The Manhattan Party

Chapter two finds us meeting Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, a classic social climber. I almost felt sorry for her...almost. She fully embraces the role of mistress - buying expensive perfume (and even a dog, which she neglects the rest of the night), throwing parties, living the high life - but like any mistress, especially one from a lower social rung, she is at the mercy of Tom's demands. He forces her to ride on a separate train car so as to not displease "the sensibilities of those East Eggers who might be on the train" (31). Real classy of Tom in all respects. Fitzgerald uses two symbols here that I picked up on. The first is the "valley of ashes" (27), which seems to represent the poor, the wasted, all that the rich do not have to deal with. Looking over the valley is the faded billboard of T.J. Eckleburg, a more complex symbol. Does he represent government, God, society? I'm not sure, but he does symbolize some sort of lost entity, an omipresent figure who has given up on or forgotten about the poor toiling below him. As readers, we see this sort of forgotten, tossed-away feeling amongst those lower-class individuals. Tom uses George Wilson for his business and his wife. When Myrtle speaks out about Daisy, looking for a hint of love from the man who supposedly cares so much about her that he cheats on his wife, Tom backhands her, breaking her nose. The chapter is full of debauchery, drunken riot, and, to me, empitiness. I thought that Nick would hate it, but he kind of likes running with the "in" crowd. It excites him. I imagine it is what he was looking for when he came out east. Either way, his innocence, his reservation of judgment, is losing ground. We know that he ends up coming back west after a while, so I imagine he eventually gets fed up with it all. One thing I do know for sure: Tom and Myrtle will not last. He is a user, and will get rid of her when he finds it necessary. The rich using the poor...still wondering how Gatsby fits in.