The Great Gatsby: Kiss, Marry, Kill

 

    “Can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can!” This quote was a major contribution to the tragedy in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby says this to Nick. Gatsby is trying to convince both himself and Nick that he can win Daisy back over and it will be exactly the same. Nick was right in this scenario. The past cannot be repeated. Gatsby tried to repeat the past with Daisy, but instead it caused more of a disruption. He intruded on Daisy’s marriage, and on Nick’s life. This also led to Tom and Myrtle’s affair being discovered. With all of this being said, each of these characters are very different. They are each flawed differently, but they each also have something very lovable about them. This is why I will be evaluating who I would kiss, marry and kill in The Great Gatsby.

Daisy will begin the women in the novel. Daisy is married to Tom, and although she is married she knows that Tom is having an affair. She is unhappy. Daisy was still treated as the trophy wife that she is. She was also portrayed as always needing a man. This was the traditional woman from the 1920s. Gatsby came back from the past and gave her the attention that she wanted. This doesn’t matter though because Daisy didn’t just want Gatsby. ”oh you want too much” she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now, isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’ she began to sob helplessly. I did love him one - but I loved you too.” Daisy is selfish because she wanted Gatsby, while still being in love with Tom. She isn’t able to let one go.Daisy continues on this trend of being selfish by allowing Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle. She knows she is able to use Gatsby because of how in love he is with her. Daisy knows what she is doing, and this is why I would kill Daisy

Myrtle is similar to Daisy in some ways. This being, she gets what she desires. Myrtle is also very dependent on Tom. Myrtle is unhappy in her marriage with Wilson, and this is why she cheated on her husband with Tom. Tom is of higher social class, and this causes Myrtle to feel more fulfilled. When speaking to Nick Myrtle stated, “‘I told that boy about the ice.’ Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. ‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time.’ She looked at me and laughed pointlessly.” Myrtle is being fake because she is pretending to be apart of the upper class. This is all to fit in, which is why she was so attracted to Tom.  At the same time, Myrtle is somewhat like Daisy. Myrtle proves to be independent from her husband, and she does what she wants. Although what she wants is immoral, she is proving her independence. I do see Myrtle’s flaws, but her slight independence is still very noticeable to me. Thus, I would kiss Myrtle. 

Jordan is the final woman for my character analysis. I was in debate over Jordan because I see a strong resemblance between Jordan and myself. Jordan is quite stubborn but her most resilient character trait is her independence. Jordan doesn’t belong to anybody but herself. Even with the way she sits. Nick describes Jordan very frequently as having her chin positionioned upward. She is looking down on those she speaks to. Jordan additionally states, "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." This quote shows a few things. For one it exhibits Jordan’s emotions. It shows that she is human, and she did care about Nick. It also shows that she didn’t over rely on Nick, like Daisy or Myrtle had done with other men. Jordan is still her own person, and she devoted her life to herself. On top of this, Jordan is described as being very attractive. She is blond, athletic and tan. Daisy was the opposite of being pale and having darker hair. With Jordan’s strong personality and still being quite attractive, I would marry Jordan. 

This brings us to the men in the novel. I will begin by analyzing George Wilson. Wilson’s looks were first described as being “a blonde spiritless man, anaemic and faintly handsome.” To me, this is extremely unattractive. Wilson obviously cared about his wife, but he was driven insane when he found out about her affair with Tom. George locked Myrtle upstairs and he planned to keep her there until they moved. This is just over-the-top. Later in the novel Myrtle was murdered by Daisy. Wilson didn’t know this though. He believed it to be Gatsby. Wilson’s weakness was his love for Myrtle. He had so much anxiety about Myrtle and this resulted in two horrible acts. This being Gatsby’s murder and his own suicide. I would not want to be involved with anybody that is this mentally unwell. This is why I would kill George Wilson. 

Next in line is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby was described as “an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty...He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.” With how Gatsby was described, I believe I would be very attracted to him. Gatsby’s persistence with Daisy I felt was very romantic in the beginning of the Novel. Then I began to realize how it was just too much. I would have been afraid of that much commitment. Tom had loved Daisy for years, and hadn’t gotten over her. This may seem romantic, but I believe that Gatsby is too stuck in the past. Gatsby doesn’t like the person he is now. He only liked the person he was with Daisy. With this, he did everything he could to be with Daisy. Even if this was messing up other relationships. This is why I wouldn’t be able to marry Gatsby, because I wouldn’t be able to commit that much to him. Although, Gatsby’s charming persona could still lead me to kiss him.

Tom is the final male within my kiss, marry, kill series. Tom was originally married to Daisy, but obviously he was somewhat unhappy. This was because he was involved in an affair with Myrtle.  Nowadays Tom would be looked at as a monster, but I look at Tom from the point of view in the 1920’s. Tom’s actions would have been deemed socially acceptable. In the 1920’s there was more social freedom, so Tom’s affair would have been more accepted. At another point in the novel, Tom hit Myrtle. In the 1920’s men were much more dominating figures and it was considered a normalcy for husbands to hit wives. I do recognize that this is terrible, and this just shows how screwed up the 1920’s was. From the 1920’s standpoint, it is acceptable. Pushing this aside, Tom was also described as having “...a wholesome bulkiness about his person and his position.” Tom is still a good person, and throughout the novel he continues to prove to be human. Even after Myrtle passed away, Nick sees Tom in a state that he has never seen him before. Tom was crying over Myrtle’s death, because he did care. On top of Tom’s somewhat caring personality, he had a strong and bulky physical build. This was because he played football a few years back, so his physical build is appealing. Thus, I would marry Tom. 

To conclude, the characters within The Great Gatsby all faced different weaknesses. With their personalities, weaknesses and physical builds, I analyzed each of them as to who I would kiss, marry and kill.