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How Is Masculinity Presented In The Great Gatsby

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“He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way. Involuntarily I glanced seaward, and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away”. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ epitomises the distinct aspects of the ‘Roaring 20s’, including the inconceivable notion of the ‘American Dream’, a patriotic ideal that entails upward social mobility through hard work and determination. Throughout the novel, characters of all statuses become victims of the corrupted reality of this dream, as a result of their conflicting forms of masculinity as well as the constant pursuit of material success, resulting in their continuous craving of approval. At the outset, the portrayal of differing forms of masculinity as a result of the …show more content…

Whilst Tom personifies the idealised 1920s version of confrontational masculinity, Gatsby subsequently embodies a more traditional, romantic approach. As a facet of their contrasting ideals, Tom's craving for approval stems from his desire to maintain his societal status and power, whereas Gatsby's is driven by his yearning for acceptance and love, most notably from Daisy. Tom’s fear that people “sneering at family life and family institutions” would lead to “intermarriage between black and white” elucidates how he craves dominance and control through his disdain of throwing away ‘family structure’; patriarchal dominance. This is further represented through his use of physical force on Myrtle. This violent act immediately makes his toxicity not only emotional, but also escalated to a physical level. Thus, Fitzgerald endorses his beliefs of male superiority to affirm his need to be the most admired gender and race. Conversely, Gatsby’s obsession with wanting reciprocated love from Daisy reinforces his traditional masculinity. His comment that Daisy's voice was “full of money”, is emblematic of the idealised image of success and achievement

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1462 Words | 6 Pages

Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy, a member of this privileged class, is a reflection of his desire to advance socially and obtain acceptance from the privileged classes. Tom Buchanan, a member of the Old Money, serves as a vehicle for Fitzgerald to stress the sense of entitlement that comes with being born into a well-off family. Tom embodies the arrogance and cruelty of the upper class, using his wealth and power to control and manipulate those around him. Fitzgerald also critiques the American Dream through the character of Gatsby, who’s despite all his effort he is unable to escape his lower-class trappings, suggesting that the pursuit of wealth and status can lead to moral decay and disillusionment. Gatsby's obsession with his past and his longing for the unattainable Daisy ultimately leads to his tragic demise.

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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.

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1083 Words | 5 Pages

The Great Gatsby is a story of a man’s desire to reunite with a loved one and how every character desires to diverge from the 1920s societal norms. The story begins with a man named Nick Carraway. Nick begins with a short synopsis of his life before arriving in West Egg. Nick, whose profession is working in the bond business, bought a house on West Egg. Eventually, Nick meets a wealthy man named Jay Gatsby.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

He is controlling and possessive with both women, viewing them as his property rather than individuals with their own thoughts and desires. He has no qualms about using violence to assert his dominance, as he does when he strikes Myrtle during an argument. Overall, Tom's personality is characterized by his sense of entitlement. The different personalities of Gatsby and Tom lead to conflicts and tensions throughout the novel, with each man viewing the other as a threat to their own position and status. These conflicts culminated in the tragic events of the novel, which highlight the destructive consequences of their actions and

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1386 Words | 6 Pages

During the Roaring Twenties, “shifting male hierarchies... privileged a few men” (Kann XI) the power to devastate society with a few careless decisions. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates, in the novel The Great Gatsby, that hypermasculinity - aggressive demonstrations of physical strength and sexuality - leads to diminished autonomy of men who are not traditionally masculine. As a pivotal figure in the novel, Tom Buchanan dominates weak men, such as George Wilson and Jay Gatsby, who contradict his masculine ideals - Tom ruins their lives to prove his superiority. Fitzgerald illustrates, through Tom’s unoriginal beliefs and actions, the demolition of human lives caused by an inflated ego.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

For many years men have been trying to understand what traits they need to get the girl and the relationship. Men are always looking for ways to impress “the girl” and will do it at any cost, physical or mental. The way that masculinity is represented throughout the novel The Great Gatsby shows throughout the book what the negatives of masculinity are and how they affect relationships and marriages. The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott. Throughout this article i will like to addressing Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby's point of view on relationships and marriage, and compare it to current time.

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1221 Words | 5 Pages

Fitzgerald captures and contrasts the experiences of women in The Great Gatsby through Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson, and Daisy Buchanan by exposing the pervasive grip of patriarchy and materialism. Their divergent paths highlight the persistent struggle against societal constraints, offering a poignant commentary on gender dynamics and individual agency in the 1920s America. Daisy Buchanan’s character personifies the upper class’s superficial and materialistic inclinations. Daisy is often described as a beautiful, innocent woman in which “a stirring warmth flowed from her” (Fitzgerald 14) – representing every facet of femininity in the 1920s. Daisy becomes the character in The Great Gatsby who is subjected to oppression by both Tom and the patriarchal system as a whole.

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Although this figure, Gatsby, experiences an intensely intimate relationship with Daisy, his emotions reside on the side of extreme obsession rather than genuine affection. Desire plays a pivotal role in the development of the characters in the novel, showing Fitzgerald’s seminal message

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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.

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712 Words | 3 Pages

Patriarchy has been relevant in the world since the beginning of time. Gender inequality is an issue in the world today and it can even be found in literature. Movies and books such as The Great Gatsby portray female stereotypes just as it happens in the real world. The connection between literature and the real world is direct and is portrayed especially well in this book. Women are stereotyped and not allowed to “make their own decisions” which shows how this world has become misogynistic and have made the norm that women are powerless.

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378 Words | 2 Pages

During the 20s, the meaning of gender and how it affected people changed drastically with the emergence of flappers and suffragettes. The way one perceives gender and how they present themselves is significant regarding how people treat them and how they treat others, a theme carried throughout the entirety of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In Gatsby, gender makes itself known concerning sexuality and how the way a certain character appears and acts can heavily influence how they are perceived. From Mr. Mckee and his evident femininity and Miss Baker’s contrasting masculinity to Nick’s undeniable admiration for Gatsby, it is clear that gender and sexuality present a very strong role in the novel. One of the characters closest to

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1328 Words | 6 Pages

A woman’s main goal in life is to find a husband of great wealth and power that can help support their emotional instability. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays this goal for women based on the plethora of detailed imagery he uses when describing them. Women are constantly seen, and heard, seeking wealth and wishing they had more; otherwise, they are likely shown crying or acting on impulse. Specifically, Fitzgerald's use of lavish imagery in The Great Gatsby when describing Gatsby's shirts, as well as Daisy’s reaction, reinforces Fitzgerald’s sexist stereotypes about women and their fixation on material wealth and status as well as their inability to control their emotions.

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535 Words | 3 Pages

In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald discusses Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby's success can only be described; it seems, through a series of ethnic and racial analogies. Goldsmith says “In the bewildered eyes of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby could have sprung more easily from ‘the swamps of Louisiana or from the lower East Side of New York’ than alighted fully formed on the shore of Long Island Sound with no family, history, or origins” (Goldsmith, Meredith). According to Goldsmith, “Later in The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan engages in the same comparative logic, characterizing Gatsby's wooing of Daisy as tantamount to ‘intermarriage between black and white’ (137)” (Goldsmith, Meredith).

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773 Words | 4 Pages

Unlike the peaceful and joyful scenery of New York City, the ideological conflict between patriarchy and feminism is fiercely undergoing, displayed in Nick’s first visit to Daisy and Tom Buchanan. On the one hand, the text depicting the scene “reinforces patriarchal ideology” (Tyson 119) through detailed characterization of Tom, exposing men’s oppression on women. On the other hand, it also “undermines patriarchy” (Tyson 119) by portraying Miss Baker as a counter example against the patriarchal repression on women. From the perspective of feminist analysis, the text about Nick’s first visit to Daisy and Tom in the very beginning of the whole book insightfully reveals an ideologically conflicted view towards patriarchal ideology in physical, social and psychological aspects.

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1352 Words | 6 Pages

Masculinity Deficiency To be a man in the 1920s, one had to be composed, callous, and dominant: the picturesque image of man at the time, yet all a facade. Consequently, men became a production of society, solely displaying their outward image, but never their true personalities and in this way, it was of no fault of their own that they became ignorant to the happenings of their surroundings. This was especially true of those men of higher classes. The well-to-do became accustomed to very lavish lifestyles, blindsided by both societal pressures and their overabundance of money. Being of a higher class, they were also expected to constantly act in a posh, educated manor and never be belittled by those of lower classes.

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