How Is Myrtle Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the course of history, women's role in society has changed immensely. The certain expectations set on them by the standards of society became widely accepted. They are controlled and are made to adapt to society's norms. Their actions are amplified by the men in society. The thought of superiority in favor of one gender leads to these societal norms that need to be broken. Fitzgerald’s approach to feminism uses an effective way to portray feminism as empowering and uplifting. Fitzgerald ties the women in the story to real- experiences. The feminist ideas portrayed have a retrospective viewpoint on women's roles in society in the 1920s.

In The Great Gatsby Jordan, who embodies feminism is portrayed as an independent woman who solely

Myrtle is very stubborn especially when it comes to the guys in her life. The first occurrence of this during a fight with Tom Buchanan, her lover. He tells her that he does not want her to say the name of his wife, Daisy, and in response ignores him by repeating “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! (Fitzgerald 41). The ultimate lack of respect shown towards Buchanan shows that she refuses to obey men. Myrtle wants to be seen as a strong woman which is controversial to societal standards. Being seen as a strong woman is mocked because simply it has never occurred before. She believes gaining respect begins with not bowing down to everything a man wants. When talking to George Wilson, Myrtle puts George in his place by saying "Beat me! Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!" (Fitzgerald 130) She is not only denying her affair but she is also standing against the man she is supposed to be obeying by societal standards. In a world where women were supposed to take care of the house she directly stood against this idea..In creating this character for the book, Fitzgerald is suggesting that women should have been held to a more manly standard and not looked down upon simply because they were a woman. Fitzgerald tries to represent both men and women as strong, independent, and

Fitzgerald shows in the novel that women can look nowhere but to their upcoming and future goals, just like men. Even from the start of the story she is looked at like a money hungry person. Daisy ended up marrying a very rich man just out of selfishness and greed to get money for herself. She is driven by the money rather than what is right. It is stated that “Neither of them can stand the person they’re married to” (Fitzgerald 33). Daisy married for wealth rather than happiness. She might have felt that her happiness was predicated on her wealth. Throughout the book, Daisy and Tom work together to try and get through everything as a group. This was odd, especially during that time, because men were supposed to take care of money and women were supposed to take care of the home. Fitzgerald shows that she is even more money hungry than her husband.. This is further evident through her backstory. When Nick learns that she left Gatsby because he had no money he realizes "her voice is full of money. (Fitzgerald 105). It is clear that Fitzgerad thinks women want money as much as men. Through Daisy's teamwork with Tom and her money obsession, it is clear Fitzgerald believes money is not just for men, and that with everything else comes greed from both