Examples Of Sexism In The Great Gatsby

Justin Borden

Mrs. Donaldson

English III Honors

18 May 2018

Sexism in The Great Gatsby

Since the beginning of time, women have been subjected to sexism by their male counterparts. This has been a problem in not only society, but in literature. For example, in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is continuously demeaning towards women. In a time full of advancements for women and their rights, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents his own sexism as well as the sexism of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby by portraying powerful women as the stereotypes set by society at the time, making them appear to be less valuable than men, and depicting them as fragile.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald portrays women in a negative and demeaning way, which

alludes to how women were viewed during the 1920s. He shows the strong female leads as money hungry and corrupt. Fitzgerald implies that women are easily swayed by material items. For example, Daisy is said to have easily gotten over Gatsby because of the “string of pearls at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars” that Tom Buchanan gave her before their wedding (Fitzgerald 76). This insinuates that all it took for Daisy to move on from her relationship with Gatsby was for Tom to give her expensive jewelry, implying that she never truly loved Gatsby and only cared for material possessions. This was how women were commonly seen during this time. Daisy is not the only character that Fitzgerald portrays as an extreme stereotype. Maia Samkanashvili, PhD writes for The Journal of Humanities and presents the idea that Fitzgerald uses Jordan to be a stereotypical symbol for the Flappers, characterizing all of them as arrogant, unemotional and irresponsible. When Fitzgerald stereotypes flappers, he depicts all women as the same. Similarly, Harold Bloom, an American literary critic, explains that Fitzgerald uses one of the strongest women in the novel to stereotype all women. When Jordan Baker is in trouble, she cheats and lies to get out of it. This projects Fitzgerald’s belief that women should not be outspoken and should be subordinate to the men in their life. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald demeans women and reveals the sexism in the 1920s by trying to characterize all of them as heartless.
In addition, Fitzgerald subtly tries to undermine the value of women, which further illustrates sexism in the 1920s. Fitzgerald rarely refers to the women in the novel by their name. When Nick introduces Myrtle he will not say her name, but explains that “[He] was curious to see her, [he] had no desire to meet her—but [he] did” (Fitzgerald 24). Fitzgerald is condescending to women by suggesting that they are not worthy of a name, subjecting powerful women to sexism. The mentality that “The best thing a girl can be in this world is a beautiful little fool” is not only degrading, but it further demonstrates that Fitzgerald was trying to use the novel to reveal sexism by making women worth less than men (Fitzgerald 17). A professor from Zirve University brings up the idea that “It means that men are the only ones that achieve success and status. Women do not need to work hard mentally and physically; on the contrary, it is better if they play the fool with their femininity” (Siddiqui).This mentality was extremely common during this time and Fitzgerald used the novel to reveal that to the reader. Fitzgerald also demonstrates the sexism of the 1920s through the interactions between Tom and Myrtle. Rebecca Strong, writer, for The American Encyclopedia For Great American Writers, points out that “[Tom] does not hesitate to break Myrtle’s nose when she taunts him.” Tom treats Myrtle as if she were a dog. Fitzgerald dehumanizes Myrtle by making her appear to be less of a person than the other characters in the novel to show how invaluable she is. Taking away the value of the women in the novel was yet another way that Fitzgerald illustrated the sexism of the 1920s.
One other way that Fitzgerald revealed the sexism of the 20s is by depicting the women as fragile and unstable.

This is most prevalent through the characters Daisy and Myrtle. According to the Encyclopedia of American Literature, characters Nick feels that women are reckless and do not take accountability for their actions, thus making the women more fragile than men. Fitzgerald reveals his thoughts regarding what is happening in the novel through the words and actions of Nick; therefore, this is Fitzgerald saying that he thinks that women are fragile and incapable of accepting the consequences for their actions. Later on Gatsby recalls that when Myrtle runs out into the road: “Daisy stepped on it. I tried to make her stop, but she couldn’t” (Fitzgerald 143). This serves as a perfect example for Fitzgerald’s belief that women are fragile and do not take accountability for their actions. In the heat of the moment Daisy hits someone with a car and speeds off without giving it a second thought, implying that she could not handle her emotions after the fight with Tom. This ideology that women are incapable of handling their emotions due to their fragility is yet another way that Fitzgerald reveals his own

sexism.
Fitzgerald demonstrates his own sexism subconsciously throughout the novel by the way he portrays his characters as the extreme stereotypes of women in this time, decreasing their value compared to the men in the novel as well as depicting them as fragile and incapable of handling their emotions. During the 1920s there was a cloud of controversy surrounding feminism and women’s rights. Fitzgerald uses the novel The Great Gatsby to illustrate this. By doing this he successfully brings up the social commentary regarding women’s rights. While this was indeed a problem in the 1920s the mistreatment and objectification of women continues to be a problem today. It is passed time Americans take action to prevent sexism.

Works Cited
Bloom, Harold.

“The Great Gatsby.” The Great Gatsby, Chelsea House, 2006. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=2089. Accessed 15 May 2018.

Bruccoli, Matthew J. “Daisy Fay Buchanan.” Student's Encyclopedia of American Literary Characters, Facts On File, 2008. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=94477. Accessed 16 May 2018.

Fitzgerald, F S. The great Gatsby. Richmond, Surrey: Alma Classics, 2016. Print.

Samkanashvili, Maia. “The Role of Women in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Citeseerc.ist, citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1026.7731&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Siddiqui, Mohammad. “Portrayal of Women in The Great Gatsby and The Castle of Otranto.” Dergipark.gov, dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/207680.

Strong, Rebecca. “The Great Gatsby.” Student's Encyclopedia of Great American Writers, Volume 3, Facts On File, 2010. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=480657. Accessed 17 May

2018.