Compare and contrast Jordan, Daisy, and Myrtle.

Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle are all somewhat shallow and self-serving when it comes to romantic relationships.  Daisy obviously cheats on her husband, Tom, with Jay Gatsby, and Myrtle cheats on her husband, George, with Tom.  They both seem to feel that they can do better, at least for a time, that they can have more (whether that be more love or more money) with someone else.  Further, Nick tells us that Jordan "instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men" and that "She was incurably dishonest."  Thus, Jordan purposely chooses to be with men who aren't that bright, who cannot catch her (or at least would never accuse her) in the lies that she tells.  She always wants the upper hand.  Ultimately, all three are quite selfish in their relationships.

Daisy claims to be "cynical" now, after her few years of marriage and becoming a mother, but Nick describes her as almost the opposite, especially in contrast to Jordan.  He says that Jordan, "unlike Daisy, was too wise to ever carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age."  Thus, Jordan is in some ways the more cynical, or at least realistic, one, while Daisy is the one who is (or was) capable of a hopefulness similar to Gatsby's. 

Myrtle is ultimately hopeful as well, a trait conveyed by both the conversation at her party in the beginning of the novel as well as her behavior when she runs out to meet the car she believes Tom is driving toward the end of the novel.  Her sister, Catherine, tells Nick that neither Myrtle nor Tom "'can stand the person they're married to.'"  She says, "'If I was them I'd get a divorce and get married to each other right away.'"  Such statements make it sound as though Myrtle has discussed such things as a possibility, an extremely hopeful (albeit impossible) idea: she actually thinks that Tom might leave Daisy for her.  Moreover, running out to the car, thinking that she'll speak with Tom, makes it seem as though she believes that she could have such a huge impact on him -- again, we recognize this as highly unlikely, but Myrtle is unrealistically hopeful.