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The Role Of Jordan Baker In The Great Gatsby

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The eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg appear blue and gigantic with retinas one yard in height, but they look out of no face. (23) As the people of the West egg, and East egg, pass through the Valley of Ashes, they are stared upon by two blue eyes that are no longer brightly glowing. The greasy grime masks the rain-washed sign and value of the people who live in the Valley of Ashes. The theme of using an affectation to hide one's true self is prevalent throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The faceless eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg and grease that mask the Valley of Ashes, are similar to Jordan Baker because she never allows anyone to get close and see her genuine identity. Jordan intentionally uses her body language to appear …show more content…

Helen Hicks was the first female golfer to earn her living as a touring American golfer. Although she was not gay herself, the stereotype of female athletes being gay at the professional level, guided Fitzgerald in his creation of Jordan Baker in this novel. Jordan attempts to appear more feminine because she is the only female in this novel that makes her own living, which she does by playing a professional sport, a career that is typically performed by men. To counter the masculinity she portrays from her career, Jordan adjusts her body language, and flirts with men to appear more feminine. “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.” (8) Nick Carraway narrates the story without judgment, and it is clear that he is not buying the story that Jordan is telling with her body language. Nick comments that her intentional body language is something she won’t be able endure for the entirety of her life, which is why he is so interested in her. Jordan is aware that to remain masked, she must lie and convince Nick of her femininity, consequently she flirts with him throughout the novel. Picking up on her intentional body language and knowing about Jordan’s (TA WORD FOR TENDENCY) to cheat at her profession, Nick views Jordan as “incurably dishonest” (58) which confines their relationship to playful and flirtatious, and he realizes that their relationship is not as deep as he initially thought. The mask Jordan wears restricts her from fullying connecting with other characters in the book. We see this in chapter four when Nick says, “I wasn't actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity.”(57) This demonstrates that while Nick is attracted to Jordan and admires

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Based n this quote the “eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg” are most likely a sign or billboard of a pair of blue eyes like the ones on the cover of the book. “…some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away” (24). The author is telling the reader that

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In Bad Driving: Jordan's Tantalizing Story in "The Great Gatsby", Veronica Makowksy made a strong point that Fitzgerald has made Jordan a limited character and needs to be a more relevant character in The Great Gatsby. I disagree with these points as Jordan is a problematic character and Fitzgerald portrayed her to the audience specifically in this way and made many points that show this. Makowsky tries to state that the reason Jordan is like this is because of the discrimination against women, and if she were more prominent in the book, she would not be as much of a judged character. Veronica Makowsky, explains how Jordan, the self-centered, dishonest rebel, should have a bigger role in the great gatsby, as she is just like Gatsby because

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In the article “Is there a Cheaters High,” Romeo Vitelli argues that acting unethically can come with an unpredictable feeling of “cheater's high.” He states that rather than feeling guilt or shame after cheating the more common result they faced was the positive emotions people had after getting away with it. Throughout the book, “Great Gatsby,” main characters Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker start to develop a relationship and help build this idea of the “cheaters high.” Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker come from opposite ends of what they believe is morally right. Carraway prides himself in being careful and believing he is “one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

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I feel that this passage means that there are only four kinds of people: “the pursed, the pursing, the busy and the tried”. The pursued, are people who being pursued by others. For example, Jordan is being pursued by Nick at the beginning of the book. The pursing are people who are consistently chasing something either a goal or a person. For example in the book, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is pursuing Daisy and Nick would also be pursuing Gatsby and Jordan.

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1. the most crucial plot line becomes visible through a series of stories told by Jordan baker. Nick begins to spend more time with Jordan finding out that Gatsby and Daisy were once in love. Jordan tells nick that Gatsby wants him to invite daisy over to his house for tea. 2.

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

Eckleberg's eyes watch over an industrial dumping ground from a washed out billboard across from Wilson's garage. They are described by Nick as being, “blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high. . . But his eyes, dimmed by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood over the solemn dumping ground”(Fitzgerald 23, 24). From the beginning of the book, the eyes are personified as a disapproving observer. This personification, is what allows the billboard to take on a heightened meaning.

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521 Words | 3 Pages

Jeaniene Frost once said, “People can perfect whatever facade they want, but everyone holds their sins close to their skin”. This quote relates to The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. They both talk about the action of putting out to the world that you are someone else different than who you actually are, but your secrets always stay lurking in the background. The Great Gatsby is trying to show that putting out a facade of someone who you aren’t can have dire consequences. One character who puts up a facade is Jay Gatsby.

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“The Great Gatsby" begins in 1922 when the roaring twenties had just been set into motion. This jubilant era was a revolutionary time in America’s history as it was an age of social rebellion and domestic reform. Another key event from this time period was the Prohibition which attempted to ban all alcohol consumption and sales, but only succeeded in making alcohol cheaper to the people. Jordan Baker thrived during this era as a pro-golfer and she stood for more than what most women wanted blossoming her way as her own self-sufficient source. In, “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jordan finds herself in conflict with society’s expectations through characterization of her as an independent young woman and through the theme

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In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s through his setting and characters, especially all the parties Gatsby throws, Fitzgerald creates a vivid image of the 1920s and that's what really shapes the whole book, this time period is known as the roaring twenties for its economic and social changes, One aspect we see that Fitzeralgald includes in his story is Jordan baker she is the definition of independent and she represents the new woman in this period of time since by this time woman were looking for changes on wanting to become more independent, “I hate careless people, that's why I like you”, Nick also describes her as “incurably dishonest”, This portrays the changes in the woman society and how women were starting to change what

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1212 Words | 5 Pages

of his lover, allows us to feel sympathy for him. By omitting this sequence, Tom’s depth or complexity of character can be seen as diminished. Lastly Nick’s character is distorted in the film. In the text we learn that Nick is careless and self-interested through his brief relationship with Jordan Baker – which is purposefully omitted from the film. He treats her as an experiement- a means of entertainment - and gives Jordan the false illusion that her affinity is reciprocated.

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1421 Words | 6 Pages

The 1920s is a time of technological, economical, and social exploration. Myrtle, Daisy, and Jordan display the full image of what it is like to be a women in New York during the 1920s. They each have a personal struggle with society and the fight between what they want and what is expected of them. Each of these women wants to experience the glamor of the 1920s but has to maintain some of the traditional elegance of a woman. If the neglect to do so, they are treated harshly by society.

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564 Words | 3 Pages

Nick was clearly in love with Gatsby. He had had true feelings for Jordan for a while, but once he met Gatsby, those feelings slowly disappeared. He was secretly holding out hope to be with

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The American Dream is what many set their goals in life to be based upon, money, family, peace, and love. Every character in The Great Gatsby is selfish, but the four main characters that present themselves as the most selfish are, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, the American Dream is present, but is overshadowed because of all the selfish people only wanting to become a higher class or show that they are of a higher class than everyone else around them. The Character that has the least amount significance to the story, but the most selfish is Jordan Baker. Jordan is described as an attractive, slender woman, small breasted and has a grey sun-strained eyes.

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1999 Words | 8 Pages

In this essay I will be discussing how Ai Weiwei and Felix Gonzalez-Torres have engaged with social or community based practices throughout their artwork and how their works relate to earlier movements of socially engaged art. Both artists have a strong political stance and use socially engaged art as a medium to raise questions and reach a broad (global?) audience. Firstly I will introduce Ai weiwei and Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Then I will examine Ai Weiwei’s work Sunflower Seeds 2010 and Gonzales-Torres’s work “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)

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Historians agree that feminism’s fate broke through in the 1920’s, yet this reformation of social justice was not been embraced by a majority of Americans. In this decade, women were finally allowed to vote, they cut their hair short, and rebelled against the norms of society; however, misogyny remained mentally within the community through media, politics, and even in literature. In 1925, five years after the flappers movement was initiated in America, F. Scott Fitzgerald published his most reputable novel: The Great Gatsby, where the misportrayal of women is apparent within the distinctive natures of his characters. Fitzgerald’s novel focuses on the complexities of American society and the struggles to attain dreams, all while enduring the

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