Myrtle Wilson as the Wasteland Figure in the Great Gatsby

30 November 2007 Myrtle and Fitzgeralds Wasteland Myrtle Wilson is Fitzgeralds vessel for illustrating the modern wasteland. His conception of the wasteland as an unavoidable, vulgar part of the 1920s society is parallel to his characterization of Myrtle as an unavoidable, vulgar character that refuses to be ignored. He uses her to point out what he sees as the faults of modern society. Myrtle is materialistic, superficial, and stuck living in the physical wasteland referred to as the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald uses her to portray the social wasteland, particulaly the growing materialism and superficiality of modern society. He makes a huge statement about the repression of the impoverished by the upper-class in the modern wasteland†¦show more content†¦Fitzgerald is showing the shallowness, absurdity, and stupidity of the new-money American consumer, whom he contrasts to old-money Tom Buchanan, who is not duped by the puppy vendor like ignorant Myrtle. Fitzgerald also uses Myrtle to show the lack of compassion and irresp onsibility of new-money Americans through Myrtle and the puppy. The puppy is referred to as a purchase (28), which Myrtle briefly pays attention to but quickly forgets amongst the smoking and drinking, leaving the puppy with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly (37), one of Fitzgeralds most haunting and vivid images in the text. She haughtily talks about imaginary hired help that is supposed to take care of her puppy, which is Fitzgeralds criticism of new-money parenting and irresponsibility in modern society. Her self-centeredness catches up to her when George discovers the expensive puppy leash before her death. Next, Fitzgerald utilizes Myrtles superficiality to exhibit another facet of the wasteland in modern society. Despite being a member of the lower-class, Myrtle becomes haughty and snobby when she is in the city. Her personality changes when she changes her clothes to an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffonÂ… her laughter, he r gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment (30-31). She comes across as an over-the-top,Show MoreRelated Setting Of The Great Gatsby Essay1088 Words   |  5 Pages The settings and backdrops in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, are essential elements to the formation of the characters, symbolic imagery and the overall plot development. Fitzgerald uses East and West Egg communities to portray two separate worlds and two classes of people that are technically the same their status, but fundamentally different in their ideals. The physical geography of the settings is representative of the distance between classes of the East and West Eggers. Every settingRead MoreF. 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Historical And Cultural Background Of The Guyanese...

According to the Guyanese Statistic Bureau British Guiana (Guyana) consists of a rich historical and cultural background. It is a country which today is over 83,000 square miles in size with its capital located on the Demerara River. ‘British Guiana is located in northern South America, with approximately 90% of its square miles undeveloped and the vast majority of its inhabitants living along a ten-mile strip of the coast, this coastal area mainly inhabited by and containing the highest population of Creole speakers’(Holbrook 2001) . According to Holbrook, â€Å"The social situation in British Guiana is complex due to several factors, these being the colonial history of the country, the importation of African Slaves, the political history, and even government policies’. British Guiana’s population made up of indigenous American Indians, descendents of European colonizers, African Slaves, East Indians, Chinese and Indonesian indentured servants. All of which have all resulted in several languages being spoken within in this country; however the two which are most widely used are English and Guyanese Creole English which is a Creole language spoken by over 700,000 people. According to research done within the last five years, ‘this country is characterized as having a multiracial population with those of Indian decent representing 43% of the population, African decent over 30 %, Amerindians decent over 9% , and people of ‘mixed heritage’ rounding up at over 16%’ . However,

Hemorrhoids Essay Example For Students

Hemorrhoids Essay Hemorrhoids are a digestive disorder that half the population of men and women experience at age fifty. There are two types of hemorrhoids: internal and external. Internal hemorrhoids are found inside the anus or in the lower rectum. External hemorrhoids are found on the tissue surrounding the anal sphincters(the two rings of muscle surrounding the opening to the anus). Hemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in and around the anus. Hemorrhoids are not a dangerous condition, they only cause pain or discomfort, and tend to go away within a few days. They are tissues that can stretch and swell under pressure. This constant swelling and stretching is the cause for the discomfort of the patient with hemorrhoids. The symptoms for external hemorrhoids are itchy, swollen, lumps around the anal cavity. If the lumps become hard the hemorrhoids have become thrombosed external hemorrhoids. This occurs when the blood clots around a hemorrhoid. The symptoms of internal hemorrhoids include the appea rance of blood. This can be seen covering feces, on used toilet paper, or on the patients underwear. External hemorrhoids are common among pregnant women, due to the constant pressure on their abdomens. If an internal hemorrhoid starts to poke out of the anus it is called a protruding hemorrhoid. A protruding hemorrhoid may need to be treated through surgery. Hemorrhoids can be diagnosed by several types of examinations. External hemorrhoids are diagnosed simply by a doctor looking at the anus. The diagnosis of internal hemorrhoids requires probing. A doctor could perform a digital rectal exam. This is when a doctor wears a latex glove coated in Vaseline? and inserts a finger into the anus to feel for irregular lumps. Two other possible examinations require the use of hollowed out, flexible, lighted tubes. These tubes are called anoscopes or proctoscopes. These provide a visual of the rectum and anus. Treatment for external hemorrhoids include: the application of medicated cream, soaking in warm water several times a day, and the use of ice packs to reduce swelling. External hemorrhoids are treated with suppositories(pills taken through the anus) and, in rare cases, with minor surgery. Since hemorrhoids are partly caused by large solid bowl movements one treatment used to prevent hemorrhoids is a fiber supplement. This allows less water to be absorbed into the large intestines, making a softer stool. Fiber supplements such as psylium(Metamucil?) and methyl cellulose(Citrucel?) are the most commonly prescribed. SOURCEShttp://www.healthtouch.com/level1/leaflets/nddic/nddic094.htmInterview: Took place 2/13/00: Interviewed hemorrhoid patient would like to be listed as:Anonymous

Mary Rowlandson Essays - Mary Rowlandson, Wampanoag People, Puritans

Mary Rowlandson Mary Rowlanrson's Puritan beliefs help her endure her captivity, which lasts eleven weeks, at the hands of the Wampanoag Indians. These beliefs, are often referred as tenets, reflect the fanatical belief of the Puritans that they are god's chosen people. Rowlandson watches firsthand the horror of the Indian attack on her town and the killing that takes place on both sides during which she receives a bullet wound in her side (Rowlandson 299). She is taken captive and decides that god will see her through these hard times and test her faith in him (Rowlandson 299). During her captivity she mentally endures separation from her remaining family and friends, the death of her child at the hands of the Wampanoag Indians, and the degradation of her treatment as a slave by the people she considers to be children of the devil (Rowlandson 299,303,305,313) . Her belief in the Puritan way of life helps her maintain her sanity during these trying times. Two tenets in particular are evident duri ng these long hard weeks. They are typology and Satan on earth (Miller 6). Throughout her diary she refers to these tenets among others as she describes her trials in captivity at the hands of the Indians. Typology refers to the Puritans taking recent events and relating them to events that took place in early scripture (Miller 6). The Puritans believe that they are god's newly chosen people and the events in their lives prove this by taking them down the same road as the Israelites in early scripture (Miller 6). Typology appears during the Indian attack in the beginning of the diary. One person out of the thirty seven people in one house escapes and Mary exclaims, ?And I only am escaped alone to tell the News? (Job 1.15, Rowlandson 300) which refers to the suffering a survivor endures from an attack. She assumes the survivor is despondent knowing that he alone survives the Indian attack. During the third remove she finds herself among a large number of Indians which causes her to make another statement that was a comparison made between her and David (Rowlandson 302). She appears to find it extremely difficult to imagine the Indians as civilized and living in communities of their own (Rowlandson 308). It seems easier for her mind to accept that they are savages and band together only at the devil's will to attack god's chosen people (Rowlandson 309). In the fifth remove she states ? Oh that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways, I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries? (Psalm 81.13-14, Rowlandson 306). Throughout the diary she appears to believe that the primary reason for the Indians success is to punish the Puritans for not living the life god wants them to live and that god is apparently testing her belief by showing her the similarities of the Israelites plights and her own . Once she becomes aware of these similarities, the trials or ordeals become easier for her to deal with because she is familiar with the testament and believes that in the end she will triumph, as the chosen people triumphed, if she places herself in god's hands (Rowlandson 304). Satan on earth refers to the Puritan belief that they are god's chosen people in a new Promised Land and that the Indians are the children of the devil put there to test the Puritan's faith (Miller 6). Mary Rowlandson's perception is the Puritans are living a devout life while the devil uses the Indians to tempt and corrupt the Puritans (Miller 6). In the initial attack she refers to them as bloody heathens alluding to their apparent bloodlust as they attack and plunder her town (Rowlandson299). The Indians reinforce the fact that they are, in her eyes, the devil on earth by their ritual on the first night celebrating their victory over the Puritans (Rowlandson 300). Mary convinces herself that the Indians transform the woods into a hellish den in which they display their true evil nature through their revelry (Rowlandson 300). Another reference is made to their being the children of Satan as she