The Great Gatsby - Kiss, Marry, Kill

 

The Great Gatsby is a classic novel written in 1924 by F. Scott Fitzgerald which was inspired by the many parties he attended on Long Island during the 1920s. He wanted each character to represent a different segment of American society during this time period. The several main characters mentioned throughout The Great Gatsby are Jay Gatsby, George Wilson, Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Baker. All the characters have their own distinctive personality and their own background. Each individual is different in their own ways making it rather easy to choose who to marry, kiss, and kill. 

If I would have to marry two characters in the novel it would easily be Gatsby and Jordan. For the entirety of the novel, Jordan has done nothing to disappoint me and has never caused any drama compared to the rest. She loves hearing the gossip however, is never involved in any of it. “But there was Jordan beside me, who, unlike Daisy, was too wise ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age.” Even Nick is describing Jordan as living in the present rather than still living in the past like Daisy. Jordan is more mature than the rest of the characters will ever be in situations just like Daisy’s dinner party in chapter 1. Where she would rather leave for her golf tournament the next morning than get into the middle of that mess. She as well doesn’t need to show off her riches like the others do, which makes her ultimately way more classy. Jordan doesn’t need any man to feel confident in herself and is a girl boss. 

On the other hand, I would marry Gatsby only solely because he is rich. He is a stalker and obsessed with Daisy for years when there’s obviously nothing remotely special about her. “Forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.” Once Gatsby had kissed Daisy he knew his obsession with her would grow to the point where she was all he would think about. He did too much to try and impress her to the point of moving across the bay from her house so he could see her. If I had someone doing that for me I would feel more crept out than flattered. His money, however, makes up for it and I would only use him for it so he could buy me nice things. As well as to have his mansion all for myself while he is gone.

The two characters I would choose to kiss would be Myrtle and Tom. Tom is abusive, a cheater, and a racist. “Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face.” He is extremely fond of himself and thinks he is better than everyone around him. He has cheated on Daisy but yet, when Daisy cheats on him he gets all upset about it and cannot believe it. I would never want to be with someone so arrogant and manipulative. He had no redeeming qualities but still, I would kiss him and just try to never remember it again.

 Myrtle throughout the novel has no real importance other than the fact of being Tom’s mistress. “There was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smoldering.” Myrtle is full of light and fills any room she walks into. However, wasted her potential being with Tom. She hung out with the wrong crowd and tried to be classy and elegant when she wasn’t. She deserved better and there weren’t any qualities bad enough to make me want to kill her.

Lastly, I would choose to kill Wilson and Daisy. Daisy is the biggest pick me and cries when the littlest thing goes wrong. She could hardly own up to the fact that she loves Gatsby and not her own husband. “She began to sob helplessly. “‘I did love him once - but I love you too.”’ Daisy couldn’t ever do anything on her own and had to be the victim in every situation. She had so much to be grateful for like her wealth and excessive money but, nothing ever truly satisfied her and she always had to throw a fit. She also wouldn’t marry Gatsby until he was rich which just proves how much of a gold digger she is. I would never want to be with someone who constantly plays the victim and cries in every minor situation.

Wilson’s character was not right in the head towards the end of the novel. In the beginning, he has no real significance and is described as anemic, spiritless, and poor. It wasn’t until towards the end he locked his wife in her room once he finds out about her secret affair, “I’ve got my wife locked up there.” He couldn’t comprehend what was going around him and went to kill Gatsby without even having proper evidence. After, he then killed himself. Wilson lacked common sense and was a laughing joke more than an actual person. I could never be able to take him seriously and would just laugh at him.