Female Characters In The Great Gatsby

The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about societal difference between men and women the 1920s. Throughout the novel this theme is played through our main characters: Tom, Myrtle, and Daisy. Fitzgerald uses the possessive relationships between these characters to enlighten the reader about women’s social ranking. He demonstrates how men were able to control women by making them feel inferior. The author describes the importance of social class for women in the 1920’s through the possessive and ultimately destructive relationship of Tom and Myrtle.

    Summary: The narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick starts the novel by describing himself and introducing Gatsby, everything he scorns, but strives to be. Nick moves to the West Egg in New York to work in the bond business. Nick goes to Tom and Daisy’s house for dinner one night. Tom is a friends from college and Daisy is Nick’s cousin. Nick finds out about Tom’s lover, and sees Gatsby reaching off in the distance when he arrives home.

This furthers the claim about Fitzgerald's unfair characterization of the women in the book, making them look dainty and all about money.

This article by Donaldson is about the role of women in Fitzgerald's life and how those women influence the characterization of the females in his books. He then went on to say how Fitzgerald himself was reflected in all his characters, male and female. It was then discussed how the characterization influenced the overall theme of the stories. Donaldson creates a very positive attitude giving an overall positive review. He does not criticize Fitzgerald, only analyses his work.

“People share a common nature but are trained in gender roles” (Blake, Lillie). Women and men are assigned specific jobs and are told at a young age what their futures should look like. Women are taught to be beautiful and dependent on a man. It is accepted more by society for men to take on many mistresses, while not for women. Gender roles are a set of rules of the social norms in the society specifically made for each gender. In the 1920s, women and men had specific roles in the house and in workplace. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald argues that in some aspect of life men are superior to women, but on the other hand he asserts that women make important decisions for themselves. Through a multitude of actions and lies between characters, Fitzgerald portrays the social norm in the society, where both men and women are shown to take charge at varying times.

In the 1920’s, women were a big problem and social belief. Women gained rights, but not all of them. The number of divorces doubled because women could not stand their husbands. Also,the number of working women increased by 25% (“The Changing Role of American Women in the 1920s”). In the novel, when Mrs Wilson says, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy,I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-”.“Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”(Fitzgerald 37).  This shows that men could use women, and treat them however they wanted too, and not get punished for it.

During the 1920’s, women were objectified in society, yet began to show signs of independence by striving for equality between genders. In this time known as the Roaring Twenties, women began to use their voice desiring to live their lives how they chose. F. Scott Fitzgerald, a renowned author, displayed his perception of women attempting to prove their worth through his new book. One of the protagonists in the novel, Daisy Buchanan, challenges the gender barriers and threatens to paint a new image for women by choosing love over wealth. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the modern women’s inability to obtain independence as they were perceived as incapable of making their own decisions and relied on traditional gender

Women were not thought of as independent, thinking creatures who contributed to the greater good of society. Instead they were relegated to the role of domesticated objects to be used as men pleased. Daisy and Myrtle are prime examples of this because they live in a shallow world where only material possessions are important, and the means justifies the end in order to obtain or retain those possessions (possessions that are provided by men). Jordan is not the traditional woman, however she still exhibits the same shallow characteristics. The novel suggests that Fitzgerald was aware of changes in women’s role, in the post-war period, but viewed them with mixed feelings. He uses the female characters to show the role that men played during the

The Great Gatsby is about how corrupted the American Dream was and how it affected many individual’s lives. The characters in the novel have a huge role in portraying the corruption and lifestyles of those living the dream during the 1920’s. Due to the idea of a success promise that the East had to offer, many westerners packed their lives up and headed that way in hope of a better life. Nick Caraway, one of the main characters, is one of the westerners that took the gamble of moving east during this time period. Nick who was originally from Minneapolis- St. Paul, wanted to experience what New York had to offer. “Instead of being the warm center of the world the middle-west now seemed like the rigid edge of the universe- so I decided to go east and learn the bond business. Everybody I knew was in the bond business so I suppose it could support one more single man” (Fitzgerald 20). In the summer of 1922, he decided to rent a house in what is known as West Egg, Long Island. The only connections Nick had in the East were his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan, whom he had met at college years ago. Daisy and Tom, along with their young daughter lived in the East Egg. The mansion next to Nick’s house belonged to Jay Gatsby. In the beginning of the novel, Nick makes it known to readers that he hasn’t seen Gatsby even though he was throwing large, loud, and outrageous parties almost every night. However, when Nick and Gatsby do meet they become rather close and by the end of

Daisy Buchanan’s in the Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby’s one true love. He throws huge parties in hopes of gaining her attention and winning her over. Her role throughout the Great Gatsby was that her beauty drew the attention of everyone. She is the definition of the American Dream and Gatsby seen her as part of his American Dream. “He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a “nice” girl could be” (Fitzgerald,149). This quote shows how Gatsby knew that Daisy was right for him. In spite of this women's roles were still not equal to men. For example, it was okay for Tom to cheat on Daisy, but it was absurd for her to cheat on Tom with Gatsby. In the 1920 the ideal woman was supposed to find a husband to take care of them.Marriage was almost a necessity as a means of support or protection. There often was pressure to produce children. (Women’s Rights, 4)

Societal ‘norms’ surrounding gender have continuously remained prominent internationally. Although these standards and expectations continue to shift, women still face oppression today. The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates the expectations of women and their relationships to men in 1920’s New York City through one of the main characters, Daisy Buchanan. A vast majority of Daisy’s actions are to entice and cater to the superior men of the novel. Through this, I was able to reflect upon the evolution of society’s stereotypes surrounding women from the 1920’s. Initially, from reading the novel, I learned about the period of the roaring twenties and how the aspect of class affects the

However the stereotyped, traditional female caring role is continued by Carla Jean who mothers Llewellyn, when she demands to “see that cut” on his head. However, conflicting again, the use of the imperative shows Carla Jean’s influence over her husband. Fitzgerald also portrays traditional society as the Buchanans are addressed by Nick when he goes to “have dinner with the Tom Buchanans”, using the male name to refer to them. This idea of the superior male supports the idea of no ‘important women character’.

During the Jazz Era, almost every women was depended on men for their money. Wealth should not considered as important as respect and respect is something everyone deserves, not only men. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald about rich people that lived in New York during the Jazz Era. The Great Gatsby is about a rich man named Jay Gatsby who tries to win his love back from someone through his power and wealth. The role of women in The Great Gatsby is important because it talks about the amount of freedom and power they have compared to men. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, women are given no respect, controlled by men, and are treated like trophies to win over.

The Great Gatsby is a movie set in the 1920’s. The main character Nick Carraway lives next to the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Throughout the movie you experience the roaring 20’s first hand. They take you to the lavish countryside, through the struggling “valley of ashes”, into the bustling cites, and down into the bootlegging speakeasies. Gatsby is a secretive man and no one knows the truth about him. By the end of the film you find out his past and his secrets are revealed to us by Nick. Nick was like Gatsby’s best friend through the film. Nick was like a middle man between Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy Buchanan was a woman who lived, with her husband Tom, across the bay from Gatsby. Tom had been sleeping around behind Daisy’s back and nick was the only one who knew who it was although everyone suspected he was. Although there are many characters to follow the main one was Gatsby his life was the main purpose of the film.

A social group is a group of people, who share common characteristics and can be grouped together by a common theme. Marginalization is the treatment of a person, group or concept as insignificant. Social groups, such as women, are often marginalized from the rest of society due to unequal views on women. Gender marginalization stems from the concept that men and women are not created equal leading to disparate conduct and views of a gender. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, gender roles are clearly recognized and the female being is presented as the less powerful, unimportant sex. Through the examination of their own marginalization, the loss of identity of the emancipated women of the Jazz Age and the unbalanced standards to