Rebeca Eller
Honors English 5
12-01-11
1. The “valley of ashes” is a desolate area of land found half way between West Egg and New
York, where ashes from trains are dumped and devour the community and contaminate the
air, as described on page 27, “ This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow
like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses
and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move
dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”
2. The “valley of ashes” symbolizes all the broken dreams of the lower class or those who were
mocked, criticized, and humiliated while helplessly struggling to survive alone in a society
that has long forgotten about them and became oblivion to their hopes, as described on page
28, “But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain, brood on
over the solemn dumping ground. The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul
river, and when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains
can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour.”
3. Mr. Wilson is a blond, naive, humble, pathetic and faintly handsome man who works in a car
repair shop and has not a clue that his wife, Myrtle Wilson, is seeing Tom Buchanan, as
stated on page 30-31, “ ‘It does her good to get away.’ ‘Doesn’t her husband object?’
‘Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know
he’s alive.’” On the other hand, Myrtle Wilson is a faintly stout and heavy woman in her late
thirties. Myrtle Wilson is Tom’s lover and has been living a prosperous and happy life off of
Tom’s wealth, as illustrated on page 31, “…immediately she turned sharply from the widow
and leaning forward tapped on the front glass. ‘I want to get one of those dogs,’ she said
earnestly. ‘I want to get one for the apartment. They’re nice to have-a dog.’”
4. Mr. Wilson and Myrtle Wilson do seem to fit the scene of the novel. For example, Mr.
Wilson is man who has been robbed by hopelessness and overcome by poverty throughout
his life in his struggled to sustain his family. Nevertheless, Myrtle is still after her “castle in
heaven”-her American dream. I do not judge Myrtle for getting involved with a married man
because she is a young woman still in her thirties who has her own share of dreams-to live in
a beautiful house in a lovely neighborhood and be able to purchase anything she desires
without worrying about how much she is paying. Consequently, her being with Tom, an
affluent aristocrat, is her way of finally attaining her dream after years of frustration and
poverty.
5. Throughout chapter two, we find that Nick is very reserved and does not like to be involved
in the midst quarrels that do not concern him. For example, though Nick was curious to see
Tom’s lover, he had no desire to meet her, and therefore, become deeply rooted in their
affair. In addition, as the party was going on in the apartment, Nick became greatly enthralled
and entertained as he watched and paid close attention to the conversations of those present,
while quietly sitting in his chair. Nevertheless, after the brutal argument between Myrtle and
Tom, Nick quickly made his way out the apartment along with Mr. McKee. In addition, we
also learn that Nick is sympathetic and compassionate to those who are in need of care. For
instance, as stated on page 41, “Mr. McKee was asleep on a chair with his fists clenched to
his lap…Taking out my handkerchief I wiped from his cheek the remains of the spot of dried
lather that had worried me all the afternoon.”
6. Nick is very different form the people he spends time with, such Tom and the others at the
apartment. Though Nick understands their struggle to achieve a greater happiness in this
world, he is very remote to the specific actions and decisions these characters portray. For
example, Tom is miserable by the life he is leading, no matter where he travels to or who he
spends his time with; these things can’t fill the void in he feels, “Something was making him
nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his
peremptory heart (page 25). As a result, Tom takes out his frustration by responding rudely
to other people or my striking those around him, as described on page 41, “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… ‘Daisy! Dai-’ making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose
with his open hand.” Nevertheless, Nick is very unlike the other characters presented at the
party, such as Mr. and Mrs. McKee, who feel the need to make known their achievements
and compliment the luxurious elegances of their companions, as provided on page 34, “…he
(Mr. McKee) was most respectful in his greeting to everyone in the room. He informed me
that he was in the “artistic game” and I gathered later that he was a photographer…His wife
(Mrs. McKee)…told me with pride that her husband had photographed her a hundred and
twenty-seven times since they were married.”
7. Tom is an enormous Goliath, a powerful figure; however, he is also arrogant, impatient, rude
and egotistic. We learn throughout chapter one, that Tom is also a racist as described on page
17 and 19, disloyal and adulterous. Granting the fact that his marriage is becoming a failure,
he still continues to see his lover, Myrtle Wilson, which allows us to infer that Tom does
what he wants and does not give any concern to anyone who opposes his decisions, may it be
his wife or even daughter. Through chapter two, in his conversations, we also learn that Tom
is very rude, cold and cocky when he speaks to those below his social status, such as Mr.
Wilson. The text on page 29 describes Tom as being cold and bitter in his response to a
harmless comment made by Mr. Wilson. Nonetheless, on page 32, Tom impolitely pays an
old man selling puppies attacking the old man of being a crook, “‘It’s a bitch,” Tom said
decisively. ‘Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it (page 32).’” In addition,
we find that Tom is very uncompromising and aggressive and not at all a nobleman towards
women (page 41).
8. I believe that Tom respects neither Daisy of Myrtle. For one, he does not respect Myrtle
because he had the courage to raise his hand at her (page 41). Though he was defending the
name of his wife from being gossiped about Myrtle’s malicious and venomous lips, I feel that
if Tom truly respected Daisy he would have stopped having an affair or would have divorced
Daisy first and then begotten a relationship with another women, which I believe would have
been the more proper and adequate manner undertaking this situation.
9. The text provides that all the guests present at Tom’s party were drunk, except Catherine who
“felt just as good on nothing at all (page 39),” inexhaustible, and raucous, especially Mrs.
Wilson, “Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment
by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be
revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air (page 35).”
10. Catherine states that Tom won’t marry Myrtle because Daisy is Catholic and doesn’t believe
in divorce. However, Nick knows that this is not true because Daisy is not Catholic. Tom
clearly I the one who started this lie in order to give a suitable excuse to why he won’t
assume a greater commitment to his relationship with Myrtle and marry her. Based on this
fact, we can conclude that Tom is not really in love with Myrtle, but just seeking to have a
good time and gain the best of both worlds, one where he has Daisy, the mother of his only
daughter (page 14), and one with Myrtle, where he can share a good drink with someone and
have a good time without having to assume any responsibilities (page 33).
11. Tom might not want to divorce Daisy because she is the mother of his only daughter (page
14) and is very beautiful, unlike Myrtle, whom the author describes on page 30 of containing
“no facet or gleam of beauty…” and nevertheless, Tom has only known Myrtle for an
insignificant amount of time and fully acknowledges the fact that Myrtle is only with him for
his money and social status in society. On the other hand, Tom has been married to Daisy for
quite a few years and Daisy seems to accept Tom for who he is and not for what he can buy
her, as described on page25, “As for Tom the fact that he ‘had someone women in New
York’…It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in
arms-but apparently there was no such intensions in her head.”
12. Myrtle married George Wilson out of self-interest based on what he could provide her with
and offer. However, Myrtle regretfully discovered that George Wilson was not wealthy and
could barely afford the clothes off their backs (page 39). However, now that she was married,
she had to follow through their marriage and struggle alongside her husband. The Bible states
in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 that, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.” Based on this
resplendent verse, I believe that if Myrtle had married George Wilson out of love, wealth
would not have become a prominent concern in her life because what gives us true happiness,
joy and peace is being loved and being around those who love us no matter what social class
they belong to.