Gender In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Women, frequently associated with the idea of conforming, have not only had to conform to their gender norms but conform to the symbols that are used to represent them throughout literature. The Great Gatsby was a book written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The book follows a young man named Nick Carraway who moves to the West Egg in order to become a stock broker. He lives next to a man named Jay Gatsby who is in love with a woman named Daisy Buchanan and we follow their relationship through the eyes of Nick. Since the book takes place in the 1920s, gender inequality was a much larger issue and women were slowly gaining rights. Fitzgerald uses colors to convey these ideas present in the text. The usage of white and yellow in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s

Fitzgerald takes a unique stance on this as he relates colors to the outward and inner state of the people related to them. In the introduction of Daisy and Jordan they are wearing white dresses, as Fitzgerald states, “Two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering (Fitzgerald 10).” The white dresses symbolize how Daisy and Jordan act innocent and pure as society expects them to be. Daisy and Jordan wearing the white dresses symbolizes how they are conforming to the societal expectations set up for them. Later on, Fitzgerald makes it a point to mention how Daisy is “the golden girl…. (Fitzgerald 128).” Gatsby and Nick were discussing what makes Daisy's voice so charming and Gatsby said “her voice is full of money”. Daisy is associated with gold/yellow here as she cares more about money and social status. Daisy is portrayed here as being more debauched than in her introduction where she was shown as pure. The yellow and gold are meant to show Daisy’s true inclination towards wealth and social status. The use of colors conveys a disparity between the expectations of each gender and their actual individual identities. Colors are not the only symbol present in The Great Gatsby, women play a role in representing social and gender inequalities present in the

F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays these issues throughout the book in a skillful manner. Back in the 1920s, gender roles were that the man was the one in power and the woman wouldn’t be able to do anything. The gender roles and inequalities of the time led Daisy to say, “All right,’ 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 little fool (Fitzgerald 20).” Daisy would rather have her daughter be a fool because she can’t make it if she tries to be strong. Daisy would rather have her daughter live in ignorance than be aware of the reality she is in due to the social constraints she would face. There is a major double standard in the way men and women are portrayed in The Great Gatsby. The double standard is so present that when Tom blatantly shows Nick his affair, he is so stunned he said, “There is always a halt there of at least a minute and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress (Fitzgerald 27).” Men are able to have mistresses and affairs without anyone batting an eye, but it is seen as wrong for women like Daisy to do so herself. Tom treats women as disposable and uses them to fuel his selfishness and way of life. These portrayals expose the unfair treatment of women in this era. Even in today’s society, there are still rampant gender inequalities.