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Womens role in literature
Womens role in literature
Portrayal of women in literature
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The way in which authors choose the first words of a character can be equated to the way one would script their first words in a speech or job interview. First words are first impressions, they prime the reader for what is to come. It is evident that F. Scott Fitzgerald author of The Great Gapsby strategically chose the first words of characters Daisy and Jordan in order catalyze the novel’s plot and theme. Literary analyst Kenneth Ebel commends Fitzgerald's intentional craft. He claims, “After exploring his materials to their limits, Fitzgerald knew, at his greatest moments, that he had discovered a universal pattern of desire and belief and behavior” (Ebel 5).
From the sofa surrounded by a white curtained breeze Daisy utters, “I’m p-paralyzed
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with happiness” (Fitzgerald 3). On page 3 of Fitzgerald's literary masterpiece (The Great Gatsby), main character Daisy is introduced greeting her cousin Nick Carraway in her East Egg mansion. Daisy’s first line is compelling, it is structurally and figuratively unique. One may gain the impression that Daisy is unable to move, that she is stuck in a bad marriage and in the role of pleasing/entertaining others. The hyphen in the word “paralyzed” proves that Daisy is indeed hesitant to say that she truly is happy. Daisy is disguising her true emotions in artificial happiness. John Kuehl who studies such phenomenons in literature believes that Fitzgerald himself “...Anticipated that lovely girls would go to ruin, that wealth would disintegrate, that millionaires would be ‘beautiful and damned’ “(Kuehl 12).
Therefore, Fitzgerald wrote the Daisy’s first words with prior knowledge to Daisy’s stereotypical character. Daisy’s first words were as relatable at the time as they are purposeful. Like Daisy, many women in the 1920s found comfort in fulfilling their own societal expectations even if this meant hiding the truth. Although the world doesn’t offer a reason for Daisy to be unhappy, Daisy is conscious enough to understand that she will never be “paralyzed with happiness”. She is not in love with Tom Buchanan nor fulfilled with her rich housewife role. Through the first words of Daisy, Fitzgerald attempts to tell the reader that “money doesn’t buy happiness”. Daisy’s first words leave the reader to wonder if she will ever find true love and happiness (perhaps with Gatsby himself?) outside of societal …show more content…
normalities. F.Scott Fitzgerald continues to develop “a universal pattern of desire and belief and behavior” through the creation of Jordan’s first word(s) (Ebel 5).
Jordan’s first words aren’t first words at all, Jordan merly intojects into the conversation between the Bucannons and Carraway. On page 10 she chimes in “Absolutely!” (Fitzgerald 10). Jordan’s first words/word is not necessary to the conversation however, her own entitlement requires her to have an input. Once again according to Kuehl, “Fitzgerald had a healthy respect for the single word and the single line. He once said that a single word could change the emphasis and the value in a scene or setting” (Kuehl 6). In every book,the author must implement characters who are the epitome of the society, the “absolute” of the culture, characters in which the protagonist must rise above. Jordan is one such character. From the get go Jordan re enforces the normality of rich peoples ideals. She is always gossiping and always keeping up with the trends. By assigning one specific word to Jordan, Fitzgerald now primes the reader to understand that Jordan will be a blind, ignorant, bystander in the novel. Unlike Daisy, Jordan is ignorant of society's warped demands on women. She is unaware that “lovely girls will go to ruin” and that “wealth will disintegrate”. Jordan’s first word is superficial and unnecessary to the scene much like beauty. Fitzgerald uses the first word of Daisy in order to foreshadow the potential theme that
“beauty fades”. Author’s first words are key in forming first impressions. An author must not only paint a picture of the character by their first introduction into the story but also spark the reader’s imagination. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the first words of his characters Daisy and Jordan to dip the reader’s toes into the world of women in the 20s. In his review on F.Scott Fitzgerald, Ronald Berman claims that “The person who uses the wrong time-conception ranges from the dreamer who ignores the present to the philistine who can see nothing else” (Berman 6). Daisy the dreamer ,and Jordan the philistine who can see nothing but the present, both possess the wrong conception of time which helps Fitzgerald to expose universal themes.
The first words are important because they build first impressions, and first impressions stick with you. When you’re reading literature, the analysis of a character’s first words can reveal a lot about the author's intent and can foreshadow the overall story. When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, he intentionally wrote the first words of his characters to reveal more about the character and who they really are.
Fitzgerald’s word choice when describing Jordan is seemingly repetitive, as Nick describes her mannerisms as being “motionless,” “discontented,” “unobtrusive,” “impersonal,” “devoid of meaning,” “dull,” and “languid” (Fitzgerald 8-15), painting a clear image of her tired, bland personality. She participates in the conversation between her, Nick, Tom, and Daisy during dinner, but her dialogue contains short, simple sentences such as “we ought to plan something” and “things went from bad to worse” that are concise, usually muttered or yawned, and generally don’t contain very important information. In fact, the only
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.
Daisy, in part, has these child – like qualities because of the influence and control Tom had over her. The following quotes from the novel show how Daisy was treated by Tom, how she was treated more as an object than a wife. On page 246 Toms said “Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now.” The reader sees, through this quote that Daisy’s love is like a possession to Tom, that he sees his marriage as system of ownership and about controlling what she does and how she feels. Tom then went on to say “She’s not leaving me!... Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger.” This also shows how Toms marriage is like an economic exchange, since he has bought Daisy the ring she belongs to him
Nothing is more important, to most people, than friendships and family, thus, by breaking those bonds, it draws an emotional response from the readers. Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan had a relationship before he went off to fight in the war. When he returned home, he finds her with Tom Buchanan, which seems to make him jealous since he still has feelings for Daisy. He wanted Daisy “to go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you” (Fitzgerald 118) Gatsby eventually tells Tom that his “wife doesn’t love [him]” and that she only loves Gatsby (Fitzgerald 121). But the unpleasant truth is that Daisy never loved anyone, but she loved something: money. Daisy “wanted her life shaped and the decision made by some force of of money, of unquestionable practicality” (Fitzgerald 161). The Roaring Twenties were a time where economic growth swept the nation and Daisy was looking to capitalize on that opportunity. Her greed for material goods put her in a bind between two wealthy men, yet they are still foolish enough to believe that she loved them. Jay Gatsby is a man who has no relationships other than one with Nick Caraway, so he is trying to use his wealth to lure in a greedy individual to have love mend his
He writes, through the voice of Gatsby, that “her voice is full of money” (127), implying that Daisy speaks with an eloquence and elegance found only in the voice of those born wealthy. Gatsby inherently connects Daisy with the idea of wealth and money, and shows a desire to be seen as one born with money. Hence, the reader can conclude that Gatsby is in love with what Daisy represents: wealth and the high class. By associating Daisy with the high society, Fitzgerald indirectly reveals his attitude towards America of the 1920s. He implies that similar to how Daisy chooses material pleasure and societal benefit as opposed to a real feeling that brings true joy, the people of the 1920s prioritize wealth and fleeting pleasure over concrete feelings that bring true happiness. He even takes his commentary a step further, as the “true” feeling represented in The Great Gatsby is love. Ironically, the love depicted in this society is corrupt and fake. Thus, Fitzgerald states that the ideologies and values of the American 1920s will result in its downfall, just as the corrupt and fake love between Gatsby and Daisy results in the downfall of Gatsby. Furthermore, through his portrayal of Daisy’s inadvertent cruelty towards both Myrtle and Gatsby, Fitzgerald parallels the unconscious depravity of the high society and its negative impact on America. This is seen
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Daisy Buchanan undergoes many noticeable changes. Daisy is a symbol of wealth and of promises broken. She is a character we grow to feel sorry for but probably should not.
F. Scott Fitzgerald third book, “The Great Gatsby”, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. According to The New York Times, “The Great Gatsby” is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s. In the novel, the author described Daisy Buchanan as childish, materialistic, and charming. These characteristics describe Daisy as well as the way women were seen during the 1920s. Daisy is described as childish, because like a child playing pretend, she pretends to be someone she is not, she cannot make up her mind, and does not think about how her actions will affect everyone else.
Gatsby’s love for daisy first went back a long time ago, and Daisy’s parents rejected of Gatsby because he wasn’t “pomp and circumstance”, like Tom Buchananand in result, Gatsby reinvents himself by becoming a financially successful man. Fitzgerald purposely has Gatsby state that Daisy’s “voice is full of money”, this illustrates that Gatsby is still trying to impress her and win her back; but on the other hand, the irony of the situation is that Gatsby can afford almost any materialistic, but can’t win Daisy. Also, when Jordan elaborates that Daisy never desired to attain love “, yet there’s something in that voice of hers”, she demonstrates not only that she is elusive, but also explains that she can manipulate her persona. This excitement and distraction, which is what Daisy provokes on Gatsby, is the what caused by the illusion of attaining Daisy, and thus fulfilling the American Dream. Daisy is personified as the American Dream throughout The Great Gatsby
In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy Buchanan is unthinking and self-centered. Daisy is unthinking because when she meets Nick for the first time after the war; the first thing she says is “I’m p-paralyzed with happiness” (8) which is really unbecoming for a social butterfly like her. Moreover, she stutters while saying the word “paralyzed” which could imply that she says this without really thinking, because this is not the typical greeting one would say to their cousin, even after a long time. Also, since Daisy is pretty high on the social ladder, she expects people to laugh at her terrible jokes because she laughs after saying she is “paralyzed with happiness” even though Nick does not, illustrating her inconsiderate
Through the eyes of the men around her, Daisy Buchanan is always seen in several different perspectives based on the way the man around her wants her to be seen. Nick paints a mask of Daisy as his charming “old yellowy hair” cousin, yet her “absolute smirk” makes him feel insecure about the things she tells him (106, 31). Gatsby’s mask for Daisy is created from being in love with the idea of Daisy and the way she was when they were young and in love, which is just what he needs to fulfill his dream. Tom’s mask for Daisy is her as his trophy wife he’s obligated to have and can just throw to the side while he has his affairs. Not only do these men place their own masks they’ve created for Daisy on her, but also dehumanize and victimize her in
Daisy Buchanan, in reality, is unable to live up the illusory Daisy that Gatsby has invented in his fantasy. After Daisy and Tom Buchanan leave another one of Gatsby’s splendid parties, Fitzgerald gives the reader a glimpse into what Gatsby’s expectations are. Fitzgerald claims that “he wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’” (109). Here it is revealed that Gatsby’s one main desire is for Daisy to go willingly...
"I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." Daisy admits this to Nick on page 17. This short statement reflects a great deal on what the society of that time thought about women. They were supposed to marry money and be happy the rest of their lives. This represents a theme in the Great Gatsby that many people believe that money can buy you happiness and love. Many characters in this book try to buy things that they think will make them happy. For Tom it was Myrtle, and for Gatsby it was Daisy. Money only increased their problems, for instead of realizing that the thing they wanted would not satisfy them they continued to push at happiness with money expecting results. At the end of the book the reader comes to realizes that happiness and love is one thing money can’t buy for most people. There are many examples of this throughout this book.
In conclusion, Fitzgerald?s use of language connotes the reality of Jordan Baker, Daisy and Tom Buchanan? lives. His use of diction, imagery and syntax suggests how their lives have no excitement and desire. Nick views them as white- dull and bland. Therefore, by using diction, imagery and syntax, Nick shows how imperfect their lives truly are.
Daisy's life is full of excitement and wealth, she gets practically everything she desires and feels like she has it all. As a person of high society she treats those below her with disdain, even her cousin. “What shall we do with ourselves this afternoon...and the day after that, and the next thirty years?” (Fitzgerald 118). The Jazz age had changed Daisy and influenced her to become careless as she seeks empty love, money and pleasure. It is only when Gatsby comes along she realizes that she has been missing something. Gatsby had been her first love, but she