Comparison and Contrast in The Great GatsbyThe success of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is in part due to its successful characterization of the main characters through the comparison and contrast of Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan and George B. Wilson, as well as Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Contrast is achieved by two main means: contrasting the opposing qualities of the characters and contrasting the positive or negative qualities of one character with the absence of another. Conflict is generated when characters sometimes present themselves as allegorical opposites. On the other hand, comparing two characters is rather simple. This comparison and contrast is prevalent in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To begin with, Daisy and Myrtle have similarities and differences. The similarities revolve around the characters' marriages. First, both of them have an affair at some point in the novel. Myrtle's sister, Catherine, whispers to Nick, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (33). Partly because of this intolerance, both begin relationships. Daisy says that she loves both her husband, Tom, and her illegitimate boyfriend, Gatsby: "I love you [Gatsby] now, isn't that enough?...I loved him [Tom ] once, but I loved you too” (133). Daisy says she loves Tom and Gatsby. Here the character of Daisy must be taken into account. Daisy might just as easily love Gatsby's shirts, the house, or other status symbols as she loves Gatsby as a person. Likewise, she might also only like Tom's status symbols. Myrtle certainly only likes Tom's status symbols. She tells Nick, "He was wearing a suit and patterned leather shoes, and I couldn't take my eyes off him..." (36). That's the point......middle of article......ization.Works CitedBewley, Marius. "Scott Fizgerald's Review of America." Mizener 125-41. Eagleton, Terry. The function of criticism. London: Verso, 1984. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Collier Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1925. “Fitzgerald, F. Scott. » Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 97. Redmond, Washington: Microsoft, 1996. CD-ROM. 1997. Posnock, Ross. "'A new world, material without being real': Fitzgerald's critique of capitalism in The Great Gatsby." Critical Essays on “Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 201-13. Spindler, Michael. American literature and social change. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1983. Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on “Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Room, 1984. 13-20.