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The story behind the great gatsby book
The Social, Economic and Political Status of Women
The story behind the great gatsby book
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The feminist writers of the 1960s and 1970s were making sure that the woman was suffering emotional and psychological stress on having assumed roles traditionally feminus, and were setting the women up to have their own professions and change there positions and rolls of the woman in society.
Women, especially those who had a formal education, were not happy with there housewive roles. These women, who were possessing aptitudes to carry out professions out of the house, were meeting doing vulgar tasks that were very far from satisfying the husbands desires. Between the resultant problems it enumerates: emotional crisises, alcoholism, marriages adolescents and illegitimate pregnancies. The feminine mystique turned into the springboard for the movement of liberation of the woman and that it bloomed at the beginning of the 70s.
The point of view on the quandary of the traditional woman was thought to be outraged. There is this theory of the shock of marriage. It says that the marriage was producing interruptions that were modifying the life of the woman in a drastic way. The women who are capable of looking after the marriage are placed in a role of dependency with regard to the husband in economic topics, of status. The role of the housewife has prestiged to be small, and the woman
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suffers a loss of legal rights.
The pathogenic mother is the woman who spends there adult life breeding children. to take care of children the whole day is too demanding. In spite of loving there children, they cannot support the maternity, and nevertheless they must expire with a role that they despise.
It seems logical to think that the women with non traditional mentality towards the gender roles, is that they should live better ...
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...he Great Gatsby gives us a glimpse into the gender roles of post-WWI America. Gender roles are in part decided by societal roles, as Tom’s upper class masculinity (strength, intimidation, virility) is contrasted with Wilson’s lower class version (hard working nature, naiveté). Unfaithfulness is a trait of both women and men, as we see in the text’s prevalent adultery. Women take physical abuse at the hands of Tom’s overly-macho persona, which seems a right of his gender at the time. His abuse is a form of the control that he exercises over both his mistress and his wife. Even Gatsby, who treats Daisy as if she is the most precious jewel in the world, does not ultimately understand women. He treats his love as a prize, rather than a person. Daisy and Jordan, interestingly, seem to do as they please – but they still define themselves by their ability to attract men.
This source provided the unique perspective of what was thought to be the perfect household, with a man who worked and a wife who cooked and cleaned. However, it also showed how a woman could also do what a man can do, and in some cases they could do it even better. This work is appropriate to use in this essay because it shows how men talked down to their wives as if they were children. This work shows the gradual progression of woman equality and how a woman is able to make her own decisions without her husband’s input.
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.
“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men” (Joseph Conrad). In the Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the wife of George Wilson, Myrtle, has been cheating with the married man Tom Buchanan. From time to time they escape to an apartment Tom owns, behind each of their spouses backs. As time goes on Daisy, Tom’s wife, obtains the knowledge from Jordan that her previous lover is just across the bay and waiting to see her again. Daisy begins going behind Tom’s back with Jay Gatsby, tangling the characters in a mess of relationships. Throughout the book, women take important roles and change the story, even ultimately leading to Gatsby’s death.
Tom Buchanan and George Wilson have plenty in common with their attitude pertaining towards women in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald throughout the entire novel gives the audience an insight on his thoughts about the nature of man. Fitzgerald portrays men often treating women harshly throughout his novel. For example, there are many violent acts towards women, a constant presence of dominance, and also ironically Tom and Georges over reactions to being cheated on.
For five years, Gatsby was denied the one thing that he desired more than anything in the world: Daisy. While she was willing to wait for him until after the war, he did not want to return to her a poor man who would, in his eyes, be unworthy of her love. Gatsby did not want to force Daisy to choose between the comfortable lifestyle she was used to and his love. Before he would return to her, he was determined to make something of himself so that Daisy would not lose the affluence that she was accustomed to possessing. His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions...
...s with all of the parties and the pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure in an era of change. The novel shows the relationship of Gatsby and Daisy as a symbol of this pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure. The reader sees the pursuit of wealth through Daisy wanting Gatsby and Tom, both of whom have money. The pursuit of power is shown through Daisy’s decision of Tom over Gatsby as Gatsby is seen as a lower social status with little power compared to Tom who has tremendous power. Pleasure is seen through the extramarital affairs of Tom and Myrtle as well as Daisy and Gatsby. The Great Gatsby, through Tom and Daisy, reveals the human condition of the pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure through these examples and shows that the “American Dream” is not possible in a life where one’s surroundings are pushing him/her towards a life of wealth, power, and pleasure.
Gatsby started off as a poor man who has to struggle through life. The only nice clothes that he has is his army uniform, which Daisy, his girlfriend enjoys when he wears she thinks that he looks nice. Gatsby is in love with Daisy and she is in love with him but because he was so poor they cannot get married. To survive Gatsby has to join the army and when he goes to war Daisy marries Tom, a rich stockbroker from New York, who gives Daisy a life of luxury. The problem, unbeknown to Daisy is that he is cheating on her. When Gatsby returns from battle he notices that Daisy has married a rich man and after realizing that Daisy was after Tom’s money Gatsby figures that the only way to get her back is by becoming rich himself. Once Gatsby has his dream of being rich he makes it his goal in life…to fulfill the needs of Daisy and marry her. Although luring ones wife into marrying yourself is not polite, it does make Gatsby great because it takes a strong willed man to make a life goal and stick to it
During the 1920’s, the role women had under men was making a drastic change, and it is shown in The Great Gatsby by two of the main female characters: Daisy and Jordan. One was domesticated and immobile while the other was not. Both of them portray different and important characteristics of the normal woman growing up in the 1920’s. The image of the woman was changing along with morals. Females began to challenge the government and the society. Things like this upset people, especially the men. The men were upset because this showed that they were losing their long-term dominance over the female society.
He convinces the women that their place in society is to be helpless and at his mercy. This is especially apparent through Tom Buchanan 's wife Daisy. Daisy believes, “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Gatsby 21) She believes that all she is a beautiful little fool, but no one can blame her. Whenever Daisy is spoken about it 's not in relation to her intelligence, but rather that, “‘Her voice is full of money,’ [Gatsby] said suddenly. That was it. [Tom had] never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl. . . .” (Gatsby 119) The men in The Great Gatsby blame her for being dumb or stupid, but she was never encouraged to be anymore than that. This idea of frailty in women is not only seen in Daisy but also Myrtle
Instead of a threat that can be taken away, manhood is something that is presented in an strong light with the mention of wars, and hard work toward The American Dream. Tom’s overbearing interactions with Daisy, and William’s way of interacting with Myrtle seems to define an aspect of masculinity that revolves around women as background characters. The Great Gatsby’s version of masculinity is not an initial threat like when Levene was threatened by Williamson in the office, but instead as something honorable and a positive. Instead, masculinity is commodified, packaged and sold as a product. During the sweltering summer heat, Daisy sends an invitation for Nick, Gatsby, Tom, and Jordan to accompany her to lunch. It is here that the theme of masculinity arises in the story. During the outing, Daisy Buchanan states,“ ‘You resemble the advertisement of the man’ ” which shows the theme of masculinity being a form of success and “coolness” where masculinity is seen as a burden in Glengarry Glen Rose (Fitzgerald 157). By comparing Gatsby to an “advertisement of a man”, Daisy mentions that Gatsby is nothing short of perfection, and he is everything that the ideal American Man should become. He is the idea story of an American man who worked himself from poverty
Even if they disagree about other issues, all feminists believe patriarchal ideology works to keep men and women confined to traditional gender roles so male dominance may be maintained. Utilizing the precepts of Feminist criticism, it could be argued “The Great Gatsby” promotes a thinly veiled patriarchal agenda. Through Fitzgerald’s treatment of the three women in “Gatsby”, as well as masking the possible homosexuality of a central character, the novel seems to promote only the traditional gender roles, swaying uncomfortably from any possible variance.
With all the new acts being passed women were able to go to school and work, and women pursued these new opportunities. There was a rising rate of women enrolling in colleges. Females surpassed the number of men applying (The Role of Women in the 70 's - Exploring the Seventies). Thousands of women were going to college and participating highly in clubs and sometimes sports. Not only were women participating in schooling, women started to hold positions in Congress. Three percent of our congressional representatives were women by the 1970s. There were many newspaper job ads created that were calling for the help of women, thus promoting more women to enter the workforce. Along with these changes there was more personal strengths created in the home. Husbands were getting regularly involved with family meals and housework, thus creating more financial and emotional strength in families (Eisenberg). In the late 70’s females were not only participating in college for their education but they were also obtain financial ground stating the employer 's can not discrimination against pregnant women (The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers for
Feminist theory helps to analyze gender inequality and its themes which are discrimination, sexual objectification, oppression, stereotyping and so on.
Feminist criticism is a study of works written by female writers, describing women's life or representing women's consciousness. Arlyn Diamond and Lee R Edwards, in the foreword to The Authority o Experience: Essays in Feminist Criticism, point out that "feminist critics, obviously, are distinguished by virtue of their particular concern with society's beliefs about the nature and function of women in the world, with the transformation of these beliefs into literary plots, with the ways in which artistic and critical strategies adjust and control attitudes toward women. Compared with the long tradition of...
In the 19th century, there was an up rise in feminism for their social role in life. Women were expected to be an average house wife, to take orders from their husbands without questioning them. The woman did not have privileges such as right to vote, to be educated, be free spirited and hold jobs. They lived in patriarchal society where man made all the decision in the household and his wife followed them. The inequality between the genders created frustration amongst females, of which after a prolonged mental impact they revolted. It can be said that the ambition for women to fight for their rights sparked the feminist movement. This movement was based on set of viewpoints, political ideologies, cultural and moral beliefs where women felt compelled to obtain their given rights. The feminist movement was a multi-facet of waves, each of which left an impression to the issues in relation to social status, legal inequalities, and liberation.