F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on september 24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota (Hickey 4). His mother was the daughter of a self made Irish immigrant and a furniture salesman failure (Hickey 4). Fitzgerald’s greatest work, The Great Gatsby, is one in which he accomplished his goal of writing “something new - something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned” (Hickey 4). In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the theme that money cannot buy happiness despite the couples that tried: Lucille and Chester, Myrtle and Tom, Tom and Daisy, and Daisy and Gatsby.
Chapter two of the book introduces the McKee’s, Lucille and Chester, when they come up to visit with Myrtle, Tom, Nick, and Catherine in the apartment where Tom and …show more content…
She says, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn 't fit to lick my shoe” (Fitzgerald 34). Since he is not wealthy, she runs off and has an affair with Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man. She believes that Tom’s money will make her happy. One day, Tom gets her to come to town for one of their ‘dates’. On the way to the apartment, she gets Tom to buy her a puppy. Once in the apartment, Lucille complements Myrtle’s dress. Myrtle tells her, “It’s just a crazy old thing. I just slip it on sometimes when I don 't care what I look like” (Fitzgerald 31). Myrtle explains to Mrs. McKee that the the following day she is going to buy a new dress, get a massage and a wave, a collar for the dog that she made Tom buy her the day before, and a fancy ash-tray. Myrtle does not have money like she is putting on that she does, but Tom does these things for her. The book never directly says that Tom is paying for all of these items that she plans to purchase the next day, but it can be inferred that he is the one paying because Myrtle 's husband, George, does not have the money to pay for them. The spoiling from Tom makes Myrtle a happier person, yet Tom will not marry her because of her social status. This becomes apparent when the book says that Myrtle repetitively said Daisey’s name in a brave way until Tom hit her. …show more content…
Jay tried to use his money to win Daisy over. When Gatsby returns from the war, he gets his break and a chance to become rich. Gatsby meets a bootlegger named, Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim is a mysterious man of New York’s underground; he even fixed the 1919 World Series (Fitzgerald 73). Gatsby goes in business with Wolfshiem and becomes filthy rich. Gatsby then buys a mansion across the bay from Daisy and Tom. Gatsby throws some of the largest and most extravagant parties just hoping that one night Daisy might stop in, but she never does. Further pursuing her, Gatsby starts asking around at the parties to see if anybody knows her. The first person he finds was no other than Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend. Jordan gets Nick, Daisy’s cousin and the narrator of the book, to set up a meeting for Daisy and Gatsby. To the meeting, Gatsby wears a “white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (Fitzgerald 84). Gatsby dresses as such to show Daisy that he is no longer poor. After they talk at Nick’s for a while, Gatsby then carries Daisy to his house to show her just how rich he now is. Gatsby even goes as far as to pull out a pile of shirts to show Daisy. She starts crying and says, “ They’re such beautiful shirts. It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.” (Fitzgerald 92). This day is the start of Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. Gatsby’s plan was
Chapter two of the book introduces the McKee’s, Lucille and Chester, when they come up to visit with Myrtle, Tom, Nick, and Catherine in the apartment where Tom and …show more content…
She says, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn 't fit to lick my shoe” (Fitzgerald 34). Since he is not wealthy, she runs off and has an affair with Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man. She believes that Tom’s money will make her happy. One day, Tom gets her to come to town for one of their ‘dates’. On the way to the apartment, she gets Tom to buy her a puppy. Once in the apartment, Lucille complements Myrtle’s dress. Myrtle tells her, “It’s just a crazy old thing. I just slip it on sometimes when I don 't care what I look like” (Fitzgerald 31). Myrtle explains to Mrs. McKee that the the following day she is going to buy a new dress, get a massage and a wave, a collar for the dog that she made Tom buy her the day before, and a fancy ash-tray. Myrtle does not have money like she is putting on that she does, but Tom does these things for her. The book never directly says that Tom is paying for all of these items that she plans to purchase the next day, but it can be inferred that he is the one paying because Myrtle 's husband, George, does not have the money to pay for them. The spoiling from Tom makes Myrtle a happier person, yet Tom will not marry her because of her social status. This becomes apparent when the book says that Myrtle repetitively said Daisey’s name in a brave way until Tom hit her. …show more content…
Jay tried to use his money to win Daisy over. When Gatsby returns from the war, he gets his break and a chance to become rich. Gatsby meets a bootlegger named, Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim is a mysterious man of New York’s underground; he even fixed the 1919 World Series (Fitzgerald 73). Gatsby goes in business with Wolfshiem and becomes filthy rich. Gatsby then buys a mansion across the bay from Daisy and Tom. Gatsby throws some of the largest and most extravagant parties just hoping that one night Daisy might stop in, but she never does. Further pursuing her, Gatsby starts asking around at the parties to see if anybody knows her. The first person he finds was no other than Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend. Jordan gets Nick, Daisy’s cousin and the narrator of the book, to set up a meeting for Daisy and Gatsby. To the meeting, Gatsby wears a “white flannel suit, silver shirt, and gold-colored tie” (Fitzgerald 84). Gatsby dresses as such to show Daisy that he is no longer poor. After they talk at Nick’s for a while, Gatsby then carries Daisy to his house to show her just how rich he now is. Gatsby even goes as far as to pull out a pile of shirts to show Daisy. She starts crying and says, “ They’re such beautiful shirts. It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.” (Fitzgerald 92). This day is the start of Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. Gatsby’s plan was