticize the class divisions

seen in the 1920s in America. Not only were people focused on climbing up the social ladder,

but the people at the top of the ladder were abusing the amount of power they had obtained from

their associated class. In turn, this classist ideology would be one of downfalls of people’s

relationships.
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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. (n.d.). The Great Gatsby. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from

https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-great-gatsby.pdf