Gender Roles in The Great Gatsby
Shoshie Koppel Mrs. Morey
Women In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, illustrates most women in his novels in a incredibly negative light. He portrays them as dependent upon men, selfish, and completely amoral. Jay Gatsby is in love with the wealthy Mrs. Daisy Buchannan and tries to win her love by proving that he is wealthy. However, no matter how wealthy he becomes, or how many gigantic parties he throws, he is still never good enough for Daisy. The story ends in tragedy as Gatsby is killed and dies utterly alone. Fitzgerald's characterization of Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan in The Great Gatsby demonstrates women who are objectified by men and treated as their trophies, while also showing how these women have no substance of their own; they are empty shells, meant for beauty and entertainment. Daisy Buchanan, wife of Tom Buchanan and former lover of Jay Gatsby, is a woman who is selfish, cowardly, whose feelings ran shallow, and who lacked a moral conscience. A way that the reader can see that Daisy is extraordinarily shallow is how she reacted when Gatsby showed her his shirts. She began to cry when she saw them and when asked why, Daisy replied, "'They're such beautiful shirts. It makes me sad because I've never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.'" (Fitzgerald 98). In this quote, the reader can see that Daisy is emotional because now Gatsby is rich and she can't have him because she's married to Tom. This quote shows how superficial Daisy is; typically, shirts don’t bring people to tears. However, Gatsby's wealth, which is represented by the shirts, brought Daisy to tears, therefore illustrating a sense of superficiality. She isn't crying because of Gatsby's shirts, she's crying because now she can't be with Gatsby and his new money because she's already with someone else. She is regretful because she wants to be with Gatsby for his money. A way that Daisy is cowardly is how she sacrificed her love for
Women In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, illustrates most women in his novels in a incredibly negative light. He portrays them as dependent upon men, selfish, and completely amoral. Jay Gatsby is in love with the wealthy Mrs. Daisy Buchannan and tries to win her love by proving that he is wealthy. However, no matter how wealthy he becomes, or how many gigantic parties he throws, he is still never good enough for Daisy. The story ends in tragedy as Gatsby is killed and dies utterly alone. Fitzgerald's characterization of Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan in The Great Gatsby demonstrates women who are objectified by men and treated as their trophies, while also showing how these women have no substance of their own; they are empty shells, meant for beauty and entertainment. Daisy Buchanan, wife of Tom Buchanan and former lover of Jay Gatsby, is a woman who is selfish, cowardly, whose feelings ran shallow, and who lacked a moral conscience. A way that the reader can see that Daisy is extraordinarily shallow is how she reacted when Gatsby showed her his shirts. She began to cry when she saw them and when asked why, Daisy replied, "'They're such beautiful shirts. It makes me sad because I've never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.'" (Fitzgerald 98). In this quote, the reader can see that Daisy is emotional because now Gatsby is rich and she can't have him because she's married to Tom. This quote shows how superficial Daisy is; typically, shirts don’t bring people to tears. However, Gatsby's wealth, which is represented by the shirts, brought Daisy to tears, therefore illustrating a sense of superficiality. She isn't crying because of Gatsby's shirts, she's crying because now she can't be with Gatsby and his new money because she's already with someone else. She is regretful because she wants to be with Gatsby for his money. A way that Daisy is cowardly is how she sacrificed her love for
Bibliography: Composer." EasyBib. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2014. Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2013. Print.