Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920’s, a time period with great change in the mindset of people especially in regard to the expectations of women. The characters in The Great Gatsby each exemplify this having vastly differing opinions on what women’s roles should be. Although men have opinions on women’s roles, it is up to the women to choose how they will deal with societal norms. The stereotypical “flapper” image was adopted by some women to take advantage of the new freedom and lesser judgment that existed at the time. Although some women were able to do this, it was not a possibility for all due to the extreme contradiction of ideas that existed during the 1920’s. While some people adopted new viewpoints, there were many that …show more content…
Daisy marries Tom while greatly in love with him, but she very quickly found out he was not remaining loyal to her as his wife. Daisy is forced to make the decision of whether she will remain oblivious to problems regarding her marriage or to leave Tom and become independent. Daisy chooses to stay and follow the societal norms that stem from the past while developing the mindset that women should remain oblivious to the issues that face them. This is shown by Daisy’s remarks after delivering her and Tom’s child saying “All right… 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” (17). This shows that Daisy not only believes in remaining oblivious for herself, but that her daughter should do it as well. The idea that you should remain oblivious to problems that face women during this time reinforces the past gender roles and expectations of women that prevent women from being equal to men. Daisy did have a change of heart; however, when she developed a relationship with Gatsby. Daisy was extremely close to leaving her husband for Gatsby as shown when Gatsby first says “Daisy’s leaving you” and Tom responds “Nonsense” yet Daisy says “I am, though… with a visible effort.” (133). Here it seems that Daisy has mustered the …show more content…
Myrtle was not given the same opportunity as Jordan and Daisy so she chose to deal with societal expectations by being extremely outgoing in a controversial way. By doing this, Myrtle was able to find Tom, who could financially support her unlike her husband. Myrtle reveals her motives by saying: “I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn’t hardly know I wasn’t getting into a subway train. All I kept thinking about, over and over, was ‘you can’t live forever; you can’t live forever’” (36). This shows that Myrtle’s reasoning for finding a man like Tom was so she could live a more fulfilling life and not settle for her husband similar to Daisy. Daisy; however, was settling for a wealthy man while Myrtle would be settling for someone who can provide an extravagant lifestyle. Myrtle does make the decision to stay alongside her husband and not disregard him completely which gives him slight control over her. Myrtle chooses to exploit the freedom given to women at this time by having an affair with Tom unlike Jordan who is helping to push societal norms forward Myrtle is just taking advantage. By not fully committing to being independent Myrtle gives slight control to her husband, which he uses to his advantage when saying: “‘I’ve got my wife locked in
Daisy was somewhat of a bystander. She stood around and watched as Tom had an affair with Myrtle, and then as Gatsby and Tom hatched it for long periods of time. With an abusive husband like Tom, Daisy didn’t exactly have the strength and confidence to stand up for herself and choose what she wanted. She did not really love Tom, or Gatsby wouldn’t have been of love interest to her, so when Tom and Myrtle had this affair, it didn’t phase her. Although, she had these feelings towards another man, she knew she couldn’t leave Tom because he was much stronger than her, and could easily hurt her. It was clear to me that she wanted to leave with Gatsby, but when put in the situation of admitting it to her husband, she was panicked. Tom, of all people, should understand the possibility of loving another, but is extremely hypocritical and scares her into staying. On the contrary, Daisy performed one despicable act that resulted in the death of her true love. She was the driver of the car that hit, and killed Myrtle, but instead of fessing up to it, she blamed Gatsby. He was shot because of the accusation that he was the murder, and bashed all over town; so much so that all those people that came to all his parties, refused to come to his funeral. Daisy herself, failed to make an appearance at this event, which makes me wonder whether Gatsby was her love, or her
When Nick visits Daisy she tells him the story of how her daughter was born, “It’ll show you how I’ve gotten to feel about––things. Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling.” By leaving Daisy behind at a time when she most needs him, Tom loses his value of companionship with Daisy. He no longer fits the three criteria that Daisy feels she needs in a man. Daisy knows that Tom no longer loves her and is having an affair with another woman, but despite all of this, Daisy has no intention of leaving him (20). This is because Tom, despite no longer fulfilling her emotionally, is still better for her financially and socially than if she left him to live alone. If Daisy wants to stay in her class, she has no option other than to stay with Tom. When Daisy finally sees Gatsby again, she suddenly has another option besides staying with Tom. Daisy knows that Gatsby has true feelings of love towards her, but leaving Tom would prove to be risky as it could tarnish her reputation and by extension her social stability. Daisy is now struggling between taking a risk for love and maintaining a safe, stable life she is ultimately unhappy
Unlike Daisy, who comes from old money, Myrtle is from the lower middle class. Myrtle hopes to climb the social ladder by cheating on her husband with Tom Buchanan.
The great Gatsby gives us an accurate insight into the 1920s zeitgeist regarding the role of women in society. America was in a state of an economic boom and rapid change. Society had become less conservative after world war one. The role of women was revolutionary during this time and although women had a lot more freedom now; they were still confined to their sexist role within society; Men were still seen as the dominant gender. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the extremities of gender and social class, and the lack of independence this brought upon women. This essay will discuss the three major female characters and the ideas that Fitzgerald confronts of female stereotypes of the 1920s.
When someone already has everything they could ever ask for, they’re still going to want more. Something to work for, or else life becomes boring, as Daisy points out many times in the novel. When both men she loves are threatening each other and fighting for her fondness, she’s realized what she’s done wrong. She’s fallen into the same trap as Myrtle, being stuck between two men, but she still has feelings for Tom. “I saw them in Santa Barbara when they came back
not cheat on her. Tom also treats Daisy as though she is inferior to him. But does Daisy not act like she is insignificant when around Tom? Maybe this is because she loves him enough to act that way, after all, Daisy did say that girls need to be foolish. However, if Daisy does love Tom then one has to wonder why she would cheat on him with Gatsby.
At the mention of Gatsby’s name, Daisy becomes immediately interested. She demands to know who he is, but the conversation takes a different turn (Fitzgerald 11). Daisy and Gatsby reunite and began an affair that Gatsby has always dreamed of. Gatsby tells Daisy that she must leave Tom and she begins to panic. Daisy realizes Gatsby will control her just like Tom does. She becomes scared and no longer wants to be with him. She chooses Tom because, despite his indiscretions and temper, he is able to give Daisy financial security. According to "The Great Gatsby A Misogynistic Tale English Literature Essay," Daisy is ultimately bringing the downfall of Gatsby because of her selfishness and need for security. Gatsby will control her as much as Tom and not be able to give her enough financial security because he does not make his money legally and could lose his money more easily than Tom. Daisy does come from wealth, but she does not have the experience in finances to invest or manage her money, a man has always done that for her. Daisy believes that financial security is more important than love because she is scared of life without it. She has lived her whole life without love, but not without
She stayed home and did not go out much to be independent. In Tiffany Swenson’s Feminist Opposition: The Great Gatsby, she talks of Daisy’s perfect submissiveness, making her appear to be a wife anyone would want. “However, when Gatsby challenges Daisy to break free, ruin her life and submit to Gatsby instead, she returns to submission with Tom. Both choices given to Daisy are ones that require her to submit to a male figure rather than follow her own heart” (Swenson). Daisy is not a free thinker or worker. She is financially dependent, making it impossible for her to want to leave Tom. As a person, she was beautiful, glamorous, but also disloyal, and very shallow. Her shallowness lead to her motherliness, she only brought up her daughter as if to brag, but never actually took care of her child. This leads to society devaluing women. Daisy’s beautiful exterior, and unloving interior makes society think that these “New Women” are unfit to be good mothers, and with that, underrates family morals and
Myrtle is selfish, shallow and greedy. She is willing to degrade herself for the chase of materialistic dream of money and power. Her desire for a lavish life causes her to step outside her marriage with George Wilson because he does not have the financial capabilities to satisfy her shallow needs. Myrtle has an affair with Tom Buchanan because he fulfills that financial aspect she thrives for. Myrtle becomes a bigger fool while seeing Tom because he physically abuses her and Tom knows she won’t leave because she wants to be a part in his social stratification. “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name."Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai –– "Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Chapter 2). Tom showers Myrtle with lies that he will leave Daisy and marry her but that never happens. Myrtle decision to stay in her affair with Tom harms her marriage with George Wilson, which unfortunately this leads to her tragic death. Due to Myrtle foolishness to accept the loss of her unrealistic dreams, Myrtle puts herself in a life or death situation, where she is struck by a car. Unknown to Myrtle, the driver of the car
Daisy and her companion of a husband do not have any of the same perspectives and thoughts about how a marriage should endure. Daisy Buchanan is obviously more gorgeous, loyal, comical, and kind-hearted than her so-called loved one. That is why Tom has a gruesome affair with his undeserved mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Even though Daisy knows Tom does not give her the respect she deserves, she stays with him because she will never have the drive or courage to divorce him. In addition, Daisy does not want to divorce Tom because this was an unspeakable act of the time era. Daisy Buchanan knew that people would murmur and whisper about the situation if something did come about, as in a divorce (Baker, C.). According to Charles Baker, “[Daisy] seems to be held in her marriage by sheer laziness, not love, as if remaining in a comfortable and familiar position, regardless of Tom’s brutish behavior and infidelities, is preferable to exerting the energy it would take to leave it” (Baker, C.). Tom does not give Daisy respect, but she stays with him because she knows he will take care of her financially. Daisy is careless about Tom and his promiscuous activities because Tom made this a common occurrence in Daisy’s everyday life. Daisy settles with her husband not because of her affection towards him, but because of her rank in society (Baker, C.). When Daisy communicates about her discrete thoughts and beliefs, Jordan, her best friend, can interpret her emotions through the way Daisy speaks and the way Daisy acts. The way Daisy presents herself is a determined representation of how she feels...
In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is criticizing American society of the 1920s. He uses the characters to demonstrate the power than men had over women during these times, as well as their mindless, self-indulgent actions, where consequence was only an afterthought. The attitude towards and the role of women is shown throughout the novel. Fitzgerald also shows how many people in America during this time were delusional and had meaningless existences.
In the novel, Daisy describes her infant daughter to Nick and Jordan, saying “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” This shows her own character conforming to the social standard in America for a woman during the 1920’s, in which society did not value intelligence in a woman. It’s showing that someone like her is better off having looks rather than brains. Daisy pretends to be oblivious and foolish because it's the safest way for her to live. Daisy fits Tom’s ideology of a woman. Knowing that Tom is an abusive and manipulative person, Daisy remains to be his wife because he has power and money, doing anything about it might affect her status and reputation.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is well known for being an excellent writer, for expertly describing the Jazz Age, and for having a drinking problem. However, he is not so well known for creating deep and intriguing characters. In The Great Gatsby, the majority of the characters remain one-dimensional and unchanging throughout the novel. They are simply known from the viewpoint of Nick Carraway, the participating narrator. Some insight is given into characters in the form of their dialogue with Nick, however, they never really become deep characters that are 'known' and can be identified with. While all of the participants in the novel aren't completely flat, most of the main characters are simply stereotypes of 1920's people from the southern, western, and eastern parts of America.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
Daisy and Jordan are members of the elite class and are often presented as motionless, sitting or lying down, and when they do move it is leisurely. On the other hand, Myrtle is a member of the lower class and is depicted as annoyingly full of energy. During their journey to Tom and Daisy’s apartment, Daisy rapidly states “I’m going to make a list of all the things I’ve got to get. A massage and a wave and a collar for the dog and one of those cute little ashtrays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother’s grave that’ll last all summer” (Fitzgerald, page 40). Myrtle’s abundance of energy is induced by her obsession with obtaining wealth. Despite drastic differences in how females are depicted based on their differences in wealth, both Daisy and Myrtle are treated as inferior to their husbands. This patriarchal view influences a feminist