Kelsey Kubistal. Mr. West. American Literature. 13 February

Women in the 20th century, while changing, were still unequal and below those of men. In Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, he explores this and many other themes by telling the story of Jay Gatsby and his quest to rekindle past love with Daisy Buchanan, despite her being married with a child. Women throughout the novel are treated as lesser equals who contain no personal ideas or thoughts. Their purpose is to please the men in their lives. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows how women are less than men by being treated as possessions looking through the Feminist literary lens. This is shown through Daisy being a trophy and Myrtle as being mistreated.

Society’s expectations of women now and in the past cause a huge controversy and conflict amongst women. The main three female characters of the novel The Great Gatsby have many conflicts with society and what is expected of them as a female in the 1920s. They are expected to be the server of man and to not be their own person, but this was a conflict with them. Although Myrtle, Daisy, and Jordan show case their conflict with society, they negotiate that conflict with their personality and their mannerisms.

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.

Throughout history, authors would often write their novels to reflect the world they live in, using their characters and settings to embody their reality, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is no exception. As an author living in the ‘Roaring Twenties’, he lived in a society that was changing quickly, particularly in the aspect of social roles. This characteristic can be found represented in the secondary character of Jordan Baker, as she represents a new emerging woman, and F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this characterization to reflect the changing ways of life in America. It is clear to see that Jordan Baker is significantly different from the other female characters within The Great Gatsby. She stands out compared to her equal, Daisy

Daisy and Myrtle are greedy people who do what they want, not caring who they hurt. Daisy and Myrtle are both inconsiderate, selfish, and careless. In the novel, Myrtle does not care that she is cheating on Wilson with Tom. She does not take into account that Wilson and Daisy will end up hurt from her actions. Daisy is inconsiderate because she is just using Gatsby. She may truly love Gatsby, however, she is using him because she wants love, which she does not have with Tom. She will end up hurting Gatsby because she is giving him hope that she will leave Tom for Gatsby. Realistically, Daisy knows she will never leave Tom. Daisy Buchanan, like Myrtle Wilson, will also hurt her husband, Tom, when he finds out she is cheating on him, even though he is having an affair with Myrtle. Daisy ends up admitting she loves Gatsby in front of Tom, she says, “You always look so cool” (Fitzgerald 119). Tom is shocked and hurt by this because he thought he had his wife “under control.” Daisy and

            While Daisy did not know Myrtle personally, there is a very good possibility that she knew Tom was having an affair with her.  She was well aware of Tom's past behavior, and she made no attempts to deny it.  She simply accepted it because she had no other choice.  After spending the day in New York with the others, she was obviously upset and tense.  The day had taxed her to the limit.  Gatsby had demanded too much of her, and she just was not strong enough to endure any further argument.  She chose to drive him back to East Egg in an attempt to calm her nerves.  When they passed Wilson's garage, Myrtle ran into the street toward Gatsby's car, thinking it belonged to Tom.  According to Gatsby, Daisy turned the wheel toward the oncoming car in the other lane, but she lost her nerve and hit

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel features Jay Gatsby, George Wilson, Nick Carraway, Jordan Baker and Tom Buchanan along with many others to show the hopes, the struggles and the romance the characters went through each and every day. Due to the mixing of the two social classes: the rich and the poor, we learn about the causes and effects of what they face. In the book, two major characters that greatly influenced this story were Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. Both of them had difficulties in the way they acted, felt, and where they belonged to. They also have some relatable characteristics that are alike

She realizes that about herself, but continues to think of herself very highly. She knows what she is but she hides her insecurities with a mask that has to do with her self-image. This mask hides her insecurities from the desires she wants her life. Myrtle is a married woman to a man named George. Myrtle initially got with George in hopes of him having money. When Myrtle finds out he does not she wants to back out but it is too late. Myrtle only wants people to think she has money, we see her doing unimaginable things to get this image. One of the levels of wrong is treating her husband poorly, but her lowest action is cheating. She commits adultery with Tom Buchanan, who is also a married man. Tom is an extremely wanted and high rank man with extensive amounts of money. Myrtle thinks she would be good enough for Tom by giving him what she wants. Myrtle sees an opportunity to have the life she has dreamed of with Tom. You see Myrtles jealousy and desire for Daisy’s life when she chants “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" to Tom. (Fitzgerald 41). In reality Tom is just bored and has to real desire to be with Myrtle. Some people think Myrtle could be recognized as a “gold-digger”, but in actuality she has trained herself to think that her mask is actually her true self. Myrtle truly believes that her happiness comes from

Jordan Baker is perhaps the most intriguing character within the novel due to the paradox she creates. She is simultaneously free yet held captive by the male society’s concepts. When first introduced to the novel, Jordan is described as floating in the air with Daisy Buchanan next to her. As soon as the men enter the room, and Tom shuts the French windows with a forceful push, the “two young women ballooned to the floor”. The controlling atmosphere that the men within The Great Gatsby create has a dire affect on the women. It is deflating and restricting. As a famous golfer, within the novel, Jordan lives a relatively isolated and free lifestyle, traveling to competitions and living on her own. However, Tom’s view of this provides insight

Jordan Baker represents the new women in the Great Gatsby, through her appearance, characterization and narrative. Jordan Baker is a perfect example of the modern woman as associated to the Jazz Age. In a world ruled by man, she consistently marks her dominance and place through her ambition. Whilst Jordan’s appearance and behavior is associated to that of the girls of that era, she is markedly different from the other females in the text. Again this is quickly made apparent through a detailed description of her general look.

The Great Gatsby was written in 1925 to depict the American Dream. During this time, there was an ideal lifestyle for men and women. Ideally, women were meant to be housewives and men were meant to be the providers. Characters such as Daisy, Myrtle , and Jordan all represent different lifestyles and ways of obtaining the American dream. Daisy Buchanan, who uses her beauty to get what she wants. Myrtle Wilson is the mistress of Tom Buchanan, who is at rich man and she is poor ,but she was still able to use his money. Jordan Baker represents the “new woman” who does not live dependent upon a man and begins to dress in a different style.

Myrtle Wilson is the other partner in Tom Buchannan’s affair. She is of a simpler lifestyle living on the “edge of the wasteland…contiguous to absolutely nothing.”(Gatsby 24). Nick describes her “a thick woman” “in [her] middle thirties” (Gatsby 25), the average woman in that time. Once she and Tom get off the train, she immediately buys a dog, and then makes a point to buy a rather expensive dog as well. When she arrives to her sister’s house, where a party is taking place, Nick says that she “changed her costume” (Gatsby 30). Because a costume is also the attire performers wear, Nick is giving us the impression that all of this is a play, a facade to act wealthy when in fact she is not. Nick also says “with the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (Gatsby 30), again another indicator of her “performance” of a wealthy woman. Soon, she and Tom “discuss in impassioned voices” whether she had any “right to mention Daisy’s name” (Gatsby 37). Tom punches her after this, but still left the party with her. Myrtle is now a woman with no self-respect, due to her allowing a man, though he may be rich, to physically assault her, instead of having a man who truly cares for her not being well off.

Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George, and the lover of Tom Buchanan, is brutally murdered toward the end of the novel. After an uncivilized afternoon in New York, Daisy and Gatsby head swiftly back to East Egg. Gatsby explains to Nick, “It all happened in a minute, but it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew” (Fitzgerald 109). Myrtle ran out toward the car looking for Tom but sadly for her it is not him. Many know about Tom’s affair, but not with whom he is having it, especially Daisy. Daisy never slows the car down, and she never realizes who she hits. This shows that Daisy is oblivious to Myrtles existence. Myrtle is sleeping with her husband, she ruins their marriage, and Daisy kills her. The irony exists in this because Daisy actually saves her marriage by killing

As opposed to the other women in the novel, Jordan Baker is treated a little bit differently by the author, as she has certain masculine characteristics. She is a professional golfer who cheated her way to the top. She has masculine habits of drinking and smoking. She does not marry and is not yet willing to devote herself to a man, unlike the other female characters. She is self sufficient and is actively involved in her own interests. Jordan is harsh, cynical, and represents a new type of woman in the 1920's. The name "Jordan" also happens to be a unisex name. Jordan has made it to the elite status and will do whatever she has to in order to stay there, including lying. "She was incurably dishonest" (Fitzgerald 63). In this way, she does have similarities to Daisy and Myrtle. She is selfish and isn't concerned about anyone besides herself. Nick observes this as he watches the way Jordan drives. "'You're a rotten driver... suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.' 'I hope I never will. I hate careless people.'" (Fitzgerald 63). In this quote, the reader can see how Jordan is extremely selfish and indifferent. She likes to drive fast and she doesn’t care about the repercussions to other drivers. Jordan is very haughty, arrogant, and condescending, and looks down upon others who she considers to be below her. "'You live in West Egg,' she remarked contemptuously." (Fitzgerald 15). In this quote, the reader can see that Jordan is judging Nick for living on

Daisy's superficiality extends to her personality. She is fragile, unstable and a confused character. While talking to Nick she said: “...I woke up with an abandoned felling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. 'Alright,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful fool” (Fitzgerald 21). They also married their husbands for different reasons. Myrtle says she married George because she thought he was a gentleman. She also thought he knew about good “breeding.” On the other hand, Daisy married Tom because rich girls had to marry into money and good social status.