2-4-10

The mother (I only assume this because she instructed the duty of tending to Father's khaki pants) seems to contradict herself. She refers to the daughter (again, only an assumption) as attempting to be a slut, which may be the mother's way of saying that they were not going to live in the "American dream," as Tyson put it, or be subject to being placed in some social status. The characteristic of a "slut" would be to sell herself (comodification) to obtain "better" things than she has at the present. It may be harsh to say, but I would consider Myrtle Wilson to be practicing this quality of a "slut." She may not be selling sex but is trading her marriage, morality, and standard of living for a higher one from the highest bidder, Tom. The mother does not want her daughter to become this and instructs her three times to refrain from being a "slut." This would prove her to have a Marxist point of view.

On the other hand, the mother is instructing the girl to do whatever it takes to appear "better" in any social setting. She wants her to have nicer looking clothes, always be clean, and eat so that it won't turn someone else's stomach. She implies that if all this is done than she will not be the type of girl the baker would dare lecture. Ultimately, she would be "better" than the girl that the baker would normally ask. Clearly the little girl already knows she is the type that the baker would veer away but the mother says she can be better. This contradicts the Marxist view.