Character Analysis Of Jordan Baker In The Great Gatsby

The characterization of Jordan Baker as a bored, shallow woman is introduced through the use of description, word-choice, and sentence structure, and accurately represents the rest of the people Nick meets throughout the novel who fake their lives and use the cover of wealth to distract from their inner turmoil.
Fitzgerald’s word choice when describing Jordan is seemingly repetitive, as Nick describes her mannerisms as being “motionless,” “discontented,” “unobtrusive,” “impersonal,” “devoid of meaning,” “dull,” and “languid” (Fitzgerald 8-15), painting a clear image of her tired, bland personality. She participates in the conversation between her, Nick, Tom, and Daisy during dinner, but her dialogue contains short, simple sentences such as “we ought to plan something” and “things went from bad to worse” that are concise, usually muttered or yawned, and generally don’t contain very important information. In fact, the only

When first introduced, Daisy is described as having “bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth...a singing compulsion...a promise that she had done, gay exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour” (Fitzgerald 9). Through her face, eyes, and mouth, she is perceived to be flowing with energy. Miss Baker, however, as previously mentioned, is described as being opposingly uninterested and spiritless. Unlike Daisy’s bright eyes, Jordan’s are “gray” and “sun-strained” and at dinner she “sits down at the table as if she were getting into bed” (Fitzgerald 11). Fitzgerald cleverly creates Jordan as a foil to Daisy. Every action of Daisy’s is bright and energetic, while all of Jordan’s statements and movements seem to be lifeless and languid, and Carraway, while uninterested in Jordan, is entranced by Daisy’s compelling voice and glowing