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What Are Gender Roles In The Great Gatsby

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Erin Danielson Ms. Johnson Literature of the Americas 28 January 2018 Gender Within the Great Gatsby The beginning of the 1920s meant a new decade, and with that came new rights and freedom for the women of this country. Suffrage, prohibition, and cultural freedoms were the three biggest women movements of the 1920s. However, despite the fact that the women of this country were finally starting to fill their shoes, there was still a power struggle between the two genders. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby, women such as Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle play an extensional role in being key pieces throughout the plot. Daisy Fay Buchanan fell in love with Jay Gatsby during the war and after, she promised that she would wait for him, but …show more content…

In Jordans case, the upper class. Joran is a professional golfer that is young and single and always sought after by men, including Nick until later on in the book. Nick describes Jordan as “incurably dishonest” and as a cheat on life and says that she cannot live life with a “disadvantage”, thus she always has to have the upper hand. In the beginning of the book, Jordan tells Nick that she “hates careless people”, but sooner than later, Nick begins to see through all of her lies and he takes a step back. Jordan Baker plays a pivotal role in reuniting Daisy and Gatsby, after all, Daisy would never have known about Gatsby and his parties had it not been for Jordan’s party life. Jordan is a rantipole, a wild and reckless young person. In the 1920s, wealthy women were expected to get married and stay at home, the exact opposite of what Jordan chooses to do. She spends her time defying …show more content…

At first, Myrtle is just the woman helping Tom Buchanan cheat on his wife, until it is revealed that Daisy is also cheating on Tom. Myrtle is disgusted by her husband and his lack of riches and wealth and prosperity. It is stated in the book that she always felt that she was born to be sophisticated and wealthy and a participant of the upper class. Because of this, she doesn’t complain when Tom, a rich city boy, pushes himself upon her. Tom does not try to hide his affair by any means, which makes Myrtle think there is more there than really is. In the end of the book, Daisy hits, and kills, Myrtle with her car. Though it never says if Daisy knew Myrtle was the mistress or not, it could be inferred that that was the reason that she killed

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She carries her full figured self to attract the eye of her lover. Myrtle is a foolish girl believing that the only reason Tom does not leave Daisy is because she is Catholic, which is far from the truth. “And I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head.” (Fitzgerald 36) Myrtle plays dumb when it comes to Tom having an interest in her when they first met on the train.

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This shows the divide even between the top tier of the social hierarchy and conveys Jordan as a strong, isolated character who has earned her spot in society and is not willing to accept anything less. Jordan also only cares about herself and her own affairs. Because she has old money, she was always well off and never had to worry about anyone else. She keeps that idea alive in her character throughout the novel’s entirety. Jordan’s entire life she has been getting accustomed to yes answers

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Nick was the man who helped out Gatsby arrange him to reunite with Daisy in chapter 5 and had to deal with all of the drama throughout Tom and Gatsby during his summer in East Egg and West Egg. Daisy is shown to be dependent on love. During the course of the novel, she went from Gatsby, to tom, back to Gatsby, and back to Tom. “I did love him once-but I loved you too.” (Fitzgerald 132) Contrary to what others may believe, Jordan is the exact opposite of the typical 1920’s woman.

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"They should monitor things that can hurt national security. Both The Great Gatsby and The Awakening reflect the strict gender roles present in the time periods of which these books were written in. In these books, women are expected to fulfill the roles of mother and wife. Daisy, the female protagonist of The Great Gatsby, and Edna, that of The Awakening, express distaste for as well as feelings of oppression due to these gender roles of their society. When speaking about her daughter, Daisy says, “‘I’m glad itâ€

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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.

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After looking at the lavish lifestyle, perfect personality, and higher status of Daisy he decided to remain with her. Daisy not only “made him look good” (Taylor 2) but he loved the idea of a beautiful and socially savvy wife. On the other hand, Myrtle was not part of either of the rich societies, she lived in the Valley of Ashes and was known as an extreme money chaser. Therefore “he openly carries on an affair with the pathetic and vulgar Myrtle Wilson” (Werlock 2). Which Daisy knew about.

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The era of the redefinition of woman are on the rise, through “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the first to prove that there is more to a woman than meets the eye. Not only does Fitsgerald address the different aspects of a new womanhood; but also he contrasts the preconceived notions of sexual stereotype’s with the new “dames” of the Roaring Twenties and shows the attempts to escape this. For Jordan Baker, he becomes a famous golfer, a relatively popular male sport; rather than choose to be the innocent and feminine ideal form the past, the role of individual is more appealing to Jordan, who can be more masculine and distant from society than the average woman of her age should be. Daisy Buchanan is seen as Toms wife, Pammy’s mother, and a woman whom is stereotyped as innocent and reserved. hidden from the others however, Nick hints to the reader of a different side to Daisy, a side where they are smarter than they seem and think outside the old-money mold in which

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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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She does what she wants and is not concerned about other people’s opinions. Jordan also is the complete opposite of women like Daisy because she does not like “being at a disadvantage” which means she wants to be the dominant one and have control over herself(58). Jordan also has “demands of her...body” which hints that Jordan is not the purest woman(58)). She does not care about chastity and the old ways, and instead she embraces the new age and creates her own rules. Jordan does not conform to the stereotypical women.

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She does not care that she kills someone or when someone she admits to loving dies, shows no grief or caring. After Daisy kills Myrtle while driving, she continues to drive and does not seem to regret her decision. Nick describes Daisy and Tom after the accident by saying that “they weren't happy [...] and yet they weren't unhappy” (Fitzgerald 145). Basically, Daisy feels indifferent about the fact she killed her husband’s mistress. Another example of Daisy’s carelessness is when Gatsby, a man she says she loved, dies, and she does not attend his funeral or show any signs of grief.

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As we get to know throughout the novel, both of them have an affair, Daisy meets again with her old love, Gatsby, and Myrtle is the mistress of Tom. Daisy comes from a wealthy upper-class family and she has been raised in privilege while Myrtle has to fight for everything she has. Myrtle is attempting to give the impression of a wealthy, high-class woman, but she does not have the figure of a high-class woman. She has a “thick fish figure” (25) which connotes that she is not a skinny type nor beautiful. The appearance of Daisy is the contrast of Myrtle.

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Just like Daisy, Myrtle chooses money over love. She cheats on her husband George with Tom. Myrtle was a woman from the lower class who desired to be a part of the higher class. Tom spoiled Myrtle and gave her the lifestyle she always wanted. She belittles her husband and talk bad about him because he is not at the top of the social ladder where Tom is.

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They started drinking, smoking and dancing. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the different characteristics of new women are presented through Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson. They are all different versions of the New Woman. Fitzgerald presents quite contrasting roles for women in The Great Gatsby in 1920, creating distinct challenges between new woman and traditional woman. For example, Jordan Baker is an arrogant, unemotional and often irresponsible woman.

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Tom’s altercation with Myrtle accentuates his hypocrisy and lack of self-control; while he doesn’t feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, he feels that he has the right to maintain his authority over Myrtle. In this same scene, Myrtle, who is also drunk, draws attention to the negative aspects of her personality.

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Feminism is clearly evident in The Great Gatsby and can be shown by the contrast between the independent women such as Jordan Baker and Catherine and the dependent women, Daisy and Myrtle. They are different in their approach to their relationships even though their character qualities are similar.

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