Jordan Baker In The Great Gatsby

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Oxford Dictionary defines a hero as “A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” In The Great Gatsby, it’s easy to say that F. Scott Fitzgerald argues that Nick would be the real “hero” of the novel. Nick is the main character per say being the narrator, but Nick doesn’t qualify for those attributes. Jordan isn’t a main character, but she follows those guidelines, and fits the definition much more than Nick Carraway does. She goes against all the social and gender norms. She’s ambitious, unique, witty, and her independence rather than codependency is what sets her apart from all the other characters in The Great Gatsby.
Nick Carraway is the narrator and the main character of The Great Gatsby. …show more content…

According to how Jordan is described in the novel, she is a very strong, direct, and cynical, other than the other women. Even though she was characterized with lots of negative traits like, being a reckless driver, she stands out as independent. “It takes two to make an accident.” is how she responds in regards to Nick talking about her reckless driving. You could tell that Nick was attracted to her due to her carefree and entitled attitude. An example of her wit would be when she says “It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people.” This was her way at suggesting to Daisy that her life isn’t so great and perfect as everyone else believes. Jordan is also very ambitious. She’s excited for the open possibilities and opportunities that life could hand her. She says "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." She is self-sufficient and carefree, she also doesn’t feel the need to attach herself to another man like Daisy did. Her dishonesty, recklessness and bluntness added to her charm and independent …show more content…

They were the women ‘rebels’ of their time. Since it was so rare for women to be independent and to not obey gender norms, the women who did disdain to what was considered “acceptable behavior” at the time, they were categorized as what they called flappers. Jordan would be considered a flapper due to her different behavior in the book. Shes described as having a rebellious personality, and she doesn’t fall under any of the gender norms as many of the other girls do. Being an independent woman, and being a flapper or going against social norms was an abnormal thing during the 20’s due to circumstances, that it just makes Jordan stand out even more than she does

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