Gender In The Great Gatsby Essay - 868 Words

The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, brings to thought many issues regarding the 20’s. The 20’s were a booming time for stocks, businesses, and the wealthy. Fitzgerald was a man of his time and in The Great Gatsby we notice the differences in the way men and women were treated and the different ways of acting and reacting. Jay Gatsby, our main protagonist is a wealthy bootlegger in the city of West Egg, living across the harbour from the girl he believes to be the love of his life, Daisy. Daisy is a dreamer. She married a man she does not love, but has an abundance of money, and dreams about what she could have been and could have had. Now, how does gender affect the viability of the american dream? The answer is that gender†¦show more content†¦Wilson. Men in the novel get away with being pigs. They do not think before certain actions and do not see that their actions do have repercussions The women in The Great Gatsby are rather intelligent, They get away with a lot and are too smart for their own good. This is at least the case with Jordan Baker, a successful golfer whom very appealing to the eye and she knows it. She uses it to her advantage and is addicted to dishonesty. Her dream is to make it through life as easily as she can and as beneficial to herself as it can be. She is not only cheating at golf but cheating at life in a way. She lies to Nick, who is a neighbor of Gatsby, and he is the only one who has been able to see through her deception. Daisy on the other hand plays dumb. She uses vulnerability and innocence as a mask. She acknowledges what shes doing and is focused on keeping her reputation clean. She is bubbly and giggly and is married to Tom. Tom and her were once in love for a short while until Daisy had her child and it was first revealed that Tom was cheating. Daisy was playing the fool, she also knew that Tom â€Å"had some women in New York†(20). She was not fighting back in order to preserve her marriage for her daughter as well as her reputation. Daisy is onto something though, she knows that â€Å"a fool- thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool†(17). She knows that by her playing the fool she can get out of and get awayShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald877 Words   |  4 Pagesrights and opportunities, no matter their gender or race. This paper will look into two cultural texts from different time periods and analyse them through a femi nist perspective, discussing the producers’ use of women in the works and feminist or anti-feminist ideas. 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