"I'm going to give you this dress as soon as I'm through with it. I've got to get another one tomorrow. I'm going to make a list of all the things I've got to get. A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog, and one of those cute little ashtrays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother's grave that'll last all summer."
Chapter 2 · Myrtle Wilson
Context
After telling the story of her first meeting with Tom, Myrtle turns to Mrs. McKee and lists her upcoming purchases in a stream of consumerist enthusiasm.
Analysis
This catalogue of desires brilliantly exposes the superficiality of Myrtle's aspirations—all items are purchasable, all exist on the same plane of consumerism. The devastating juxtaposition of trivial vanity items (massage, wave, ashtray) with the memorial wreath for her mother's grave reveals how thoroughly consumption has colonized her emotional life. Even grief becomes another item on a shopping list. The repetition of 'I've got to get' creates a sense of compulsive acquisition, while the wreath that will 'last all summer' reduces mourning to seasonal decoration.
How to Use in Essay
Excellent for essays on materialism and the American Dream, the commodification of emotion, or Myrtle's character as representative of aspirational consumption.