Great Gatsby
‘The novel paints a world of desolation and despair.’ How far and in what ways do you agree with this view of The Great Gatsby? I completely agree with this view everyone is in despair at some stage in the novel and everyone is depressed even if they don’t show it.
Myrtle and Wilson are an unhappily married couple, they live in a small rundown town. Myrtle is Wilson’s everything, he loves her so much and everything he does is to please her. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Wilson does not know about this. Tom treats Myrtle very differently to how he treats Daisy, he treats Myrtle with no respect. Even though he lavishes her with gifts Myrtle is still not happy. Myrtle is in despair because she wants the life Daisy has, permanently. She will never be happy if her and Tom are only an affair. Yes when he looks after her she has a good life, but when they’re not together she goes back to Wilson and her life is dull again. “Myrtle Wilson’s face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror”
This is when the Buchanan’s, Gatsby, Nick and Jordan all drive into town for the day. Myrtle sees Jordan in the car with Tom and instantaneously assumes that she is Daisy. I feel that this shows because she is extremely jealous. “Wide with jealous terror” I think that she is feeling that she is loosing Tom and seeing “Daisy” makes her jealousy grow. She then despairs over these thoughts while she is locked in her little room.
With Daisy and Gatsby now having an affair Tom gets paranoid about whether she will leave him or not. When Tom sees how the act around each other Tom starts to worry more about whether Daisy will leave him and go and live with Gatsby. If she did, then he would have lost the main part of his life. “The immediate contingency overtook him, pulled him back from the edge of theoretical abyss”
The “theoretical abyss” was the thought of Daisy and Gatsby having an affair. But then Tom, who had
Myrtle and Wilson are an unhappily married couple, they live in a small rundown town. Myrtle is Wilson’s everything, he loves her so much and everything he does is to please her. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. Wilson does not know about this. Tom treats Myrtle very differently to how he treats Daisy, he treats Myrtle with no respect. Even though he lavishes her with gifts Myrtle is still not happy. Myrtle is in despair because she wants the life Daisy has, permanently. She will never be happy if her and Tom are only an affair. Yes when he looks after her she has a good life, but when they’re not together she goes back to Wilson and her life is dull again. “Myrtle Wilson’s face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror”
This is when the Buchanan’s, Gatsby, Nick and Jordan all drive into town for the day. Myrtle sees Jordan in the car with Tom and instantaneously assumes that she is Daisy. I feel that this shows because she is extremely jealous. “Wide with jealous terror” I think that she is feeling that she is loosing Tom and seeing “Daisy” makes her jealousy grow. She then despairs over these thoughts while she is locked in her little room.
With Daisy and Gatsby now having an affair Tom gets paranoid about whether she will leave him or not. When Tom sees how the act around each other Tom starts to worry more about whether Daisy will leave him and go and live with Gatsby. If she did, then he would have lost the main part of his life. “The immediate contingency overtook him, pulled him back from the edge of theoretical abyss”
The “theoretical abyss” was the thought of Daisy and Gatsby having an affair. But then Tom, who had