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The Role Of Femininity In The Great Gatsby

1629 Words7 Pages

In a very famous passage of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts characters Tom and Nick to embody the traditional standards for a masculine character. The text is a perfect stereotypical society of descent to American materialism and American culture. In this gender-based society, Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby title character of Gatsby tries desperately hard to secure the beautiful yet unattainable Daisy as his partner. This image has elicited responses from later authors. In his story “The Things they Carried” masculinity is characterized through war and soldiers. Tim O’Brien’s collection of interrelated stories provide detailed accounts of the struggles faced by American soldiers on the ground during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam …show more content…

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays femininity in a traditional and somewhat restrictive manner. The female characters particularly, Daisy Buchanan, embodyembodies special ideals of femininity prevalent during the 1920s. Daisy is depicted as a beautiful …show more content…

In “The Great Gatsby” and “The Things Tthey Carried” Gatsby and Jimmy Cross both share the stereotype of masculinity through their experiences of twisted love and the manliness stereotyped throughout the characters. Likewise, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”, and “The Great Gatsby” Daisy and Hurston overlap in their roles of femininity. Both characters are expected to be attractive, aesthetic, and charming as a stereotypical female. Hurston as a female focuses on her success in being an african american female in a predominantly white society, just like Daisy focuses on her success of being the most female she can be by obtaining wealth and being with the best guy for her. Lastly, O’brien, Hurston, and Fritzgerald all challenge the stereotypical gender- based society when they characterize males and females to disobey the roles of masculinity and femininity. Collectively, these three novels reveal the true aspects of being a female or male in an American society while also going against the gender norms

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the novel illustrates the patriarchal society of the 1920s and the oppression of women within it. The novel shows traditional gender roles being strictly enforced through the character of Daisy Buchanan and also presents contrast through Jordan Baker, a strong independent woman challenging the gender roles imposed upon her. This serves to highlight the societal restrictions and traditional expectations faced by women during this era and the emergence of a new generation of women who sought to break free from these constraints. Some critics renounce this, stating that the novel reinforces patriarchal societal norms rather than challenging them. This essay will argue that the novel presents a distinct

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How Is Daisy Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

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In this novel, Daisy is the most abused by male characters. She is objectified, cheated on by her husband, and probably physically abused by him, based on what he did to Myrtle. When Daisy gets back together with Gatsby, he says, “It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy-- it increased her value in his eyes.” (page 156). This quote shows how men objectify Daisy just because

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How Does Jordan Baker Use Gender Lens In The Great Gatsby

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Jordan Baker's Representation Of Women In The Great Gatsby

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Historically, women have had to overcome much harder challenges than men to be recognized. This was no different in the 1920’s where, amongst the glitz and glamor, women still dealt with hypocritical thinking. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald critiques the lack of power that women had by showing hypocritical and harmful thinking towards women like Daisy and Myrtle, and how this mindset is still prevalent within society. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the character of Daisy Buchanan is used to portray the hypocrisy between women and men during the time period.

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2397 Words | 10 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy, as well as a subtle but powerful representation of gender. During the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel - Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker- all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect both man and society’s view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, which is shown through their behavior, beliefs, and ultimate fates and their personalities display both powerful and potentially harmful stereotypes of women at this time.

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