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| Myrtle Wilson | |
| Portrayed by | Georgia Hale Shelley Winters |
| Biographical information | |
| Status | Deceased |
| Residence | Valley of Ashes, Long Island, New York, United States |
| Family members |
George Wilson (husband) Catherine (sister) |
| [Source] | |
Myrtle Wilson
Wilson owns a run-down garage in the Valley of Ashes. Myrtle herself possessed a fierce vitality and desperately looked for a way to improve her situation. Unfortunately for her, she chose Tom, who treated her as a mere object of his desire. When her husband demanded to know who her lover was, she ran out of the room and onto the road. She recognized the yellow car driving by, thinking that Tom was behind the wheel.
Character Analysis
Myrtle aspires to a better life. To heighten the tragedy of Myrtle's death, Nick emphasized her hunger for life, frequently using the word 'vitality' to describe her. She had a 'vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smoldering'. Myrtle resented George because he isn't rich - he even had to borrow 'somebody's best suit to get married in'. Myrtle thought she married below her class, she said George 'wasn't fit to lick my shoe', but she was actually working class herself. This was clear from the way she spoke - she used non-standard grammar and 'obscene' language.
Nick ridicules Myrtle's attempt to appear upper class - he describes her voice as a 'high mincing shout'. This lack of sympathy encourages the reader to see Myrtle as greedy, rather than ambitious or desperate. She naively thought that Tom will leave Daisy and clung to him despite his abuse, because of his wealth and upper class status.
Death
Myrtle ran out of the store while George tried to find her. Myrtle then spotted a yellow car approaching. Myrtle believed that Tom was coming for her and ran out into the road, calling for Tom. She waved her hands in the air, running towards the car's direction. George saw his wife running and called out for her. Myrtle continued calling for Tom's name. he yellow car came faster and faster towards her direction. Realizing this, Myrtle screamed as the car hit her, causing her to crash into the windshield, cracking it. Myrtle flew into the air as George screamed with horror. Myrtle's body collapsed onto the road, cut open with beads of her pearl necklace everywhere along with glass shards. Some people witnessed Myrtle's death but didn't do anything. "Tom's" yellow car - or what it was believed to be - then drove off.
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