In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle says of her sister, ''She's said to be very beautiful by people who ought to know.'' What does this statement say about...

This comment by Myrtle, Tom's mistress, to Nick in Chapter II of The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) is meant to persuade him to go up to the apartment, where he can meet her sister Catherine. What I find interesting about your question is how similar my response would be if someone were asking this about a story taking place in 2016. Even Myrtle, from the wrong side of the tracks, understands that every society has arbiters of taste, and they are not people who live on the edge of a valley of ashes and over a garage. This is still true today. While Myrtle could never have articulated this, the fact is that she understands very well that Nick, a member of the upper class, is unlikely to take her word for it that Catherine is beautiful, not so much because she is a biased sister, but more because she senses Nick will find her own tastes beneath him—which he does, pitilessly detailing the furnishings of the apartment when he goes upstairs and sees it. Even now, whom do we allow to be our arbiters of taste? It seems it is often the rich and famous who set some standard of beauty that many feel they fall short of. There is probably some aesthetic ideal the Western world can agree upon, but that is not what Myrtle is speaking of—and neither is Fitzgerald.