Jordan Baker In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jordan Baker’s personality is created and developed many ways. As the book began I started to develop emotion towards Jordan Baker through the description of her physical appearance. “The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless, and with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it- indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in”(8). Throughout the book it seemed as if Jordan thought she was supercilious to the others around her, with her chin lifted high and her pompous

She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep their cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body”(58). Through this quote Nick reveals his opinion on Jordan and it makes the reader wonder if Jordan is the polished professional golfer she perceives herself as. Another way Fitzgerald shapes Jordan is through her direct actions. “When we were at a house-party together up in Warwick, she left a borrowed car out in the rain with the top down, and then lied about it- and suddenly I remembered the story about her that had eluded me that night at Daisy’s. At her first golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers- a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round”(57). This is a pure sign of the dishonesty and carelessness that Jordan acquires. It really goes to show that Jordan would ruin someone’s property and then completely lie about it, while with Nick, who was someone she was interested in pursuing a relationship with. It makes one wonder what