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Altered gender roles in the great gatsby
Altered gender roles in the great gatsby
Altered gender roles in the great gatsby
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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is widely renowned for its social commentary regarding the elusive nature of the American Dream in the 1920s. The time period is portrayed as an exceptionally immoral setting where greed, lust, and infidelity are common traits among people of all class. What more, there is an immense portrayal of misogynistic concepts in the main plot that suggest that unequal treatment of women was a societal standard rather than an unfair prejudice against women- an internalized misogyny. This short, 120-word passage is enough evidence of such prejudice seeing as to how Fitzgerald writes of domestic abuse that is simply shrugged off as an argument induced by the two lovers’ infidelity. The inherent problem is not necessarily …show more content…
Not only was the argument itself immature by nature - the debate revolved around whether or not Myrtle was allowed to say the word “Daisy” as it reminded Tom of his infidelity - but Myrtle’s dialogue gives the reader the impression that she is less logical or reasonable than Tom is. Fitzgerald writes her shouting Daisy’s name over and over again so as to taunt Tom for the affair rather than provide a reasoned counterargument that would suggest that she does have some strand of maturity. Perhaps she is written that way to expound upon the gender injustice barriers that plagued the early 20th century, or perhaps it may be concluded the Fitzgerald himself held some of the misogynistic ideals that he expresses in his writings. At any rate, the argument that precedes the main conflict of this passage is important for character development as it is plain evidence regarding the internalized misogyny of the novel that is the belittlement of Myrtle both as a character (by Fitzgerald) and as a lover (by …show more content…
Following the aforementioned immature argument, Tom lost ability to employ reason and ended up depending on his manhood to win the argument: where words failed him his fists didn’t. Superficially, one would infer that this conflict is a product of the tension of having an affair; however, this is not justification of domestic abuse. This is another case of internalized misogyny: Tom thinks he has the right to attack Myrtle because she is the second sex. This adds more value to the underlying anti-feminist theme as it reveals that men could make women submit to unjust concepts through whatever means they wanted. It is the fact that the theme is not the main issue with the plot that ironically makes it more of a problem. Because this entire conflict is disregarded as simply pent up tensions from their affair, the actual domestic violence is ignored and the anti-feminist theme is expounded
Myrtle appears as the total opposite character to the Daisy. She is ‘thick, faintly stout” (Fitzgerald 29), but “sensuously” and “immediately perceptible about her vitality” (Fitzgerald 29). She is the woman from “the bottom” who wants to be acceptable as a lady from the upper class. She is terribly vulgar, but she is more alive and natural than Daisy is. The unpleasant scene in their apartments, where Carraway appeared because of Myrtle’s invitation, is full of the philistine contentment and boasting.
When the readers first meet Daisy, she is living the party lifestyle. Daisy is a nice woman, but she is very superficial (Fitzgerald 8). This tells the readers that although Daisy is fake, but is kind. On the other hand, when Myrtle is talking to Tom and her sister Catherine, she becomes defensive and aggressive. “The answer to this was unexpected. It came from Myrtle, who had overheard the question, and it was violent and obscene” (Fitzgerald 33). These to statements show that although they are both clueless, they have personality traits that set them
Daisy knows very well that tom is cheating on her, but doesn’t care because it's more convenient to stay in her unhappy marriage. Even though she wants to be with Gatsby, she wants to keep her social status and being with Tom makes this all the easier. Now, this is quite the opposite of Myrtle. She has a loving husband who would do anything for her, but her social status is all she cares about. Myrtle is willing to hurt George and ruin their marriage in order to climb up the social ladder. Neither of these women have respect for themselves. Both Daisy and Myrtle allow Tom to treat them
Close Analysis of a text and knowledge of context can enrich our understanding of a text's meaning. To what extent do you agree with this in relation to The Great Gatsby?
Decisions that people today might be able to relate to. Poor decisions often times lead to people being arrested, injured, or even sometimes killed. There were obvious poor decisions made in The Great Gatsby, some of which made by Myrtle because of her being caught up in her “love” for Tom. There were abounding factors of her loving Tom. She obviously didn’t like her husband because, “ [She] thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick [her] shoe” (Fitzgerald 34). Myrtle doesn't care much, if at all, about her husband. Her obsession with Tom makes her unreasonable. This is one of the reasons that she treats her husband poorly and doesn’t care about it. At their party Myrtle aggravated Tom by shouting, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (Fitzgerald 37). Myrtle ignores the consequences of aggravating Tom at their party. Not only does she not listen to his pleas to get her to stop talking about Daisy she ignores the fact that he is drunk. Through Myrtle’s obsession with Tom, “she ran out in a road. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t ever stop the car” (Fitzgerald 149). Myrtle was so obsessed with Tom , and his money, that she ran into the road risking her life to be with him. Her desire for his money caused her to act and think irrationally. Even if Tom was in the car and stopped would he introduce her to his wife and they all go home together? In conclusion do not let desires make the decisions of life, because
In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were a few crimes being committed in the story but the main crime that created problem in the plot and caused three deaths is the sinful nature of adultery. The characters that were involved in the matter were Tom & Myrtle and Daisy & Gatsby having the secret affairs. The victims being involved in the crime is only George Wilson that is the husband of Myrtle but he later finds out about her affair being behind his back and decides to take drastic measures to get revenge which causes a great plot development in the story. Adultery is the most horrific crime in the book because the numerous times of dishonesty being taken place and the feeling of jealous. For example, during the conversation
Being a good friend sometimes means overlooking the obvious. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel set in the 1920s. It details the story of the narrator, Nick Carraway, an aspiring bondsman who has moved to the West Egg section of Long Island from Minnesota in search of business. Nick is considered a man of "new money." He has established and now manages his own riches. He meets a particularly mysterious man, his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Through Gatsby, he meets people from the East Egg of Long Island, who are considered to be of "old money," wealth or business that has been inherited through generations. Over time, Nick and Jay become great friends. Nick helps Gatsby learn about himself and his aspirations in life, and vice versa.
Lies are a treacherous thing, yet everyone tells a few lies during their lifetime. Deceit surrounds us all the time; even when one reads classic literature. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes dishonesty a major theme in his novel The Great Gatsby. The falsehoods told by the characters in this novel leads to inevitable tragedy when the truth is revealed.
In this novel Fitzgerald shows Tom and George’s negative philosophy’s towards women. He shows in The Great Gatsby how men can be heinous, but he also shows the positive treatment of women by men in the form of Nick and Gatsby’s characters. Fitzgerald is trying to portray that there are a lot of men that mistreat women in the world, but there are those select distinguished few such as Nick and
“Being honest may not get you many friends but it’ll always get you the right ones” (John Lennon). The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota. After fighting in WW I he moves to New York City to learn business. While living in West Egg, a part of Long island where the “new money” lives he becomes friends with his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Nick is honest, pleasant to be around and sees people for who they really are.
Myrtle’s ambition proves to be her fatal flaw in being the tragic hero. The goal of her ambition is to lead her to a higher social status. In pursuit of her ambition she expresses that her husband, George Wilson, serves as an obstacle since he is in the opposite direction of where she wishes to be. She expresses disgust in George for committing actions that are considered lowly by her standards. She was particularly unenthused with her husband after it is revealed that “he borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married” without telling her. (35) She expresses her marriage as regretful, which illustrates her ambition to strive for better, being Tom. Essentially it illustrates that she would rather be treated with little respect to achieve status, rather than to be treated with respect without status. Myrtle not only exudes her ambition through her pompous attitude, but also in the manner in which she carries herself. She is a young woman in her “middle thirties, and faintly stout, but (carries) her surplus flesh sensuously,” and although she is not attributed with beauty she is somewhat charismatic. (25) The way in which she carries herself may be considered sexual, and her persona is alluring for men such as Tom. Her seducing persona illustrates her ambition in being a temptress in order to move up the social ladder.
Tom wanted the "possession" of Myrtle, Myrtle wanted Tom's "luxuries and wealth," and Daisy wanted Gatsby simply for his wealth. Both Tom and Daisy know each other's affairs, but neither one truly cares. As the story progresses, it seems as though each of them is trying to make the other jealous. Honesty and Love, two words known only by the faithful, George Wilson. George certainly had his flaws, but he loved his wife dearly and couldn't live without her. "He was his wife's man and not his own." When he became aware of Tom and Myrtle's affair, he was "really sick, pale as his own pale hair and shaking all over." He locked her up in fear that she would run away with Tom forever.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is criticizing American society of the 1920s. He uses the characters to demonstrate the power than men had over women during these times, as well as their mindless, self-indulgent actions, where consequence was only an afterthought. The attitude towards and the role of women is shown throughout the novel. Fitzgerald also shows how many people in America during this time were delusional and had meaningless existences.
During the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan about Daisy, she is talked about like she is a possession to be won over. During the argument Nick “glances at Daisy who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband” (Fitzgerald, page 143). Gatsby and Buchanan tell Daisy what to say instead of allowing her to tell her own truths, and if she does start to speak up for herself she is quickly quieted down. Daisy states at the beginning of the novel while talking about finding out the sex of her child that, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald, page 16). Daisy is the only female character in the novel who understands that no matter what a woman accomplishes, she will always be downcasted based on her gender. This outlook is what allows her to be controlled by Gatsby and Buchanan, because she doesn’t believe that anything she can do will make her more of a human to them. Myrtle on the other hand, while still a married woman, isn’t able to see her powerlessness. She feels powerful enough to stand up to Tom and chant Daisy’s name over and over again until he breaks her nose (Fitzgerald, page 37). This scene demonstrates the way that men handled women if they ever did feel confident enough to speak for themselves. One final scene from the novel that really
With his 1920’s classic, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald dazzles readers with the illusive story of Jay Gatsby. Many consider the novel as one of the greatest American piece of literature ever because it demonstrates the hardship that many people go through in order to achieve a lavish lifestyle that many characters in the novel achieve. The Great Gatsby can be viewed as a novel with many different literary theories, but only some are significant and so therefore it is sensible to compare and rank, Marxism, Feminism, Archetypal theory, and Deconstruction with their respective critics.