Characteristics Of Jordan Baker In The Great Gatsby

Jordan Baker, an avid golfer, party girl, and liar: The ideal representative for an orange personality. Throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jordan Baker’s actions and dialogue are consistent with the traits of an orange personality. A few of the many orange traits Baker displays throughout the book are being active, always needing variety and entertainment, and being deceptive.

Being a professional athlete, yes even a golfer, being active is bound to be fairly accurate to that athletes description. Jordan Baker, a professional women's golfer, is a very active young lady, “‘Jordan’s going to play in the tournament tomorrow,’ explained Daisy, ‘over at Westchester.’ … I knew now why her face was familiar- its pleasing contemptuous expression had looked out at me

from many rotogravure pictures of the sporting life at Asheville and Hot Springs and Palm Beach,”(18). Not only is Jordan Baker active physically but mentally she is always going.
Jordan Baker’s immense mental activity causes her to always want variety in her day to day activities and always be entertained.

One of her favorite forms of entertainment is gossip. At the first party Nick goes to he sees Jordan at the party and listens to her and several other guests gossip endlessly about the origins of their hosts. That same night Jordan is pulled aside by the host himself, Jay Gatsby. After talking to her Jordan is all too quick to tell Nick she just heard amazing news, “‘I’ve just heard the most amazing thing,’ she whispered… ‘It was simply amazing,’ she repeated abstractedly. ‘But I swore I wouldn’t tell it and here I am tantalizing you,’”(52). She always has to be starting something exciting whether it be a rumor or a new adventure and she is always dragging someone into it, a definitive trait of an orange personality. Jordan is never able to do one thing or talk to the same people for more than a little while at a time. “‘Let’s get out,’ whispered Jordan, after a somehow wasteful and inappropriate half-hour; ‘this is much too polite for me,’”(45). If a situation bores her or she just wants to change settings she will up and leave in the middle of a

conversation.
Being a golfer honest and integrity is an important trait to have. This is something Jordan Baker lacks along with many orange personalities. As the compulsive liar that she is, “When we were on a house-party together up in Warwick, she left a borrowed car out in the rain with the top down, and then lied about it-- and suddenly I remembered the story about her that had eluded me that night at Daisy’s. At her first big golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers--a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round,”(57). Lying about everything, Jordan Baker is a prime example of a dishonest orange.
After looking at her many traits, specifically her high physical activity, need for entertainment, and deceptiveness among many other orange traits it is clear that Jordan Baker is an orange through and through.