The twenties came about like a roaring thunder. When thinking about the twenties, what comes to mind? Flappers, illegal booze, jazz and parties sound about right. Fitzgerald loosely documents the lifestyle he lived with his wife during that era in his novel “The Great Gatsby”. Fitzgerald does a great job at capturing the party lifestyle of the time, but he takes time to develop the female characters as well. Despite the roaring twenties being a liberating time for women, Fitzgerald’s shows through the different traits of the female characters, that woman still faced many challenges due to patriarchy and social class. Daisy is arguably the most important female character in “The Great Gatsby”. She lives in the sophisticated East Egg with
Daisy is perhaps the most enlightened of the female characters because she realizes that the top of the ladder for her and her daughter are to be trophies. Her aspirations seem limited to just having a good time. Her social status was a hindrance to Gatsby 's marriage to her. Gatsby knew that she would never marry him based on love, because he was poor. Daisy wouldn 't find it hard to deny him because it 's a simple as Gatsby puts it, “he had no real right to touch her hand “. He was poor so he shouldn 't have even have had the chance to talk to her. Jordan is also at the top of the social ladder too. She just wants to have a good time too but it seems that she is motivated to be at an equal level with men. She jokes and is blunt when she speaks, as if she were on the same level as them. This could be true because at times she interrupts Nick in mid-sentence, who is of a lower class. Similar to Daisy, Jordan’s affair with Nick would have never gone anywhere because he too is of a lower class, therefore it would be taboo to marry. We later find out that she is like Tom, she 's engaged and but still using Nick as a plaything. Perhaps that is a privilege that a higher class has over a lower one. Myrtle on the other hand is not at the same level as Jordan and Daisy, but she is desperate to reach her goal of reaching the same
Many of the events and characteristics directly correlated to his real life according to a brief biography on F Scott Fitzgerald (Oxford). He utilized Myrtle, Daisy, and Jordan to express what he thought about the state of women in the 1920s. The 1920s was a time of swift changes in moral and social values and Fitzgerald exhibits that women were caught in the midst of a chaotic transition from the old ways into the new. This is especially evident in the case of Jordan Baker. In her conversation with Nick about driving, which is actually a conversation about relationships, she implies that she wants the best of both worlds. She wants the comfort and security of being a sophisticated lady, but she too wants to live a carefree life. This symbolizes the process of how 1920 's women were making decisions about how they wanted to spend their life. Also, since she clearly won 't let a man influence her, she represents modern women 's increasing independency. Myrtle was at another extreme of the spectrum. Although Myrtle didn 't reach her dream of being rich and married to Tom, she died trying. The author conveys through Myrtle that women have the determination to get further in life but promiscuity is not the means. Through Daisy, Fitzgerald shows that women can be careless and it is unfair that they can get away with
The only reason Daisy is in The Great Gatsby, is so that she can run over Myrtle. If she were to be removed, either the story would not have that conflict and therefore resolve it with another instance of Myrtle dying and blaming Gatsby for the death, or have a completely different character that would run over Myrtle. The only other important female character is Jordan Baker and how according to Nick he saw her picture connected to a “critical and unpleasant story”. “The reader later discovers this concerns a time she cheated in a major golf tournament. Her insincerity with Nick in their love affair is another example of her detached personality.” (Telgen) This shows that Jordan can be removed because of her detached personality and that her cheating in the golf tournament does not add any conflict to the
The first time that the reader catches an insight of Myrtle, Fitzgerald develops Myrtle to be a mere object of Tom's’ desire. Fitzgerald does this to extenuate the fact that Tom will not move on past Daisy to be with her. Tom “got some women” that supposedly is a secret but there is a lack of secretism on Myrtles end seeing as she is now calling during evening meals from “New York” just to talk to Tom. This further proves that she is in need of attention, something her husband can not fully give her at any random moment of the day. Myrtle is willing to express herself even when she’s already married. It reveals that she is deceiving her own husband, who is later mentioned in the novel. This allows for Myrtle to be looked down upon by the reader, it also entails her to be seen as an attention seeker. Again, Fitzgerald appeals to present-day behaviors by allowing Myrtle to be viewed as someone who wants to be showcased. Almost everyone can relate that they’ve wanted attention in their life at some point. This connects Myrtle to the reader's past or current feelings. Fitzgerald uses this to let readers feel compassion for Myrtle which emphasizes all she needs is for someone to properly love her, treat her, and show her what she needs to do to become successful in her
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
For example, daisy is described in the novel as a glamorous and charming. She is kind and always has endearing words to say when she is talking to people. She is supposed to be like an angel seen always wearing white or white accessories. Daisy is portrayed as pure and innocent. On the other hand Myrtle is describes as a fat unpleasant woman, who is only with Tom for the things he gets her. Another difference is both woman have different roles in society. Daisy is married to a rich man living in a big house wearing the best clothes. In the beginning of the novel she tells nick that she has done everything and seen it all, showing how her money and wealth have allowed her to do whatever she pleased. While Myrtle lives in automotive repair station with her husband. Myrtle doesn't have the money or the status that Daisy has. Myrtle is unhappy because she is poor and wants a life where she can be rich and glamorous. She wants the materialistic things in life. She thinks that being rich and famous will give her the happiness she is seeking. While Daisy is truly unhappy with her husband and their relationship and just wants some sort of love no matter who it is
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.
Set in the Roaring ‘20s, The Great Gatsby focuses mainly on the lives of men as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. However, it also clearly outlines the lives of several women : Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker. On the surface, the lives of these women couldn’t be more different. Daisy, a rich debutante, is torn between her husband, Tom, or her first love, Jay Gatsby. Lower on the social ladder is Myrtle, who is having an affair with Tom, hoping to rise above her station in life. Jordan, on the other hand, is unmarried and a successful golfer, who travels the country participating in tournaments. While these women may have seemed independent, they’re still subject to the will of society which sees them as inferior and objects to be controlled by men.
Throughout the book, women take important roles and change the story, ultimately leading to Gatsby’s death. Myrtle, Jordan and Daisy are just the same as the men, each striving for what they want, whether it be love from another or material goods, only to be held back by sexism of the time. Her husband Wilson loves her, but turned out to be poorer than the man she thought she was marrying. Myrtle wants someone to love that loves her to go along with her wish of a life of luxury.
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the two central women presented are Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. These two women, although different, have similar personalities. Throughout the novel, there are instances in which the reader feels bad for and dislikes both Daisy and Myrtle. These two women portray that wealth is better than everything else, and they both base their lives on it. Also the novel shows the hardships and difficulties they have in their marriages. They are never satisfied with what they have, and are always longing for more.
This line reveals that Myrtle is not one of beauty or features that make her superior. Myrtle is characterized as a larger women who is exploding with anger . She is a demanding lady who tries to put on a front and fake wealth. Myrtle is from a lower hierarchy being from the Valley of Ashes . She is very poor but puts on a front being in an affair with Tom who is very wealthy. By Fitzgerald using imagery, readers get a realistic look at the physical appearance she is composed of as well as her tenacious attitude. With Fitzgerald using figurative language we deeply feel the contrast of two different ladies and the lifestyles they live.
They are both born into impoverished families, but deny acceptance of their lower status. Myrtle and Gatsby also share similar aspirations, to gain money and higher status. They are attempting to rise above their social class. Fitzgerald’s interpretation of Gatsby however, is much different from his portrayal of Gatsby. Gatsby is a tragic hero. He has nothing but good intentions and aspires for love, while Myrtle is simply shown as a foolish woman who is so absorbed in greed that she sacrifices her morals and sanity, in exchange for money and higher status. Gatsby, unlike Myrtle, maintains redeemable qualities until his murder. Everything he does is for his love, Daisy, because he wants only the best for her even if his life turns to ruins as a result. In contrast, Myrtle who has the same aspirations as Gatsby, exhibits impure intentions. She wants to achieve her goals of becoming a wealthy, elite member of society, purely to feed her selfish, eager desires, at the cost of her husbands’ sanity. This is what removes any sympathy a person may have had for Myrtle. She is depicted as a silly imbecile who cheats her way out her marriage and into her
Fitzgerald comments on the changing role and attitudes of women of the 1920s in America. He shows this through the characters Daisy and Jordan. Daisy and Jordan both drink, smoke and drive, and associate freely with men. Daisy's flirtatiousness is an example of this, along with her drunken state in the first chapter when she says 'I'm p-paralysed with happiness'. Daisy also shows the attitude Fitzgerald felt was common in this society, when talking about her daughter.
What’s Fitzgerald’s implicit views of modern women in this novel? Daisy and Jordan dress the part of flappers, yet Daisy also plays the role of the Louisville rich girl debutante. A good question to ask is perhaps just how much Daisy realizes this is a “role,” and whether her recognition of that would in any sense make her a modern woman character. How significant is Nick’s final repudiation of Jordan Baker to the novel’s larger critique of modernity?
When the leading female in the role, Daisy Buchanan, learns that the child she is giving birth to is a girl she says “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool . . . the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 21). This shows how Daisy has given up at this point in her life and realizes that women will never amount to anything and that they have no role in society other than becoming someone's wife and or mother. Daisy Buchanan is fully aware of the role that women play during this time. She, unlike most women, knows of her own marginalization and admits that females are powerless and unimportant as they are living in a male-dominated society. The author's presentation of women is essentially very unsympathetic and unflattering. Daisy is also a character who is struggling with being in love with a man other than her husband, but knows that she cannot go out and have an affair. A literary critic Lihua Zhang states how The Great Gatsby is a, “Disillusion of American Dream . . . the way of dealing with true love and lo...
Daisy and Jordan are members of the elite class and are often presented as motionless, sitting or lying down, and when they do move it is leisurely. On the other hand, Myrtle is a member of the lower class and is depicted as annoyingly full of energy. During their journey to Tom and Daisy’s apartment, Daisy rapidly states “I’m going to make a list of all the things I’ve got to get. A massage and a wave and a collar for the dog and one of those cute little ashtrays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother’s grave that’ll last all summer” (Fitzgerald, page 40). Myrtle’s abundance of energy is induced by her obsession with obtaining wealth. Despite drastic differences in how females are depicted based on their differences in wealth, both Daisy and Myrtle are treated as inferior to their husbands. This patriarchal view influences a feminist