Discuss the Presentation of Women in the Great Gatsby. Use on the Road to Help Illuminate Your Understanding of This Aspect of Fitzgerald's Characterisation. in Your Comparison, You Should Take Into Account the Essay Example

As the two novels were published with over twenty years between them, it would perhaps be reasonable to expect the portrayal of the female characters to have developed as time progressed, with added depth and further importance being placed behind them. However, this is not the case, within each novel the way in which the authors, and society view women is somewhat degrading, with them being presented as shallow, dishonest creatures. 'The Great Gatsby' was written during what was supposed to be a period of liberation for women, in which they had been granted the freedom to vote and do as they wished in society, in theory they were equal to men. Yet, as Fitzgerald makes clear, men were still in possession of power and dominance, and women were merely defined by the man they chose to marry. Similarly in 'On the Road' it's seemingly the men whom have control in relationships, and women are portrayed as nothing more than disposable objects, which are there for the sole purpose of pleasing their male partners, however the way in which women are mistreated by men in 'On The Road' could often be a cause for great sympathy from the reader, perhaps casting the males as the villains.

Fitzgerald presents the idea that women have no control over their lives, instead it's society and men that have this power. Upon Nicks first meeting with Daisy and Jordan Fitzgerald writes, 'They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house... Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear window and then caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two women ballooned slowly to the floor.' This situation represents the two women's inability to control the world around them, they're so weak and powerless that they even lack the ability to control their own dresses, and in fact, control is only restored thanks to the ever-so-manly Tom Buchanan. However, this