How does catherine respond during the trial

Of course, we see that Tom would never leave Daisy for Myrtle —she is just someone he can feel free to abuse, since he can always buy her compliance with more cheap gifts. She thought he was a gentleman, but his veneer of class—exemplified by the fact that he "He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in and never even told me" 2. This is very reminiscent of both what happens to Daisy, as Tom cheats on her during their honeymoon, revealing his MO; and what almost happens to Daisy and Gatsby, who is yet another man who seems like a gentleman but is actually living in a borrowed "suit" and a borrowed identity.

Society and Class. After seeing the heights of the upper classes on East Egg and the lows of the factory workers in the valley of ashes, this chapter shows us what life is like for a segment of the middle class. Myrtle is desperate to get as far away from her depressing life with Wilson at the gas station as she can, surrounding herself with the material trappings that Tom can provide: an apartment, clothes, and an accessory dog.

The American Dream. In a novel that is all about the American drive to get ahead, Myrtle is one of the strivers, willing to put up with terrible treatment in exchange for a chance to climb higher. So are the people hanging on her coattails, like the McKees and Catherine. Seeing her with this shows us just how striated separated into layers society is, as Myrtle grabs every tiny opportunity to demonstrate her slightly higher status to her entourage.

The Eyes of Doctor T. This world is defined by its lawless amorality, and there is no voice of moral authority to pass judgment on the bad behavior of the characters. All we get is an inanimate object that hints at the possibility of a divine watcher. But, even though these disembodied eyes do make wrong-doers feel uncomfortable under their gaze, they can't actually prevent anything. For example, Tom is entirely comfortable lying. He maintains a mistress, lying to Daisy about his phone calls. And it turns out that he is lying to Myrtle as well, telling her that the reason he can't divorce his wife is that Daisy is a Catholic.

He winces under the eyes of the billboard, but it doesn't deter him in any way. The Valley of Ashes. There are those who live in palaces in West and East Egg. There are those who party in apartments in Manhattan. But this chapter shows us what happens to the people who get left behind, and who can't muster up the luck and energy needed to "win.

Are there any happy marriages in this book? Like, how are Nick's parents doing? Or that random horseback riding couple we'll see later? Tom drags Nick to meet Myrtle at Wilson's gas station, in the middle of the "valley of ashes" that is industrial Queens.

It's also clear that Tom has been lying to Myrtle about his own marriage in order to string her along. The party breaks up after Tom punches Myrtle in the face and breaks her nose. He does it because she mentions Daisy's name. Get deeper into the characters of Tom and Myrtle to really dig into what function they play in the novel.

Draw comparisons between Myrtle and Daisy to see how these two almost diametrically opposed women actually have some important things in common. Also, explore how each perceives her relationships with men. Move on to the summary of Chapter 3 , or revisit the summary of Chapter 1.

We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:. Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.

See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4. How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide.

Choose Your Test. Posted by Dr. It's clear from how Myrtle moves and speaks that she's confident and self-assured, and assumes that her relationship with Tom is a permanent ticket into the world of the wealthy—not just a fleeting glimpse. The fact that Tom sees Myrtle as disposable but Myrtle hopes for more in their relationship is painfully apparent at the end of Chapter 2 , when she insists on bringing up Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking Myrtle's nose.

But despite this nasty encounter, the two continue their relationship, suggesting that this kind of abuse is the norm for Tom's affairs, and Myrtle is too eager to stay in the new world she's found—or even believes that Tom will still leave Daisy for her—that she stays as well.

By the end of the novel, Myrtle doesn't seem to have been completely mistaken about Tom's affection for her. After all, Tom says he that he "cried like a baby" 9. Of course, since it's Tom, his grief is probably self-pitying than selfless. Either way, their relationship is indicative of both their values: Myrtle's ambition and Tom's callousness. Myrtle, like George and Gatsby, was obviously not born into money, and instead is relying on her own wits to make it in s America.

In a manner quite similar to Gatsby's, she consciously adopts a different persona to try and get access to a richer circle while George seems to be the only one relying on honest work—his shop—and honest relationships, through his loyalty to Myrtle, to improve his lot in life. But Myrtle aims too high, and ends up killed when she mistakes Gatsby's yellow car for Tom's, and runs out in the road assuming the car will stop for her.

In the same way that Gatsby overestimates his value to Daisy, Myrtle overestimates her value to Tom. Even if Tom had been driving the car, and even if he had stopped for her, he would never have whisked her away from George, divorced Daisy, and married her.

Furthermore, the fact she assumed the garish yellow car was Tom's shows how little she understands the stiff, old money world Tom comes from. Myrtle's complete misunderstanding of Tom, as well as her violent death, fit the overall cynical message in the book that the American Dream is a false promise to those born outside of the wealthy class in America.

As hard as anyone tries, they don't stand a chance of competing with those in America born into the old money class. They will never understand the strange internal rules that govern the old money set, and will never stand a chance of being their equal. This is a prompt that you can obviously use for any of the characters, but it's especially interesting in Myrtle's case, since she has two residences : the house above the auto shop that George owns, and the apartment that Tom Buchanan rents for her in the city.

Myrtle's home with George is a dark, hopeless image of working class life in America: it's an apartment above a bare garage, nestled in the dreadful Valley of Ashes. George is utterly mired in this home, even coated with a thin layer of ash from the factories outside. In contrast, Myrtle is vivacious and free of the ash, which gives her a layer of separation from her actual home. Myrtle's apartment with Tom is overstuffed and gaudy , and she seems much happier and more at home there.

The mix of high-brow pretension in the decor with her low-brow entertainment speaks to how Myrtle values the appearance of wealth and sophistication, but doesn't actually understand what upper-class taste looks like the way Tom and Daisy Buchanan do.

So while the Wilson's garage is a testament to the struggle of the working class in American in the s, Myrtle and Tom's apartment is a physical representation of the airs Myrtle puts on and the appearances of wealth she values. One of the novel's most important events is also one that can be confusing for students: namely, Myrtle's death at the end of Chapter 7. How exactly does she end up in the road? What does it have to do with her strange encounter with Tom, Nick, and Jordan in the garage earlier in the day?

Piecing together these three takes on the incident, this is what happens, in order:. Still a bit confused about the climax of the novel? Get a detailed recap of Chapters 7, 8 and 9 to understand exactly how the three deaths play out. Learn more about Myrtle's marriage and her relationship with Tom over at our post about love and relationships.

Read about social class in the novel in our post on the role of social classes in this novel. We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:. Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia.

She is passionate about improving student access to higher education. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process.

Ask questions; get answers. How to Get a Perfect , by a Perfect Scorer. Score on SAT Math. Score on SAT Reading. Score on SAT Writing. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? How to Get a Perfect 4.

How to Write an Amazing College Essay. A Comprehensive Guide. Choose Your Test. Posted by Dr. Anna Wulick Jan 13, PM. Article Roadmap Myrtle as a character Physical description Myrtle's history before the novel begins Actions in the novel Character Analysis Myrtle quotes Common discussion topics and essay ideas Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is chapter.

In a moment of drama that portended another date with the executioner's block, John Fisher, the Bishop of Rochester and a main supporter of Catherine, rose to make clear that he had not, as the King had implied, joined with other bishops in signing a document urging the King to take the matter of his marriage to the Pope. The inquest produced no results; Catherine chose to make no more appearances, nor to recognize its authority to decide the validity of her marriage. Instead, in July, she appealed the matter directly to Pope Clement--who then announced that the decision would be made in Rome, not England.

While the court at Blackfriars continued in session, Thomas More traveled to Cabrai, where negotiations involving major European powers to take place. More played England's cards well, winning separate peace agreements with Francis and Charles V.

The agreements, which would hold the peace in Europe for fifteen years, rank among More's proudest achievements.

More chose to remember the accomplishment on his tombstone at Chelsea along with just one other: he noted that he had always been "molestus" troublesome to heretics. The failure of Cardinal Wolsey to secure a Church decision annulling his marriage did not sit well with King Henry. In October , Henry ordered Wolsey arrested for treason and stripped him of the title of Lord Chancellor, the highest appointed office in England and a position he had held for fourteen years.

In his place, Henry chose Thomas More. The choice was widely acclaimed. Wolsey called his replacement "the aptest and fittest man in the Realm. During his tenure, More would ban heretical texts, search the home of heretics, and prosecute--and even burn--those persons he believed to be undermining Church authority. Thomas Cranmer , who would become a sort of scholar-in-residence for Henry, wrote a treatise, Collectanea satis copiosa , that demonstrated the unlawfulness of the marriage between Henry and Catherine.

The King added his own handwritten comments in the margins. The report circulated to faculties of England's universities which duly--under some pressure--issued declarations that the King's scruples were probably justified. In the middle of June, Henry convened a meeting of lords and prelates, who were persuaded to send a letter to Pope Clement asking that the King's annulment be granted. More's signature was conspicuously absent from the letter sent to the Pope.

In the month after the meeting, the King's attorney general charged fourteen prelates including Bishop John Fisher who had sided with Catherine in the dispute with violations of praemunire laws. Clement's answer to the King's letter could not have made Henry happy; the Pope reminded the King that his refusal to send a delegate to Rome was the principal cause of the delay in resolving his "great matter.

In September, Henry issued a proclamation that prevented enforcement of any papal bull inconsistent with his own view of his marriage's lawfulness. Henry's direct attack on Vatican authority upset Thomas More, who openly expressed his disagreement with the King's action.

The King's movement away from Rome continued. Intellectual support for the move came in the form of an influential argument by a lawyer, Christopher St. German, who wrote that the law of the realm should trump ecclesiastical law.

In November , a man who would become an eager proponent of the St. German's view, Thomas Cromwell , became a member of the King's inner council. In time, Cromwell--cunning, cynical, intelligent, ambitious, resourceful--would prove to be More's chief nemesis. A case could be made for Cromwell.

His efforts prevented mass bloodshed in England and his pragmatic nationalistic politics seem a better fit for the time than More's campaign to preserve the medieval order. By insisting that English law was supreme to what More called "God's law," Cromwell helped pave the way for an England that could chart its own destiny. In the process, he also eliminated Rome's annoying drain on England's economy. Henry's impatience became obvious in The angry King summoned the clergy to Westminster, where he demanded that they reimburse the Crown for the costs of sending a delegation to Rome on a failed mission to secure his annulment.

But his demands did not stop there. He insisted that the convocation issue a statement recognizing him as "the sole protector and supreme head of the English Church and clergy. While a formal decision on his marriage hung in the balance, Henry took direct action. In May, at his request, a group of royal councilors met with Catherine and urged her to drop her opposition to the annulment. The mission failed. Henry, however, had waited long enough.

On July 11, , Henry and Catherine separated. By late the following year, Anne Boleyn was pregnant and, in early , Henry and Anne Boleyn secretly married. While the King and Anne Boleyn shared a bed, Henry's advisers stepped up pressure on Rome and domestic opponents of his annulment. In , Thomas Cromwell presented a bill to Parliament that denied payment to Rome in the form of "annates" that had been levied on every diocese in return for Papal consecration of new bishops and moved to limit the authority of the Church--and Thomas More--to punish heretics.

A bill prepared for the King by Cromwell transferred powers of the Church to Parliament and denied to bishops their longstanding authority to arrest heretics. Thomas More could not stomach the assault on his authority to continue his pursuit of heretics. The last straw, for the Lord Chancellor of the Realm, turned out to be the decision on May 15 of the English clergy, submitting to Henry's demand, to accept that all ecclesiastical law required royal consent--an action that effectively made Henry the head of the Church of England.

On the next day, More submitted his resignation. In the garden of Westminster's York Place, More handed Henry the great seal, concealed in a white leather pouch, and bowed.

Henry accepting the seal, told More, "For your service you have done me, you will find me a good and gracious lord. Thomas More, still serving as a King's councilor even though no longer Lord Chancellor, did not attend the event, angering Henry.

It was at this moment, says More biographer Peter Ackroyd, that "Henry hardened his heart" against More. Henry now had no greater thorn in his side that More. Henry determined to remove More's stubborn opposition--one way or another. More's former position and his wide respect made him easily the most prominent of the opponents to major portions of the King's agenda.

One aspect of Cromwell's investigation focused on More's relationship to Elizabeth Barton, a nun who claimed to have experienced visions about a dire future for England should Henry follow through on his plans to marry Anne Boleyn.

More had met with Barton to discuss her visions, and the King's men were aware of their association. A proposed bill of attainder drafted by Cromwell identified More as an accomplice of Barton. On the scaffold after conviction for treason, Barton confessed that her revelations were fraudulent, providing additional ammunition for those who would like to use her guilt to tar More. More denied any conspiracy with Barton in an informal meeting with Cromwell in February On the matter of Henry's marriage, More adhered to a policy of silence.

He continued to affirm his belief in papal supremacy, but was careful to do so by suggesting that his belief was based on the persuasive power of an earlier writing on the subject written by the King himself. More's caution, however, did not prevent the pressure against him from increasing.

Commissioners of the King summoned More to a meeting in which they threatened him and called him "a villainous servant," but departed without taking action.

Meanwhile, Parliament, sitting in an extraordinarily long session, enacted numerous bills proposed by Cromwell on the King's behalf. The Act of Succession declared Henry's marriage to Catherine void and established a line of succession through the children of Queen Anne.

The Act also specified various new offenses to be treasonous, such as "derogating" the royal family. Most significantly for Thomas More, the Act required all of the King's subjects to take an oath promising to maintain "the whole effects and contents of the present Act.

On April 12, , soon after leaving church at St. Paul's Cathedral with his son-in-law William Roper, More was handed a summons to appear at Lambeth Palace the next day to take the oath of succession.