In chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson says of the elevator boy, "These people! You have to keep them drunk all the time." Why is this...

My version (Scribner) has a slightly different
quote:

These
people! You have to keep after them all the time
(36).

However, there is irony
in that statement, too.

To see the irony in either
statement, it is important to understand what irony is first. Irony is a juxtaposition
of incongruous elements, in other words, putting things together that do not
fit.

Next, we need to examine the context.  Myrtle is
clearly of a very low socio-economic group, much lower than that of Nick, Tom, and
Daisy, who are, I would say, upper-class.  Myrtle in this chapter is drinking
heavily.

Now, given your quote, the irony is that someone
who is drinking is talking about how someone else needs to be drunk all the time, in
order to perform services properly.

The other irony, which
is present in both quotes, is that Myrtle is acting as though she is of a much higher
class than the elevator man, putting on airs, as they say, and in fact, it is likely
that she is of the same class, or perhaps even lower.