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What Is The Role Of Flappers In The 1920s

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The 1920s saw significant changes in American society, including the emergence of the flapper culture. Flappers were young women who defied traditional gender roles and norms, and embraced new forms of femininity that emphasized independence and rebellion. The character of Daisy Buchanan, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, embodies the contradictions and complexities of the flapper culture in several ways.
Daisy's appearance and fashion choices are reflective of the androgynous look of flappers, which emphasized the tension and contradictions between traditional gender roles and emerging forms of femininity. Peggy J. Whitley notes that "the flapper's look was an androgynous one, with bobbed hair, shapeless dresses, and makeup that emphasized the eyes and mouth rather than the cheeks and nose" (Whitley). This description matches Daisy's appearance, as she is often described as having short hair and wearing fashionable clothing. This androgyny reflects the new freedom and ambiguity in gender …show more content…

On the one hand, she embodies the independence and freedom flappers were known for with her short hair and fashionable clothing. On the other hand, she is limited by the expectations of her social class and gender and is torn between her love for Gatsby and her duty to her husband and social status. Joshua Zeitz notes that "Daisy's face was smeared with tears and when I came in she jumped up and began wiping at it with her handkerchief before a mirror. But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room" (Fitzgerald 87). This scene captures the essence of Daisy as a flapper icon in that she embodies the superficiality and materialism of the flapper culture, where happiness is often derived from wealth and

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