Examples Of Juxtaposition In The Great Gatsby

The “Jazz Age”, 1920s, was one of the best decades for America. During the 1920s, there were lots of advances to society; including radios, Ford cars, the stock market, and women’s voting rights. Many hard working people were prosperous with “New Money” because of all the new businesses and industries being created, but not everyone was happy with these advances. Wealthy people that never had to work to become rich, also known as “Old Money”, did not like the new generation of wealthy people that was growing at this time. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he creates a story that criticizes and compares both the people of “Old Money” and “New Money”. To accomplish this purpose, Fitzgerald uses juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is …show more content…
Daisy and Myrtle had some differences and one main similarity. Daisy is more on the quiet side, while Myrtle is loud and over exaggerating. Another difference is that Daisy actually loved both the men she was in a relationship with, but Myrtle didn’t love her husband, Mr. Wilson, and she probably loved Tom for his money. Daisy admitted that she loved both Gatsby and Tom, “I did love him (Tom) once - but I loved you (Gatsby) too”(140). While Myrtle said she hated Mr. Wilson, “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake”(39). Myrtle only wanted to marry Wilson because she thought he had money, but she was wrong because Wilson didn’t have money. Since then she has hated Wilson, and now she’s the mistress of Tom because he has money. One reason that Daisy and Myrtle are alike is because the are both “Gold Diggers,” meaning they are just out to use someone for their money. Myrtle shows that she is a gold digger in the following quote, “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, and the man came after it one day when he was out...I gave it to hima and then I laid down and cried to beat the band all afternoon”(39). Myrtle had thought Wilson had money, but after she learned he didn’t she doesn’t want to be with Wilson and she’s using Tom’s money. Evidence that Daisy is a gold digger is shown in the shirt scene, “he brought more...shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian Blue. Suddenly with a strained sound Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily”(97-98). Gatsby was showing Nick and Daisy his expensive, colorful shirts that were specially made in England for him. Daisy started to cry because she was upset with herself for leaving Gatsby five years ago to look for a wealthy man to marry,