Women In The Great Gatsby

Myrtle is described to be more on the thicker side “She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can.” (25) She married George Wilson, an abusive man, because she thought he was a gentleman and was wealthy “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman,” she said finally. “I thought he knew something about breeding. But he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.” (Fitzgerald 34). In her eyes George is not worthy enough for her because he doesn’t have a lot of money and she’s very conceded with herself. She learned very fast she made a mistake with marrying him. “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it…” (35) George just is not the man she wants, she wants a man with money, someone that can buy her luxurious items, like Tom “I want to get one of those dogs,” she said earnestly. (27) Tom will buy her the things she wants, but when she pushes her limits with him he’ll put her in her place “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.

In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he shows women, treated and presented as worse than men, and are rather disregarded and neglected by the male characters. Even Fitzgerald describes and creates the traits of the women in the book in a negative manner.

Throughout literature women are often displayed as idealized characters. Women in the eyes of society are plagued with the stereotype of being kind, nurturing, and tender individuals while men are established as ambitious, assertive, and tough. However, when the time comes for women to possess the qualities of men and men of women, a turnaround of events can occur. Women were the individuals that then shape the males into their ending personna. Shakespeare's Macbeth, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby demonstrated the reversal of gender roles through portraying women as the instigator of the male character’s ultimate demise.

The 1920’s was a time when the United States economy had a 42% increase (Amadeo). The United States had this increase in the economy due to industrial factories being built, and new inventions being made, which raised wages. Women during this time period gained many rights, but were still not as equal as men. African Americans were discriminated against and segregated during this time. Fashion in the 1920’s was brand new. Women had new styles of clothing and new hairstyles, and men started wearing athletic gear. In the 1920’s, and in the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald wealth, women and racism, and fashion were big social beliefs that impacted lives in the United States.

The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes place in the summer of 1922 during a time when women were venturing out into unknown territory. Women were given the right to vote and were taking more leadership positions that men had previously dominated. However, this was also a time when women were still placed in a domestic role where men had the overriding decisions and looked down on women who showed strength in these new opportunities. After the war, Fitzgerald recognized that women had become an economic power, and he connects this with the changing status of an emancipated woman. In the process of writing, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald acknowledged, however, that the women characters in his novel were subordinate. Fitzgerald uses three major female characters: Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson to portray the new social and sexual freedoms appreciated by women (Strba 41).

Daisy Buchanan is a beautiful, wealthy woman who appears to have it all. She is married to Tom, who is extremely rich and provides her with all the money she could ever want. Daisy has been familiar with this role for quite some time. When Gatsby described his meeting with Daisy, he stated that he knew that he had to pretend have an abundance of money. Daisy had lived a life of money, and when Gatsby leaves Daisy , she has to marry into money to maintain her lifestyle. This is strongly

Of the three girls, Myrtle is the only one who is poor, but she does have an illusion of being wealthy as she is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. She envies daisy, wanting to leave her husband for a life with Tom, going as far as mocking her name. “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-” (Gerald 37) followed by Tom breaking her nose. Myrtle when she found out her husband wasn’t rich all she wanted to do was get away. “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman, I thought he was a gentleman, I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (Gerald 34). All she wanted was wealth, she feel for Tom most likely because of his riches, being so dwelvened in the things he would buy her, even getting over him breaking her nose to stay together. Myrtle is easily portrayed through her greed and envy, glaring at Jordan Baker with terror and disgust thinking she was

Myrtle Wilson is the second major character in The Great Gatsby. She is about 30 years old and is “faintly stout but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some woman can” (The Great Gatsby: Character). Myrtle is married to George Wilson, also a mistress to Tom Buchanan. She is not happy with her marriage nor her lifestyle. Myrtle is part of the lower class of society making her poor. With them being poor they end up living in their car garage. George seemed like a gentleman and that is why Myrtle married him, but turns out that he wasn’t. Tom is part the upper class of society which attracts Myrtle to him. They spend a lot of time in the city together. She has an excuse to tell George that she is visiting her sister. George is getting a suspicion that Myrtle is up to no good, and locks her up in a closet. Myrtle being upset, notices a yellow car thinking it was Tom because she noticed him driving it earlier, she runs to the car to get away from George

Iconic literary works often share common grounds that can be detected by readers and literary critics. Such similarities can be discerned from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. These classic novels can be effectively juxtaposed in regards to their portrayal of the role of women, the cruciality of setting, and the display of the issues of the eras.

The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald, is a critically acclaimed novel set in 1920’s America. The Roaring Twenties was a transitional period for women. Apart from gaining institutional rights (suffrage), the era also represented new philosophies of sexual freedom and social rebellion for women, mirrored in Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the “flapper” women in the novel. Nonetheless, the emancipation of women was rife with setbacks. In the patriarchal societal construct, female characters in the novel (Myrtle, Jordan, Daisy) are reduced to subordinate roles, as decorative sexual objects for men. In the consumerist and morally decadent society of the Jazz Age, female characters are corrupted by materialism. As the female characters are punished

“‘The only CRAZY I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it...” ( Fitzgerald,39), Myrtles little speech Indicates her regret of marrying someone that lacks wealth and a social position like George wilson. It is clear to the readers that Myrtle is not after affection and protection, she is after materialistic items, that have value to them, which she receives from her “secret lover” Tom Buchanan. Myrtle has the idea that if she has an affair with Tom, he will divorce his wife Daisy and marry her, so she can move up the social ladder. She is desirous of Daisy's life, Daisy has everything Myrtle lacks, the money, Tom and a high social status. Her desire to be as important as Daisy to Tom is shown when she shouted “‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’”(Fitzgerald,41),in this chapter Myrtle realizes she could never replace Daisy because Top slaps her across the face speaking his wife’s name, who he does respect and love. Myrtle also believes that she went up the social ladder because she shares an apartment with Tom, in New York. “‘I told that boy about the ice.’ Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. ‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time.”(Fitzgerald,35). She truly believes that speaking in a snobby tone, makes her sound wealthy. To most Myrtle is a subordinate, dependent women, but in reality she uses men to escape poverty and live a lavish

The Great Gatsby has been subject to controversial themes for years upon years because of the way it seems to glorify adultery and living in extravagance – two things that defy the teachings of many religions worldwide. While in the past such topics were not as taboo, one could still argue that the ways the women in this novel are treated are inexcusable, even given the cultural and historical context. Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Daisy Buchanan are all treated incredibly poorly, and people do not seem to realize this. The first mistreated woman in this novel is the most obvious: Myrtle Wilson. Throughout the novel, Myrtle gets her nose broken, abused by her husband, and all around murdered.

The American dream is a very devious thing; especially when people start to die because of it and it becomes less of a dream and more of a want that may never be fulfilled. This can become a very dangerous deed. Not only because it takes 1) Money 2) Marriage 3) Happy household and 4) kids but it takes devoting one’s life to living the American dream, even for women.

‘Relationships between men and women are defined by a struggle for power’ – to what extent do you agree with this statement? In Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby the characters claim to love but this is merely a mask to disguise their chase for power. Whereas, in Bronte’s Jane Eyre, the love is real but hindered by a struggle for equality. Thus, both novels contain relationships that stem from the premise of power.

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.