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Comparing Men And Women In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

1849 Words8 Pages

Are the actions and decisions of both men and women equally depicted in society? Many works of literature and media describe the tendencies of women extremely differently than those of men. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explores the relationships and affairs between many men and women in New York during the Jazz Age. Jay Gatsby is the protagonist, whose facade as a socialite allows him to throw extravagant parties. The basis of these gatherings is to impress Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s former lover. Daisy and her husband Tom, a brute man, live across the bay from Gatsby in a lavish estate. Eventually, both Tom and Daisy become unfaithful to each other in their marriage. Daisy and Gatsby rekindle their connection, while Tom conducts an …show more content…

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 sophistication,” stressing Mrs. Wilson’s incongruity with her surroundings. Even in an elaborate dress, Myrtle is tainted with remnants of her lower class origins and her husband’s garage, but undergoes a feigned transformation in personality. The “continual rustle” accredited to her dress, making it seem bothersome and obnoxious, further develops Myrtle’s incompatibility with the life of people of Tom’s social rank. During this occasion, one of the other women discusses her mistake of almost marrying a man that was below her socially. Myrtle chimes in, explaining that she “married [George] because [she] thought he was a gentleman”. . . . I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe,” when asked her motive for the wedding, Mr. Wilson. Myrtle’s compliment, referring to George as a gentleman, may provide reason for her initial emotional connection to her

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The reunion of Daisy and Gatsby sets all the following events into inevitable motion. Chapter seven reveals that the story of their romance reaches its climax and its tragic conclusion. The fact that Daisy invites Gatsby to her house, considering the fact that Tom is also there, was a very foolish move. The confrontation between Gatsby and Tom serves to reveal the major flaws and motivations of both characters. Tom’s conceitedness causes him to believe that his wife will never leave him because of his wealth and high social status.

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18. Myrtle explains that she married Mr. Wilson because she believed that he was a gentleman and was fit for raising a family with her. “ …but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (34). From this quote Myrtle makes it clear that Myrtle now feels that Mr. Wilson is beneath

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In the beginning, Daisy finds out that Tom, her husband, is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Daisy is gradually drifting away from Tom and into Gatsby’s arms. During Tom’s transition, he is having a lack of who he wants, Daisy and Myrtle. His lust for Daisy’s attention and affection becomes obvious when their group travels downtown. First, Tom tries to impress Daisy when Tom asks to switch cars with Gatsby: ‘“Well, you take my coupé and let me drive your car to town’”

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1920 Words | 8 Pages

Myrtle has a sickening obsession with living a luxury life and being the wife of a man who has respect in the community. With her current husband, she is not receiving that and is instead living a poor life in the Valley of Ashes. She tries to pretend like she fits in with the people of East Egg, ordering others around and becoming agitated when she has to “keep after them all the time” (Fitzgerald 32). Myrtle tries to order people around who she thinks are lower in status all in hopes of “[attempting] to craft a commodity aesthetic that aligns her with

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1488 Words | 6 Pages

“And that’s the difference between your case and mine.” “Why did you, Myrtle?”(Fitzgerald 29). Myrtle is talking about how she did wrong in marrying Wilson, this whole dialogue just showcases her selfishness and how terrible of a person she is. Myrtle is unhappy with her relationship because she can not constantly be getting what she wants, so she cheated on him with Tom who can provide her with what she wants.

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495 Words | 2 Pages

Since Myrtle is of the lower-class, Tom feels as if he is a king to her and this makes him especially attracted to her because he can receive this kind of attention that he normally doesn’t get. His attraction is based on his feeling of superiority over Myrtle and how he can express that with her, but not with Daisy due to her upper-class nature as well. Myrtle, however, is attracted to Tom because she wants to use him to achieve more in life, with her social class and living in general. These two are attracted to one another because they share similar motives and are both selfish and vain

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1075 Words | 5 Pages

Independence in a woman can be the most admirable quality, especially in a marriage. In the early 1920s, women in The Great Gatsby were given respect based on who they married. Women had a better chance to survive and establish an empire behind her husband rather than doing that alone. The downside of marrying the rich means that they are willing to give up their happiness for financial stability. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle experience different lifestyles based on their relationships with men and their inability to value love over money and fame which solidifies the idea that the American Dream is not fully attainable.

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622 Words | 3 Pages

In "The Great Gatsby" characters like Daisy and Myrtle portray the restrictive gender roles throughout the 1920's. Revealing that these characters are limited to live to their full potential, Fitzgerald ultimately supports the restraints of the patriarchy. He presents Daisy as a “good girl” and Myrtle as a “bad girl”, eventually leading them to the same future of relying on a male figure. Daisy conforms to the restrictive gender roles of the 1920’s, while also challenging the limits of these roles. Female roles are defined as obedient, fragile, and oblivious.

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431 Words | 2 Pages

The “racial mountain” of which Langston Hughes writes about is the pressure put on Black artists and artist of color to remove their race from their work, and to be simple American. In addition, the racial mountain is the burden placed on the artist by those of their own race to portray the race in a respectable way. This this “racial mountain” that deeply influenced the artist of Hughes’ time still affects black artists and artist of color today. One way in which one can see that is through the aftermath of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.” People accused Beyoncé of being racist, were upset at her inclusion of Malcolm X

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680 Words | 3 Pages

Women in The Great Gatsby Throughout the 1920’s, the role women played in society was changing. Fitzgerald shows this in The Great Gatsby by the characters: Daisy, and Jordan. The morals and iimages of the woman changed. During this time period females began to go against the “norms” of society.

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2063 Words | 9 Pages

Then there were bloody towels upon the bathroom floor, and women's voices scolding and high over confusion a long broken wail of pain”(ndjnj). Tom decides to hit Myrtle because she says Daisy's name, which is not a valid reason to break someone's nose. Myrtle does not even care that much she would rather be abused and with Tom than with her husband who cannot provide for her. It really is interesting what women put up with from Tom. At a certain point George her husband suspects she is having an affair with someone.

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926 Words | 4 Pages

William shakespeare is an English poet and actor. He was born April 1564. He married Anne Hathaway and had 3 children with her Susanna, Hemet and Judith. He began his career as an actor in 1592. He chose to write plays because he was good in writing and acting.

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2397 Words | 10 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy, as well as a subtle but powerful representation of gender. During the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel - Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker- all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect both man and society’s view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, which is shown through their behavior, beliefs, and ultimate fates and their personalities display both powerful and potentially harmful stereotypes of women at this time.

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2059 Words | 9 Pages

For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents the female characters using the gender roles in the 1920s to suggest that because Myrtle rejects the gender standards, she faces failure whereas Daisy fulfills the gender expectations, is submissive to maintain stability in life. Fitzgerald presents the female character of Daisy Buchanan as submissive women through repetition and oxymoron to portray how she values traditional gender norms. Fitzgerald introduces the scene of delivery of Pammy through Daisy’s perspective to show the struggle of female gender in society.

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430 Words | 2 Pages

Fitzgerald depicts the women of the novel as deceitful, sexual beings that are naturally subordinate to men through Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle. Daisy exemplifies the naturally inferior role of women relying on the wealth of men in their lives to take care of them. When Daisy talks about her daughter she claims, “a fool–that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(21) establishing women’s subordinate role in which they are ignorant to the affairs of their husbands and expected to rely on their beauty to carry them through life. When Daisy is accused of infidelity with Gatsby in the hotel, Gatsby claims that Daisy is attracted to men of wealth and, “only married [Tom] because [Gatsby] was poor and she was tired of waiting for [him]”(137).

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