Great Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle help?

The character "Daisy" is named after a beautiful flower. Myrtle's name is quite different. A myrtle is a shrub that is used as a headge (a border) in a garden. However, the myrtle was also considered to be the sacred tree of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. How might these facts add meaning to author's choice of these names? Include character traits and facts about each character.

Great Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle help?
Interesting idea. Daisies are pretty common. They grow wild. Nothing really special about them. There was nothing really special about Daisy either -- even though Gatsby thought there was. She was narcissistic, selfish and really didn't even care very much about her own child. Myrtle on the other hand, is cheating on her husband, but she does seem to actually love Tom. Or at least she cares deeply for him. They are two very different women. Pax-C
Reply:I agree with the person who answered before me about Daisy. Daisy is very common, there is nothing really special about her. She is like a beautiful flower with no smell, making up in physical pulchritude and a generic vivacity what she lacks in substance. For example, her beautiful voice which says nothing of significance. She has no purpose in life-not even to her child, although she does live extravagantly.



Myrtle on the otherhand is like a powerhouse. She's got vitality and energy-a very strong feminine personality. Although she is not attractive in the way that Daisy is, she has an allure that comes from her strength as a woman. This powerful feminine could be representative of Aphrodite. While Daisy has the image, Myrtle has purpose-as can be seen in the garden border comparison. Also, if you recall towards the end when Myrtle died, Fitzgerald describes her breast as flapping back in some mutilated way. The breast is a symbol of a woman's femininity and it was torn away from her. This ties into the Aphrodite comparasion also.