In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the female characters play a significant role is the direction of the plot. The three characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan, play the most important female roles in the novel. Fitzgerald portrays two types of female roles, independent or the “flappers,” and dependent women. The role of “flappers,” are the women who float from one party to the next, drinking and doing as they please. These women are usually single and travel the world for fun, and can be seen at the parties Gatsby holds. Not only do these women party, but they abstain from the feminism social norms. This can be seen in Jordan, she plays golf, doesn’t have a man or person watching out for her, and dresses in an androgynous appearance rather than a proper lady. Another example of a flapper is Myrtle's sister who Nick meets at Tom’s apartment. She appears with an androgynous appearance “Catherine has bright red hair, wears a great deal of makeup,”(Fitzgerald 30) claims to be independent …show more content…
To them Daisy is seen as an object not a person. The men fight over Daisy as if she is a trophy rather than a person. The only time Daisy stands up for herself is when they are in the city and she yells at both the men "Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now – isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once – but I loved you too." (261) During this Tom blatantly admits he cheats on Daisy and she acts fine with the statement “"And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in awhile I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." (252) This shows that even though she is being cheated on she is too scared to be alone then leave her cheating husband. This helps illustrate the role of the 1920’s women, showing how much they wanted an
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.
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.
In conclusion, although Fitzgerald does not intentionally present an important woman character, unintentionally they are vital. With the exception of Jordan none of the females have achieved anything particularly noteworthy within their lives, although, without Daisy the story would be dramatically altered and Myrtle’s death is a pivotal part of the novel, leading to the climax. In contrast ‘No Country for Old Men’ presents Carla Jean as the strongest character, highlighting female importance.
Gender Roles: In some respects, Fitzgerald writes about gender roles in a quite conservative manner. In his novel, men work to earn money for the maintenance of the women. Men are dominant over women, especially in the case of Tom, who asserts his physical strength to subdue them. The only hint of a role reversal is in the pair of Nick and Jordan. Jordan's androgynous name and cool, collected style masculinize her more than any other female character. However, in the end, Nick does exert his dominance over her by ending the relationship. The women in the novel are an interesting group, because they do not divide into the traditional groups of Mary Magdalene and Madonna figures, instead, none of them are pure. Myrtle is the most obviously sensual, but the fact that Jordan and Daisy wear white dresses only highlights their corruption.
Women were not equal to men during the era of the 1920’s. In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald represents a negative, misogynistic, stereotypical view of the various types of women during the era of the 1920’s. During the that time, women were not portrayed in a positive light., By writing a book centered around that time period, it causes one to wonder the message Fitzgerald was trying to illustrate about women and what he was saying about society as a whole. Fitzgerald represents the view of women within the 20’s by depicting each character as a representation of the many stereotypes occurring within that era. The main characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan each display pertinent roles within the story representing how women’s roles were defined by their relationships, often times they were objectified, and how they were overruled by male dominance.
In the 1920’s, also known as The Roaring Twenties, women were recognized as a major influence on American culture. This relationship is represented in the female characters of The Great Gatsby: Daisy Buchannan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson. Daisy Buchannan is a charming lady who captures the hearts of many. Jordan Baker is a mysterious woman who maintains an athletic career. Myrtle Wilson is an unfortunate woman who desires to live a wealthy lifestyle. Fitzgerald uses these women to represent the American dream by displaying their desires, motivations, and needs.
From the start of the book we can see that women in the book are
Have you ever wondered what the stereotypes of women were in the 1920’s? Well, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, there are three major different types of stereotypes of women. In this book, a man named Nick Carraway moves near a billionaire who goes by the name Gatsby. Gatsby hosts many parties which include many different types of people, such as gold diggers, golden girls, and the new women. Throughout this book, Nick gets to meet all three types of these girls, and gets to spend time with them. There are many reasons why Nick would like or dislike each one of these stereotyped women. Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker are examples of the key differences in each stereotyped woman.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays how gender equality was so different in the time era than it is now. Beauty and money plays a major key, and although that shouldn't be the main focus in a relationship, it is widely focused on in this text. Fitzgerald uses women as an object to express the American Dream. Women and money. To be a woman married to a man with old or new money was the goal. Women were portrayed as little idiots that followed their wealthy husband’s footsteps in everything that they did.
“The Great Gatsby” was published in 1922. It was written by Scott Fitzgerald. The era of the 1920’s was called “The Roaring Twenties”. In this time period, there were flappers, and women who were criticized by the men in society. Women were restrained in many ways prior to the 1920s, such as not having voting rights. In “Gatsby”, women’s roles in society are emphasized to the point where the reader knows exactly how women were treated back then. They were treated like fools, and like they did not have a say in what they do with their lives. Women’s roles were changing in the 1920s, and this change is reflected in “The Great Gatsby”.
"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." Not everyone lives a “perfect” life like the next man. People shouldn't feel like it's good to criticize because you do not really know how fortunate you really are.The Novel The Great Gatsby takes place mostly in East egg and West egg where Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Myrtle wilson and more characters are located.The Great Gatsby is a story about Jay Gatsby, a rich man who is stuck in the past with the same admiration to win back the love of his life Daisy Buchanan, knowing that she is a married woman. This topic is significant because in The Great Gatsby, the readers are don’t really understand that that Jay Gatsby is trying to win the love of his life back with all these parties and sacrifice to accomplish that, or how Daisy is put in a love triangle, but the readers do not see how the women are affected in the novel.
Initially, she is described as an intellectual who is able to discern societal norms. Yet later, she accepts them after noticing it might be in her best interest to conform. Daisy was considering to shatter the tacit rules within society when she was thinking of leaving her husband Tom for a bootlegging newly rich man, Jay Gatsby. But, the vision deteriorates as she resists her urges and returns to her role as the passive wife. Her inability to react to Tom's extramarital affairs indicates that she understood her position as a wife required that she accept her husband's unfaithfulness, despite her internal turmoil. In the climax of the novel, Daisy must choose between Tom and Gatsby. Remaining married to Tom would imply she accepts the norms, while running off with Gatsby would mean breaking them. When Gatsby asks Daisy to profess their love in front of Tom, she stops and thinks without acting the same instant. An aggravated Gatsby orders her to continue, despite her "perceptible reluctance." (132) Gatsby's demand reveals the lopsided power dynamic in their relationship. Gatsby is domineering, while Daisy is treated like property. Soon afterward, Tom interrogates a "trembling" Daisy (132). Likely due to the gender roles at the time, the men control Daisy, forcing her into a position of submissiveness where she cannot make decisions for herself. She begins to sob,
Daisy does not care who gets hurt as long as it is not her. For instance, the time when Daisy could not wait for Gatsby, so she decides to marry Tom Buchanan. Daisy only cares for herself and her needs. Also, Daisy only cares about the social class of a person. For example, Gatsby says, “Her voice is full of money” (127). Gatsby describes Daisy as only caring about the guy with the most money; therefore, she does not have to do anything not even to lift her finger. Another example is when Daisy declares, “ I never loved him” (139). Daisy tells everybody that she never loved Tom. She just married Tom because she is impatient to wait on Gatsby to return. Also, Daisy proclaims, Oh, you want too much’she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once-but I loved you too’ ” (139). Daisy tells Gatsby that she loves him but she also loves Tom. Daisy feels like her love is not good enough for Gatsby. Also, Daisy did love him but she is confused on who she loves
In the Great Gatsby there were 3 main female characters. There’s the successful woman that everyone admires, the independent one, then there’s the one who only cares for money. Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson, and they formed a major part in the story line.
Scott Fitzgerald, the author represent two types of women in the 1920s. The independent women were the true representation of the Flappers and many were enjoying that lifestyle, like Jordan Baker and Catherine. Jordan Baker resisted social pressure to conform to the feminine norms. She was androgynous in her appearance even though she played golf, drove, drank alcohol and attended Gatsby’s parties without a chaperone as a dominant male figure. As for Catherine she was very similar to Jordan, she lived life and she’s rather share her experiences with her friends than a husband or family. They were independent and lived their life to the fullest as they didn’t have to dependent on a man their whole life like