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Please explain some parallelism relating to Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby.

First, Myrtle Wilson and her husband, George Wilson, are both just trying to get ahead in a world that really doesn't allow people who come from little to end up with a lot.  George badly desires to buy Tom Buchanan's older car from him so that he can sell it for a profit, but Tom just keeps stringing him along.  Myrtle badly desires to supplant Tom's wife, Daisy, but Tom keeps stringing her along knowing that he'll never give her what she wants.  In his interactions with George, Tom can feel superior and in control.  In his interactions with Myrtle, he clearly also feels the same (he strikes her in the face when she disobeys him).  He uses them both to make himself feel good, and in this way, Myrtle's story runs parallel to her husband's.


Second, Myrtle Wilson seems to be trying to use Tom as well in her attempt to reach the American Dream.  She doesn't want to work for her prosperity as her husband does; she wants her rich lover to buy her pretty things and keep her in a nice apartment with beautiful clothes.  Love doesn't really seem to be a major factor for her in their relationship.  It's the same with Tom's wife, Daisy.  At this point, she really doesn't love him anymore; she loves Gatsby.  But once she finds out how Gatsby, the man she does love, has acquired his fortune -- illegally -- she returns, without hesitation, to her husband: the man with "old money" who can provide her with the kind of life she desires (just the same reason that Myrtle turns to Tom as well).

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