F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby has three distinct female characters that personify Fitzgerald’s view of women in the 1920s, believing that they are shallow, cynical, and only do things to better themselves. Daisy Buchanan is an aristocratic woman living in East Egg. She is wealthy, mostly because of her husband Tom Buchanan, popular, and beautiful. When she is first introduced in the novel, she is described as having an aura around her that draws you in. Though she is rich, she is bored with life stating that she has, “been everywhere and done everything.” Her reputation and position in the social world are things that she relies on. Daisy knows that Tom is cheating on her, but she does not divorce him, not wanting to be seen …show more content…
At the beginning of the novel she is portrayed as proud and sure of herself, but as she begins to develop feelings for Gatsby again that she cannot decide what she wants. In chapter 7, during the riff between Tom and Jay over her, she cannot seem to decide who she wants to be with. When Jay says, “You never loved him,” Daisy responds right back, “I never loved him” wanting to please Gatsby, not making her own choice in the situation. The fact that she chose one rather than not, even though both men were no good for her, shows how dependent she was on other people and money. When Daisy and Gatsby left that hotel is when Daisy murdered Myrtle. She did not stop when it happened because she was overwhelmed and she did not want to face the consequences that would ruin her persona that she has kept up for so many years. This is also why she did not go to the police and confess ultimately leaving Gatsby to take the blame even though he wanted to. In the end Daisy chose Tom which was the safest choice for her because she could keep her wealth, her popularity, she did not have to go to jail, and it was an overall better choice for herself. Daisy also not showing up at Gatsby’s funeral and moving away without any contact just shows how quickly she can drop something that could make her look like an immoral …show more content…
Myrtle Wilson is married to George Wilson who owns a run- down garage in the valley of ashes. Neither of them are wealthy and Myrtle is disgruntled by this fact. She believes that she was destined for something more, something greater. Unfortunately for her that something greater turned out to be Tom Buchanan. Myrtle is like Daisy in the sense that to get what she wants, she is dependent on Tom. In contrast, she is also like Jordan in the fact that she is independent from her husband and uses her own means, though immoral, to get what she wants. Though Myrtle could only live in a fool’s paradise from time to time, when she is with Tom she take on an entirely different persona, changing her outfits and her attitude to fit in with Tom’s more extravagant lifestyle. While in Tom’s world though, she gets too in over her head and lets her true feelings out about the circumstances between her, Tom, and Daisy. This leads to some abuse from Tom. Myrtle underestimates her position in the situation. Unfortunately, Myrtle just does not understand that she is just a desired object to Tom and nothing more. This false faith in Tom leaving Daisy for her is what ultimately leads to her death. Coincidently, Myrtle causes more of a disturbance in Tom and Daisy’s marriage after she’s dead than
Daisy was somewhat of a bystander. She stood around and watched as Tom had an affair with Myrtle, and then as Gatsby and Tom hatched it for long periods of time. With an abusive husband like Tom, Daisy didn’t exactly have the strength and confidence to stand up for herself and choose what she wanted. She did not really love Tom, or Gatsby wouldn’t have been of love interest to her, so when Tom and Myrtle had this affair, it didn’t phase her. Although, she had these feelings towards another man, she knew she couldn’t leave Tom because he was much stronger than her, and could easily hurt her. It was clear to me that she wanted to leave with Gatsby, but when put in the situation of admitting it to her husband, she was panicked. Tom, of all people, should understand the possibility of loving another, but is extremely hypocritical and scares her into staying. On the contrary, Daisy performed one despicable act that resulted in the death of her true love. She was the driver of the car that hit, and killed Myrtle, but instead of fessing up to it, she blamed Gatsby. He was shot because of the accusation that he was the murder, and bashed all over town; so much so that all those people that came to all his parties, refused to come to his funeral. Daisy herself, failed to make an appearance at this event, which makes me wonder whether Gatsby was her love, or her
Set in the Roaring ‘20s, The Great Gatsby focuses mainly on the lives of men as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. However, it also clearly outlines the lives of several women : Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker. On the surface, the lives of these women couldn’t be more different. Daisy, a rich debutante, is torn between her husband, Tom, or her first love, Jay Gatsby. Lower on the social ladder is Myrtle, who is having an affair with Tom, hoping to rise above her station in life. Jordan, on the other hand, is unmarried and a successful golfer, who travels the country participating in tournaments. While these women may have seemed independent, they’re still subject to the will of society which sees them as inferior and objects to be controlled by men.
The great Gatsby gives us an accurate insight into the 1920s zeitgeist regarding the role of women in society. America was in a state of an economic boom and rapid change. Society had become less conservative after world war one. The role of women was revolutionary during this time and although women had a lot more freedom now; they were still confined to their sexist role within society; Men were still seen as the dominant gender. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the extremities of gender and social class, and the lack of independence this brought upon women. This essay will discuss the three major female characters and the ideas that Fitzgerald confronts of female stereotypes of the 1920s.
“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men” (Joseph Conrad). In the Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the wife of George Wilson, Myrtle, has been cheating with the married man Tom Buchanan. From time to time they escape to an apartment Tom owns, behind each of their spouses backs. As time goes on Daisy, Tom’s wife, obtains the knowledge from Jordan that her previous lover is just across the bay and waiting to see her again. Daisy begins going behind Tom’s back with Jay Gatsby, tangling the characters in a mess of relationships. Throughout the book, women take important roles and change the story, even ultimately leading to Gatsby’s death.
Scott Fitzgerald, in his critically acclaimed The Great Gatsby, examined the role of women in society and the transgressions of the New Women against a patriarchal society. Additionally, Herstory and Daisy Buchanan by Leland S. Person Jr., Bad Driving: Jordan 's Tantalizing Story in "The Great Gatsby" by Veronica Makowsky, and Critical Theory Today by Lois Tyson critique Fitzgerald’s novel through a feminist lens. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle represent the three archetypes of women, and their fates and characterizations demonstrate the sexist, patriarchal message of the novel. As the most traditional woman of the novel, Fitzgerald not only depicts Daisy Buchanan as the simple trophy wife of her husband, but also chastises her for rebellious refusal to accept her position in life. Modeled after the historical Gibson Girl, Jordan Baker defies all gender stereotypes and is therefore unfavorably portrayed as androgynous and
...Great Gatsby portrays women as objects, meant only for fun and pleasure, certainly incapable of independent thought or responsible action. Wharton's Ethan Frome displays women as evil characters who seduce and tempt men, only to leave them hurt in the end. Wharton and Fitzgerald are typical of many American authors who needlessly vilify women in their novels.
During the 1920’s women were fervently depicted as inferior to men and incapable of the success. In the novel The Great Gatsby female characters are subject to gender based stereotypes and blindly follow culturally accepted norms which dictate their place and position within society. The expectations placed upon the female characters to comply with the norms of society limit their potential to become successful in comparison to the male characters, who are successful in the 1920’s. Within The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the female characters as socially and economically limited and dependant, due to the strong implementation of patriarchal roles of men in society. Women are confined
Even if they disagree about other issues, all feminists believe patriarchal ideology works to keep men and women confined to traditional gender roles so male dominance may be maintained. Utilizing the precepts of Feminist criticism, it could be argued “The Great Gatsby” promotes a thinly veiled patriarchal agenda. Through Fitzgerald’s treatment of the three women in “Gatsby”, as well as masking the possible homosexuality of a central character, the novel seems to promote only the traditional gender roles, swaying uncomfortably from any possible variance.
From the start of the book we can see that women in the book are
Her only profession is finding ways to keep her husband satisfied. So, that he should procure whatever she currently desires. The constant state of leisure that surrounds her everyday life gets too boring for Daisy. She seeks new, exciting, and passionate beginnings in her life. After all, Daisy Buchannan always gets what she wants. When Jay Gatsby finds himself reacquainted with his lost love, Daisy takes this opportunity to entertain her presently dull lifestyle. Their escapades all suited Daisy, until Gatsby presented Daisy with an ultimatum. She had to tell Tom she never loved him, and then she can run away to live happily with a man who adores her. The idea seemed romantic, until Tom caught on to Daisy’s deception. Of course he would still want her, and he made a few convincing arguments to keep Daisy from leaving him. Daisy left for the Buchannan’s house with Gatsby feeling conflicted and confused about Tom’s promise of a better marriage. In her disgruntled state, Daisy wound up killing Tom’s mistress in a hit-and-run car accident, a true show of irony. She didn’t even stop to see if the person she hit was alright, and she honestly didn’t care. Daisy continued her way home, because her relationship was more important than the death of a human
Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich couple, seem to have everything they could possibly want. Though their lives are full of anything you could imagine, they are unhappy and seek to change, Tom drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(pg. 10) and reads "deep books with long words in them"(pg. 17) just so he has something to talk about. Even though Tom is married to Daisy he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and has apartment with her in New York.. Daisy is an empty character, someone with hardly any convictions or desires. Even before her relationships with Tom or, Gatsby are seen, Daisy does nothing but sit around all day and wonder what to do with herself and her friend Jordan. She knows that Tom is having an affair, yet she doesn't leave him even when she hears about Gatsby loving her. Daisy lets Gatsby know that she too is in love with him but cant bring herself to tell Tom goodbye except when Gatsby forces her too. Even then, once Tom begs her to stay, even then Daisy forever leaves Gatsby for her old life of comfort. Daisy and Tom are perfect examples of wealth and prosperity, and the American Dream. Yet their lives are empty, and without purpose.
Characters in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald are often described differently than they actually act throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Daisy is told to be “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville”. She was said to have great beauty, and its even said that she holds her popularity spot because of it. She is also described as a “fool” which means she is beautiful, just like an angel. As we read on, we come to see that Daisy is actually very careless, selfish, and only focuses herself on wealth and power. She never looked at the consequences of her actions; and she let others clean up the messes she made. She wanted her daughter to grow up just like her, even though it’s a life nobody wanted to live. She even gave up her true love to be with somebody who had money and a good repetition. As perceived in the novel, Daisy is the most despicable character in the novel of The Great Gatsby.
As Mark Twain once declared, “What would men be without women…” This quote is clearly illustrated in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless masterpiece The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is the tragic love story of a poor man who falls in love with a rich girl and spends the rest of his life getting rich to impress her; however, in the end he dies alone without his love fulfilled. Although Fitzgerald’s novel is mainly androcentric, he uses several females each unique in their personalities to highlight the male characters, and to show that although people may have different desires, motivations, and needs they are not that different from each other.
Women are seen from a biased point of view in pop culture as they are often criticized and portrayed in degrading ways. The Great Gatsby takes place in the early part of the 20th century which is also known as the Roaring 20's. In regards to feminism, the women in The Great Gatsby are mainly depicted as second class to men. The story gives readers an insight of the roles that gender played in past World War I America. In The Great Gatsby, the author Scott Fitzgerald shines a light on the submissiveness of females toward males during the Roaring Twenties by giving the women in the novel an unfair representation as they are often identified as passive or negative “objects”.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald took place in the 1920’s when the nation was undergoing rapid economic, political, and social change. Looking through different literary lenses the reader is able to see the effects of these rapid changes. The marxist lens reflects the gap between rich and poor while the feminist lens showcases the patriarchal society.