Myrtle  

Myrtle, Mrs. Wilson, with an unfulfilled dream and dies of that dream, is a woman lacking for peacefulness in her mind and blessings from God. She loves the man who doesn't really love her, or more exactly, treats her like his toy. What even sadder, so I visualize, is it isn't until her husband ends up his own life for her tragedy that she, now a ghost, realizes who and what deserve her love.

In the 1920s when capitalists are crazily weaving their ways to rake in money and the moralities are despised like Dr. Eckleberg's gigantic blue eyes standing forgotten on the grey land, Myrtle is just one member of the lower-class majority who has to struggle to survive the distorted system. The problem is, instead of standing by her husband and working diligently, she engages in seeking an unreliable affair with some wealthy men, and she eventually gets one, Tom Buchanan. The obsession with Tom's fascination blinds her eyes of rationality and leads her mistake for Catholism is the obstacle for Tom to divorce Daisy and marry her without realizing she is disadvantageous at every aspect as compared to her. Her contempt for Mr. McKee and disrespect for her husband are based on her deluded and enchanted affection for Tom. Finally, the illusion for his love pushes her on to the road of death. She dies miserably, while her husband, a soul of genuineness, dies with dignity. 

Daisy

Should there be a group of the luckiest persons in the world, Daisy undoubtedly is one of them, for she is such a simple, charming, indulged and carefree woman. It seems she has never experienced anything doleful, or if she has, she is gifted to turn the corner at a surprising rate.

Born a daughter of a prosperous family, she is accommodated with a beautiful white roadster, which leads her to an unforgettable romance with Gatsby, or more exactly, the romance is much more unforgettable to him. Marrying Tom is definitely not her desire; as a matter of fact, she is forced to wear the wedding dress—and a string of pearls "valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars." However in no time, she switches her love toward her husband and begins to enjoy her marriage. The reunion with Gatsby recalls her love for him and overwhelms that for her husband. But, Gatsby's death quickly pushes her back to her husband, and she never looks back again even though it is Gatsby that dies a scapegoat for her faults. Unquestionably, the distinguishing charmingness and carefreeness Daisy uniquely possesses make numerous gentlemen willing to sacrifice themselves for her. Her voice is like an "exhilarating ripple" drifting in the pouring rain, and when she twitters delightedly in Nick's ear, "Are you in love with me?" she is killing softly every reader like me, let alone Gatsby.

No one knows what's in her mind after Gatsby's funeral. Nevertheless, I am quite sure that guilt and self-reproach would be the least possible ones, and that Gatsby, if alive, wouldn't care.

Gatsby

When reviewers say "The Great Gatsby" is a story that elaborates the American dream, I am horrified: Is it true that the so-called American dream leads to the deaths of genuine people and the victories of opportunists?

Gatsby, a peasant's son with a young, determined and persistent spirit, leaves his Minnesota hometown to pursue success, achieves his goal and then devotes his love for his father. Before his success of being an excellent partner in Wolfshiem's company, he assists a prosperous mine owner, Dan Cody, to manage his wealth for five years, enlists in the army and becomes an honorable brave soldier, and wins the privilege to be an Oxford man. After success, his great personalities are being revealed as told in this story. He is so generous that he hosts luxurious parties free for evey visitor and forgives their malicious and unappreciated attitudes. Moreover, he is so considerate that he doesn't want to bother friends until he has no choice. In addition, he is so genuine that he thinks people are always as hearty as he is. However, it is his genuineness that causes him to mistake Daisy's love for him is as much as his for her, and misleads him to think Tom, the opportunist, is a gentleman as he is. Because of these, he is absurdly shot by another authentic man under the opportunist's scheme.

So, if there are some Gatsbys resolving to pursue their American dreams, here are my blessings: enjoy freedom, enjoy opportunities, enjoy successes, but be aware of the lethal weapons: guns, the Tom-Buchanans —and American women.

Tom Buchanan

To foresee what is going to happen in Tom Buchanan’s mind after Gatsby’s death is rather difficult unless I had a crystal gazing ball. This is not because Tom is a sophisticated person. On the contrary, he is as predictable as a pendulum swinging in the clock: a wealthy former celebrated football player, who hates losing, scarcely loses and will do everything to win. What blur my perspective are the whole messy situations he has to face: his wife Daisy has an affair with her premarital lover Gatsby and is going to leave him, his mistress Myrtle is accidently killed by Daisy, he covers Daisy not to be recognized as the killer and so that he won’t be the killer’s husband, he plots Myrtle’s husband to kill his rival Gatsby, and then the killer commits suicide. Now, Tom wins the game and has his life remain intact except that Myrtle is gone, but that won’t bother him too long: she is just a side dish in his life anyhow. Nevertheless, ever since Gatsby is killed, there must be an ever-growing tension between him and Daisy, and that’s the most complicated and unpredictable one. How will he handle himself after paying so much? Will his affection for Daisy keep unchanged? Will he be mad at Daisy’s betrayal? And, will he have another mistress? How should he do to avoid possible losing in his vulnerable life thereafter? Life won’t be the same anymore, and all of these questions are something much more than “To be, or not to be.” 

Nick Carraway

Like many society’s middle-class members, Nick owns a heart of compassion and honesty, but that’s all. He can do nothing much for what he thinks fair or unfair. Indeed, all he can do for Gatsby is arranging his burial ceremony, yet he can’t make anyone even those he thinks Gatsby wants including Wolfshiem, Daisy, or the boarder Klipspringer to come to the funeral, which would be a totally different one if Gatsby were in his place. Consequently, it’s imaginable that he won’t have a life as splendid as the one that Gatsby has—but I am not saying which of their lives: dying for an unforgettable love or staying alive without it, is more admirable to me.

Being Daisy’s cousin and Gatsby’s neighbour, Nick is at the hinge of the story because it is he who catalyzes their romance, which in turn leads to a series of climaxes of the story and, eventually, Gatsby’s death. Being one of the very few real friends of Gatsby, Nick does not provide decent faith in his friend until he sees Gatsby’s willing to scapegoat Daisy’s faults. Moreover, it might also be his weak faith for Gatsby that prevents him from timely warning Gatsby of the danger plotted by Tom, who makes Wilson think it’s Gatsby that kills his wife Myrtle.

In the beginning of the story, Nick says his father advises him not to criticize any other people. He thus then “inclines to reserve all judgments,” as he describe himself complainingly. However, in my opinion, he is the one who is always skeptical of other people, and a skeptical person might be a competent narrator, but he/she cannot be a hearty friend. I know that because I am a Nick-Carraway.