ipl-logo

Feminism In The Great Gatsby And Their Eyes Were Watching God

1844 Words8 Pages

Eras are remembered by wars, civil rights, legislation, and popular culture. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the role of women in society are significant motifs. Little Women was written and set in the 1860’s at the same time as the development of the women's rights movement within the United States. The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God are both set in the 1920s when women gained the right to vote and therefore women's rights should have evolved from those featured in Little Women. The goal of this essay is to attempt to determine if literature arising simultaneously to the feminist movement parallels laws passed. This will also allow me to better understand the discrepancies between the law and the populous.

During the past 200 years women’s rights have progressed exponentially in the United States legal system, but total and absolute gender equality has not yet been achieved. None of the books selected are inherently feminist in order for them to represent an accurate mindset of the American people. All three books are widely read today …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby efficiently depicts the lives of women residing in the East Coast during the 1920’s and makes a clear point of establishing definitive gender roles. Fitzgerald’s work is not an inherently feminist doctrine and focus more on fiscal responsibilities of white individuals, allowing the modern reader to get a more accurate sense of women's roles in society. The Great Gatsby is especially significant in this essay because Fitzgerald is the only male writer discussed and the novel has a male narrator and main character, therefore providing a unique insight on women’s responsibilities and their role at this point in time. The 1920’s were the beginning of a new revolutionary age for women and The Great Gatsby is an iconic piece that is seen as a reflection on this time

Show More
Related
1735 Words | 7 Pages

The novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Their Eyes Were Watching God follow the lives of Jay Gatsby and Janie Crawford, respectively, exploring the depths of their love life and personal values. Wealth plays a big part of each story, however, with differing importance to the main characters. Janie is not materialistic, and cares not how much money she has, but whether she is happy or not. Gatsby, on the other hand, cares only about wealth and convinces himself he is in love with Daisy, equating financial success with love and happiness. Their class, the themes and materialism that is shown in the novels reveal the place of wealth in their lives, showing how commodification is either negative or positive.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the novel illustrates the patriarchal society of the 1920s and the oppression of women within it. The novel shows traditional gender roles being strictly enforced through the character of Daisy Buchanan and also presents contrast through Jordan Baker, a strong independent woman challenging the gender roles imposed upon her. This serves to highlight the societal restrictions and traditional expectations faced by women during this era and the emergence of a new generation of women who sought to break free from these constraints. Some critics renounce this, stating that the novel reinforces patriarchal societal norms rather than challenging them. This essay will argue that the novel presents a distinct

Read More
756 Words | 4 Pages

Primary Source Analysis This paper will contain an analysis on two documents that I have chosen on Women’s Rights. The two documents are: Abigail and John Adams Converse on Women’s Rights, 1776 and the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) Statement of Purpose, 1966. Both were created hundreds of years apart, but they will give an understanding of how long of a fight it was for women to obtain a sense of equality.

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author uses many differnt retorical devices to add a personal flare to his work. He uses diction, symbolism, and irony to adress many different themes. These themes include Materialism, The American Dream, and includes a sharp and biting ridicule on American society in the 1920’s. The main point of Fitzgerald, arguement is one where he sharply criticizes the Society of the time.

Read More
982 Words | 4 Pages

Awesome Title in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich The feminist movement has grown and spread in the past decade. Women all over the world are standing up for basic rights, such as education, that all people, regardless of gender can enjoy. This movement is not a new one, though. Women from times past had already started paving the way towards some of the rights women have today.

Read More
1421 Words | 6 Pages

Scott Fitzgerald’s depiction of women in The Great Gatsby readers see women are prepared to emerge into the modern way of life, but society is not ready for the new nontraditional image of

Read More
1169 Words | 5 Pages

In today’s duplicitous society, men often pursue the “perfect woman”. This woman is construed to be; fit, provocative and ravishing. However, in greatly distinguished American novel, The Great Gatsby, the men have strayed from stalking women for their looks. Instead, Gatsby chases Daisy to achieve her as a prize of his bounty and any affection Gatsby demonstrates toward her, is simply to appease to her sense of status and wealth. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald, exhibits Gatsby’s these feelings for Daisy through the clever usage of connotation, symbolism and metaphors.

Read More
1746 Words | 7 Pages

The Roaring Twenties 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 millionaire who goes by the name Gatsby. Gatsby hosts frequent parties which include several 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.

Read More
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.

Read More
586 Words | 3 Pages

The current issues surrounding the rights of women relate to how women were treated back when To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. The men of the court asked all women and children to leave so they could listen to Mayella’s rendition. Believing they shouldn’t hear about what she had to say, they wanted the women and children to exit the building (Page__, Lee). The court asking this compares to the world in that similar treatment was received by women, such as how

Read More
2439 Words | 10 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy. Also 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 the 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, seen in their behavior, beliefs, and their ultimate fate.

Read More
640 Words | 3 Pages

Feminism has been a prominent topic in literature for decades and is still an essential subject to discuss. In this critique, we will explore the feminist perspective in The Great Gatsby novel's first two chapters. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1925. The novel's central theme is the corruption of the American Dream, which leads to a tragic ending. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to New York to work in the bond business.

Read More
1399 Words | 6 Pages

Golden blonde hair falls on the cheeks of a pure face. A woman so accustomed to money and privilege, yet a hole in her heart prevents her from happiness. Meanwhile, sweat of poverty covers the skin of one who only has eyes for a man already wed to another. Betwixt them all is a dark haired, athletic woman who cares only for her own well-being. All three of these beauties walk down paths as different as lead is from gold, yet their similarities are uncanny.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

Historians agree that feminism’s fate broke through in the 1920’s, yet this reformation of social justice was not been embraced by a majority of Americans. In this decade, women were finally allowed to vote, they cut their hair short, and rebelled against the norms of society; however, misogyny remained mentally within the community through media, politics, and even in literature. In 1925, five years after the flappers movement was initiated in America, F. Scott Fitzgerald published his most reputable novel: The Great Gatsby, where the misportrayal of women is apparent within the distinctive natures of his characters. Fitzgerald’s novel focuses on the complexities of American society and the struggles to attain dreams, all while enduring the

Read More
430 Words | 2 Pages

What Makes a Woman? In the age of the Roaring Twenties everyone was embracing a carefree, post- war lifestyle. Women began challenging social norms, becoming independent, promiscuous, and overall breaking free of the control of men. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald decides to place women in a more in a more male-dependent role in The Great Gatsby in which they embody negative qualities of women in the 1920s.

Read More

More about Feminism In The Great Gatsby And Their Eyes Were Watching God

Related Topics

Open Document