...Feminist and Lesbian Criticism in The Great Gatsby No novel gives goose bumps to readers without the sparkle of a powerful woman. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jordan, Daisy and Myrtle make up the scenario of the feminine force in a world ruled by men. While Daisy and Myrtle are feminine, delicate and live in the constant longing for unconditional love, Jordan is the representation of the modern, feminist woman. Jordan enjoys living life carelessly and does not find it necessary to have a man by her side, she has a masculine appearance and personal characteristics that are commonly found in men, such as dishonesty. According to Lois Tyson, the author of Critical Theory Today, "feminist criticism examines the ways in which literature (...) reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (Tyson 83). In The Great Gatsby, while Fitzgerald represents several weaknesses of women through Daisy and Myrtle, he makes Jordan the illustration of Tyson's feminist theory. Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, defines Jordan as "incurably dishonest" (Fitzgerald 64). Some of the events of the novel that demonstrate Jordan's dishonesty are the "incident" that occurs at her first golf tournament, the fact that she keeps information hidden from Daisy, Tom, Nick and Gatsby, even when she is trying to help them, and the fact that she uses bribery and coercion to fix erroneous attitudes, which are characteristics...
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...How are women portrayed in Chapter Seven of The Great Gatsby? In Chapter Seven of The Great Gatsby women were portrayed as very significant role. Men worked to earn money to be wealthy for the maintenance of the women. In Chapter Seven, the women that play the important roles are; Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson. Each of the characters are portrayed as ignorant and oblivious to what’s going on around them. For example, Daisy acts foolish around Tom, her husband, as if she thinks that what he wants her to be like. She pretends like she isn’t aware of Tom’s affair with one of the other main characters whom name is Myrtle. Even though she calls him on the telephone when they’re at dinner. Daisy says in Chapter One “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” This quotation demonstrates that all men look for foolish women. This quotation is also directed at Daisy’s daughter, she says this to her daughter because Daisy wants to make sure being a fool also has an impact on her life. Throughout the novel, women are not described in depth. The author’s presentation of them is unflattering and unsympathetic. Fitzgerald appeals to their voice, “she had a voice full of money”, the way they behaved, “They’re such beautiful shirts she sobbed”, rather than feelings or emotions. The character Daisy Buchannan is described constantly as someone who is happy when things are being given to her. This has all came to...
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...The Age of The Great Gatsby In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tells a legendary love story from the perspective of the narrator named Nick. The reader sees and hears about all the crazy parties, love stories, breakups and much, much more that all seem to stem from a dynamic character named Jay Gatsby. The story takes place in a promiscuous and rebellious period called the roaring twenties, the time period right before the great depression, and to make it worst in the city that never sleeps. The roaring twenties period is the backbone of this story, characters in the novel directly correlate with the illegal, rebellious, and careless behaviors that are seen in the twenties. The prohibition caused lots of problems in this time period when it came to crime and binge drinking. First It is important to understand the social, political and economic effects of prohibition. In 1917 the Eighteenth Amendment was passed and stated that you couldn’t make, sell or transport any alcohol. The prohibitionist movement had a wide variety of supporters, including: Women, Church’s, employers and politicians. In the 1928 Presidential campaign Herbert Hoover won by calling prohibition “a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and farreaching in purpose; " this is interesting because it shows to the public that he is in favor of prohibition, but by calling it an experiment it shows that he may have some concerns about it .It definitely was an experiment...
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...Throughout history, women have always been displayed negatively in literature. It was not until he 1920's, a time of moral decay, that women became more independent. Women began to take on more prominent roles in society, leaving their domestic lifestyle behind. However, despite all of these changes, omen were still seen in a negative light. As they began detaching themselves from this "proper and prim" manner in society, new stereotypes were placed upon them. Females were immediately labelled as dishonest, materialistic and unfaithful. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is successfully able to depict women as immoral and irresponsible beings through the use of Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle. Daisy is presented as one of the most enigmatic female characters in The Great Gatsby. Perhaps her most noticeable quality is how materialistic she appears to be throughout the novel. This idea is most clearly presented when Gatsby decides to give her a tour of his house. Daisy begins weeping stating "It makes me sad because I've never seen such-such beautiful shirts"(Fitzgerald,89). This presents the reader with an idea of how much material items really mean to daisy as she was brought to tears by the sight of beautiful expensive clothing. Her materialism is pointed out once again when Gatsby says "She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me" (Fitzgerald,124). Although love did seem important for Daisy, it did not seem to surpass the fact that Gatsby was not rich....
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...Because they are treated like objects, the women from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald wield little power over their own lives, are abused, and are regarded as men’s trophies. Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle exemplify the struggles of the women of the 1920’s. Whether they are abused, treated like property, or being controlled, the women of The Great Gatsby have difficult lives no matter how they may appear. Daisy Buchanan’s life may seem perfect on the outside, but in reality she has a dysfunctional marriage and other adverse struggles she hides by being oblivious. Daisy is aware of her husband’s unfaithfulness, but uses ignorance to disguise it. She also knows that her daughter could have the same fate, and says, “‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’” (Fitzgerald 17) In addition to cheating on his wife, Daisy’s husband, Tom,...
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...Throughout the text of The Great Gatsby, we see evidence of the time period in which it was written/set and the mindset of the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. If we use this book as any indication of Fitzgerald’s thoughts we can see that he did not think very highly of women, especially within the upper class. All of the women in The Great Gatsby are either unpleasant, dishonest, or shallow. While this book makes the statement that men can be all these things as well, we are given at least one honest and morally decent male character, Nick. There are three female characters in The Great Gatsby; Daisy Buchanan, the love interest of Gatsby and wife of Tom, Jordan Baker, friend of Daisy as well as nicks romantic interest, and Lastly Myrtle Wilson,...
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...Analysis of “Materialistic Perception” in F. Scot Fitzgerald Using Marxist Literary Criticism Chapter I 1.1 Introduction The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. 1.2 State of Problem The Great Gatsby provides a critical social history of America during the Roaring Twenties within its narrative. That era, known for unprecedented economic prosperity, the evolution of jazz music, flapper culture, and bootlegging and other economy struggle that was the result of the materialism and capitalism damaging on social behavior, led to the widespread social distress. 1.3 Theoretical Framework Using literary criticism to interpret what is the ideal life of America in 19th century and what is the dream of American people after World War I. as a Marxist interpretation of the novel makes especially clear, reveals its dark underbelly instead. Through its unflattering characterization of those at the top of the...
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...How Does Fitzgerald Show the Importance of Society in the Opening Chapters of The Great Gatsby? The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was an American novelist and short story writer. The tale of The Great Gatsby is set in a modified version of the Long Island and New York City area of the USA, with correlations to The Hamptons. Throughout the opening chapters of the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a vast amount of characters, motifs and themes to show the importance of society. These can vary massively but all appear to imply how corrupt society was in the 1920s. He also shows how the innate social standing of people defines and limits them for the rest of their lives. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced in the cynicism, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure seen within nearly all of the characters. Capital is one of the main focuses of the novel, and it becomes apparent that throughout the tale, it defines not only their social standing, but the level of respect which they receive along with how they are interpreted by others in the novel. Fitzgerald begins the novel with an introduction from the narrator and one of the main protagonists, Nick Carraway. Carraway fought in the First World War, which we later find out he fought alongside Gatsby, giving them some form of common ground to base a ‘friendship’ upon. The novel initially begins with a poignant message from the father of Carraway; “When...
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...society fits you comfortably enough, you call it freedom.” This quotation from Robert Frost applies to the women in nineteenth century America. It is no secret that women have been considered the weaker sex, but at this point in time they were beginning to make a place for themselves in society. Women showed signs of freedom through their dress and makeup, the drinking and parties they attended, and the achievements in the sports world. The days of women wearing dresses that covered most of their body, pinning up their hair, acting modest, and allowing others to make their decisions for them were fading. By the 1920s, a woman who was independent, demanded equality, and lived with bold self-indulgence was considered a flapper (Jordan). A flapper liked to go on dates, wear makeup, dance, drink alcohol, and smoke cigarettes. She would usually cut her hair in a short bob and wore a dress with a drop waist and a skirt that grew shorter through the decade (Jordan). They could also be seen enjoying the nightlife offered at private parties. Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson from The Great Gatsby are two women that embody the name of flapper during this time period. When Myrtle is first introduced it says: “she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can…wearing a spotted dress of dark blue crépe-de-chine...” (Fitzgerald 24). Myrtle is a confident woman and does a great job of acting the part of a flapper. Daisy and Myrtle are always attending parties where they do not avoid...
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...set of The Great Gatsby wouldn’t be a good example of that modern woman as she wouldn’t fulfill most of the requirements set for flappers. A flapper “has always been a giddy, attractive and slightly unconventional...somewhat foolish girl, full of wild...and inclined to revolt against...her elders.” during the roaring 20’s. The typical flapper would drink, smoke, dance, and also vote (as the 19th amendment was passed during the time). Flappers have always strived to become something or more like someone more the traditional housewife they're meant to be according the old generation. Like young Coco Chanel had once said “How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but become someone” referring to the fact that they (flappers) want to become someone and not be that traditional housewife....
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...Standing the Test of Times Among the numerous novels over the time, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflects the class struggles between society and individualism. Bronte and Fitzgerald’s classic pieces of literature, Jane Eyre and The Great Gatsby, have both been reviewed by countless of readers over whether or not the literary works will stand the test of times. Over the decades, novels typically lose cultural insight and tend to become unnoticed. Both Bronte and Fitzgerald have incorporated classic elements such as: the battle between social norms sophistication in writing, and transcendence of individualism. These aid the novels popularity with the readers in such ways as relating it to the reader’s lives. Through the early nineteenth...
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...Woody Allen once said, “Men learn to love the woman they are attracted to. Women learn to become attracted to the man they fall in love with.” Looks are one of the most important things to men. Because of this, men tend to judge women based on their looks instead of getting to know them. In the 1920’s, where The Great Gatsby is set, many stereotypes against women are present. Women started going to parties, smoking, and wearing shorter skirts. This drastic change from the stereotypical housewife caused many people to view women as foolish and scandalous. When I was a child, I used to believe that everyone was treated equally. Whether it be your race, gender, religion, I always believed that everyone deserves the same amount of respect. But this is clearly not the case with most people and a big reason for this is stereotypes. A siren is a mermaid like creature that is often described as being evil and enchanting. Sirens are known for their magical voices which draw in men for the purpose of viciously destroying...
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...The Great Gatsby, which people consider as Fitzgerald’s best literary work, portrays the journey of a man in acquiring success and love throughout the Jazz age. The protagonist is Jay Gatsby who attempts to win Daisy Buchanan’s love a high-class woman by using illegal ways to become wealthy. This paper uses themes as a literary device as it relates to The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. The most important underlying themes of the novel however are honesty and dishonesty, American dream, class, violence, gender roles, and moral decay. Theme of honesty and dishonesty: As compared to other works, the theme of honesty in Fitzgerald’s novel fails to distinguish compassionate characters from the uncompassionate ones. Honesty and dishonesty is a major...
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...circumstances and time. The Great Gatsby, placed in the 1920s, clearly illustrates the idea of the American Dream and the corruption the Dream causes as a result of the characters trying to pursue it. So although America would like to think it’s providing a land of equal...
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...women’s suffrage” (Time-Life books). Despite contention, women were more independent in the 1920’s than ever before. They began going out and traveling alone, smoking and drinking, having affairs, and these once reticent laborers of the home transformed into careless revelers. “America's story between 1911 and 1920 is a jumble of contradictory emotions and ideals, of turbulence and optimism, struggle and progress” (Kara Blond). Women still act in a manner that no one would’ve even imagined less than a hundred years ago. However, for some the introduction of these newly liberated women was a terrible calamity. “Some” meaning the men of the day. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, women shattered the barrier that kept them well behaved and in the home. For some men, this was a fate worse than death. Even dogs feel threatened and want to mark their territory, so it’s no surprise that men of the 1920’s also started to draw sweaty palms about the new ways in...
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