Preview

Women Partake In The Great Gatsby Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
919 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Women Partake In The Great Gatsby Essay
Contrary to society 's belief that women are just care takers and that women should partake in the same activities as men, the women in the Great Gatsby seem to defy these beliefs and take on an even bigger role in the book than the men. These women in the book partake in activities that only men were seen to do. "I 'm not a feminist-I think women should be able to stay at home and raise children if they want to!,"(Feminist Criticism, pg1). This quote basically states that women should be able to stay at home, but also have the options to do other things. They partake in activities such as partying and dancing, rather than stay at home and do what society says is womanly. They also play a large role in the development of the plot of the …show more content…
Daisy bears a child, but all throughout the novel she is seen as being the caretaking mother she should be. She basically ignores the fact that she had ever even birthed a child into the world, instead prioritizing other things ahead of that. Her affair with Gatsby also shows how she can 't settle down with one man, which is against what society says about marriage. While she may not usually partake in activities similar to men such as Jordan does, she does sometimes take part in activities usually not associated with men. She is a fine example of how a women, even after becoming a mother, does not follow the guidelines that society have set for her. Myrtle also has a great influence and power in the novel. "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,"(Gatsby, pg 37). This quote taken out of the novel proves how a women in the novel can influence a man to do something. Tom Buchannan is usually a passive character who usually doesn 't usually resort to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    By transfusing his life story of an American dreamer into a quest of becoming someone, first in “Winter Dreams” and later in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald provoked a continuous incarnation of the American Dream and poles apart in attitude towards his female characters. By being debutantes, popular daughters and a Golden girls, female characters in Fitzgerald’s fiction are always higher in a social ladder than the male characters. However, this does not give the female characters the main role in Fitzgerald’s fiction, but instead, the female higher position is used as the mean of achieving the male hero’s Dream. Therefore, the value of female characters in Fitzgerald’s fiction can be measured in the amount of dollars that they hold. By being…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, the female characters in Fitzgeralds "The Great Gatsby" seemed to be rather dissimilar. Daisy was the angelic and innocent beauty, Jordan was the androgynous golfer, and Myrtle was the sensuous and vivacious seductress. One was from the holy heavens above, another from the sinful depths below, and the last from the neutral in between. Seems like a good balance, however, as the story progresses, we see more and more that the angle is a fallen one, and that the human is a demon in disguise. All three women in this novel use men in some form to get what they want. Looking at the depictions of the female sex in this novel, I believe that, yes, Fitzgerald was a misogynist.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The women in The Great Gatsby are well mannered and elegant, usually found wearing cream or white dresses. They ensue an implied, established social code that requires conformity and leaves many female characters replicas of one another. On page 63, we see that Benny McClenahan “arrives always with four girls” to Gatsby’s parties who are “never quite the same ones in physical person, so identical one with another that it inevitably seemed they had been there before.” This certain observation by Nick implies that there is a strict principle for women in Gatsby’s era; the social code is superior beyond physical being and makes these women into duplicates of one…

    • 540 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a representation of American society of Roaring Twenties having three social class divisions amid the pursuit of American Dream and presenting the changing trend of social, economic and relationship freedom of females relating to gender, race, ethnicity, sex and sexuality within the class framework found in the portrayal of the characters. Divided people into the old money upper-class, the Buchanans and Jordan Baker; the new money upper-class, Gatsby; the middle class, Nick; and the working class, the Wilsons and minor ones based on wealth and family background are prevailed in the ways of their differences regarding education, residence, earning source, life style, reputation and attitudes.…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    As life and time goes on, people’s view start to shift and change. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the movie Chicago by Rob Marshal, in the 1920’s women are portrayed as money hungry and they go after men so they can upgrade themselves and feel like they have control in something. When manipulating men, women are trying to take advantage of their vulnerability and all allow women to advance much faster in life.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some women during the 1920s lived the life with the role of a repressed woman. Repressed women did not make decisions for themselves; they relied solely on their husbands. Their husbands treated them as if they were objects without any feelings whatsoever. Repressed women showed no self respect, and they did not live their life in reality. These women's emotions were suppressed as they appeared as if they had no care in the world. In Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan represents the repressed role of women in the American Dream.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sexism in the 1920s was extremely influential in The Great Gatsby because it is the reason Daisy escaped from the debacle scot-free. Daisy escaped without repercussion because she was seen as weaker than the men she was surrounded by. The women of the 1920s were seen as not having an opinion and if they did it was the same as their husbands. For example, Tom having an affair is perfectly acceptable, whereas the idea of Daisy being able to cheat with Gatsby is incomprehensible. Also, the color pink is seen as feminine and Gatsby loses much respect from Tom simply because he wears a pink suit. The suit projects a femininity that the males at that time had been raised to oppress. There is also the consistent theme that women are not meant to be smart and are solely meant to be pretty. For example, even Daisy has accepted that the best thing her daughter can grow up to be in their time is a “beautiful little fool.” Throughout The Great Gatsby sexism acts as a reminder of the setting because it is so prominent in the 1920s.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Daisy hit and killed Myrtle she didn’t face the consequences, she was going to let Gatsby take the fall and forget about it. “‘She’ll be all right to-morrow,’ he said presently” (Fitzgerald 144). Daisy hides behind people so she doesn’t get in trouble. After the accident she hid behind Gatsby, but then left with Tom. Daisy is selfish and irresponsible.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After finishing The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald readers are able to see that genders in the story play a huge roll in how your American experience is shaped. In Chapter 7 of the story, we get a lot of evidence that being a woman at this time meant that you were treated worse than men and not given as many opportunities. The quote from above is from the scene in The Great Gatsby where Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Daisy, and Jordan are all in the same room and Gatsby gets the confidence to tell Tom that Daisy never truly loved him. There is a very aggressive tone given in this scene from Fitzgerald because Daisy is being put on the spot in front of two men that very angry at one another and are likely to break out into a fight screaming at each other. On top of being mad at each other in this scene the author…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the idea of feminism is completely diminished in this materialistic world of the 1920’s where women are looked down upon and depicted as weak, submissive, and live off men to ensure a quality life. This book portrays women as inferior to men and have no stance in political or social issues however much they are adored by men like Tom Buchanan or Jay Gatsby. The narrator, Nick Carraway, characterizes these men as superior beings with their wealth and career supporting their achievements. Whereas the women are represented by their beauty along with their ability to attract men with no regards to what they have accomplished in terms of literature or education. This novel may have been written…

    • 153 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    " '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" (Fitzgerald 43). The pathetic nature of their relationship is revealed when she dies. After a fight with George Wilson, Myrtle runs away toward a golden car that she thinks is Tom's. The golden color of the car symbolizes the money and wealth that…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is possibly the most mysterious and perhaps disappointing character. She captures the hearts of both Tom Buchanan, her unfaithful, though providing husband and Jay Gatsby, her lover from five years prior. Many disastrous incidents occurred in all aspects of the novel. It would be easy to blame all of them on Tom, because she was cheating on Daisy, or even Gatsby, because he lured Daisy in with his elaborate house and fancy shirts. But, all of the unfortunate events that occurred throughout the novel were undoubtedly and entirely, Daisy Buchanan’s fault. First, she met Gatsby and promised to wait for him until he got back from the war, but met and married Tom anyway. She cheated on Tom with Gatsby, and made Nick to keep secrets from people. She then killed Myrtle with Gatsby’s car, which caused George Wilson, Myrtle’s seemingly deranged husband, to kill Gatsby and subsequently, himself. Therefore, all of the deplorable occurrences that transpired through the duration of the novel were solely Mrs. Daisy Buchanan’s fault.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The Great Gatsby

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and playwright Macbeth by William Shakespeare, women play an important role and impact men's lives.With their impacts the men are on the turn for the worst and may not of even seen it coming. In both books the authors do an excellent job in portraying women in the past by showing control,manipulation and masculinity.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay

    • 3288 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Personality traits allow a writer to create vivid images of his characters. These traits are shown through actions because they are exhibited through behaviors. According to Physcology.about.com, “the trait theory suggest that individual personalities are composed of broad dispositions such as central and secondary traits” (Par. 5).Each character in a literacy work has a unique trait; however, multiple traits may occur more than just a single trait. Nick’s traits vary which are displayed. For example, Nick’s humble traits symbolize sincere respect, apprehensive assertiveness, and self-effacing demeanor showing maturity within The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.…

    • 3288 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    She is described as a captivating, young girl that leads others on with her naive and innocent presentation. "Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth..." (Fitzgerald 9). She builds the American Dream by showing the beauty and happiness of her life. She is the perfect ideal for what a young woman of wealth should be. She comes from a well-know, wealthy Southern family and is expected to act like it. She was expected to marry in her 'class', establish a sense of security, gain social status, create a home for her family and have children as she was supposed to. However, Daisy showed faint resistance towards her expected lifestyle and the oppression she faces daily. While speaking whith Nick about her daughter she 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). Daisy isn't as daft as society would believe her to be, she knows first-hand that the only way her daughter will make it during a time like this is to be a "fool". During this time, society prefferred women to be simple, eloquent, obideant and naive. They also did not value educated women. Because of her not wanting her daughter to wish for more than she could have, Daisy wanted her to become a "beautiful little fool". Daisy is a product of her raising and has expectations set for her as a woman in the 1920's. She tries to please…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays