“Bernice Bobs Her Hair” is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that reflects on the summer visit of two wealthy cousins in the 20’s. Marjorie is one of the main characters she is one of the more popular girls in town; her cousin Bernice is her cousin who is visiting for the summer, Bernice is bad at almost anything that comes with being social especially keeping a conversation and is socially awkward even though she is pretty she is quit “dopless”. Bernice starts taking lessons from her cousin in no time she is becoming socially adept,the boys start to like Bernice more than Majorie which causes some tension and like any family jealousy she dares Bernie to bob her hair.In the 20’s to bob your hair was not heard of often it was seen as not …show more content…
With the right to vote, consumer based culture, leisure time, and modernism, women who followed these new practices and ideals created the flapper image of the roaring twenties we know today. In Fitzgerald’s story he describes the girls almost wanting to be flappers to me it seems as if in almost all of Fitzgerald’s books he has a girl who is the opposite of what her society wants her to be like and is leaning towards the lifestyle of a flapper girl it's like they are all the same person or have many of the same characteristic in “ The Great Gatsby” which is one of my favorite books, Jordan Baker is a golfer who represents what the new woman is which is cynical,boyish, and self centered. She kinda reminds me of how Beatrice and Marjorie are at the end. They had almost every iconic element of a flapper besides the bobbed hair,but they loved to party at the end , they dance to jazz music, was cut-in every few feet on the dance floor, was always wearing the latest fashions, and was all over casual dating. With this new flashy and flirtatious attitude and charm that young women
In this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, feminists question the treatment the women in book receive by the men. An example of this is when the author writes, “Benny McClenahan arrived always with four girls. They were never quite the same in physical personal, but they were so identical one with another that it inevitably seemed they had been there before” (p.63). This quotes shows the way women were treated in the society of the 1920’s, this was the time in which women started changing their behaviour
Feminism and gender stereotyping in everyday life further feeds inequality, preventing society from moving forward. Individuals often see women as the caregivers in families while husbands are the providers and someone who needs to keep the family afloat. F. Scott Fitzgerald expresses these concerns about society through his female characters in his novel, “The Great Gatsby.” He allows his female characters to undergo conflicts that women encountered during the 1920s. Two female characters in the book, Jordan and Daisy, handle their hardships differently but still stand up for women and against the stereotypes surrounding women.
The characters reflect their settings, but especially the character of Jordan Baker. The Great Gatsby’s Jordan Baker reflects the moral decay of the Roaring Twenties by moving on too fast, party mentality, self-aware carelessness, and dishonesty. Jordan Baker lives a fast-paced life, with a party mentality. When Daisy begins to feel morbid and philosophical about the summer and how she does not know how
Marjorie’s Accidental Aid People seldom consider the consequences of their actions. The story, Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly represents how people struggle with the implications of their choices. In this story, there are two girls, Bernice and Marjorie. These girls are cousins. Throughout the story, Marjorie is motivated by personal gain, although Marjorie’s actions end up helping Bernice.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy, as well as a subtle but powerful representation of gender. During the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel - Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker- all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect both man and society’s view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, which is shown through their behavior, beliefs, and ultimate fates and their personalities display both powerful and potentially harmful stereotypes of women at this time.
The flapper represented the “modern woman” in American youth culture in the 1920’s, and was epitomized as an icon of rebellion and modernity. Precocious, young, stubborn, beautiful, sexual, and independent, the flapper image and ideology revolutionized girlhood. The term “flapper” originated in England to describe a girl who flapped and had not yet reached maturity.
The Jazz age was a time where people forgot the worries and stresses of WWI by living in excess if able, to and enjoying life in general. Fitzgerald lived in this age and it shows heavily in The Great Gatsby. Throughout the book their are innumerable party 's, some at Gatsby 's and a few at other locations. These party 's are described as having many people drinking and having a good time. While as the reader we know Gatsby throws these parties to attract Daisy, for the people these events are for pure joy of partying.
Scott Fitzgerald as a care-free, single woman in the 1920’s who seems not to care about anyone but herself, and when taking a closer look, she is a symbol for how women will change over time from the forms of the 1920’s to today. Today’s women work for a living, come home and run the house, meanwhile, not always having a man in the picture. Jordan does conform to society by marrying Nick after 5 years, however, she does so under conditions to allow her freedom still. Jordan held her ground throughout the story of The Great Gatsby and continued to symbolize what women have evolved
Scott Fitzgerald’s work, “The Great Gatsby”, Jordan Baker is developed as a female character who undergoes self realization in the face of societal oppression through her independent characterization and through the overall theme of social rankings in the novel. She was born into money and she will accept nothing less than what life owes her. She also is ready to defy societal norms as most of the women Jordan’s age have husbands and children while she shows the world that she can be completely fine on her own. Jordan Baker perseveres through this novel as a wealthy pro-golfer living in the “old money” East Egg side of town and yet she fights for her right to be an individual and defies social traditions. These contradicting characteristics make Ms. Baker the complex character she is and Fitzgerald does this to allow her to truly define herself and her role in the
Bernice Bobs Her Hair is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1920, initially published in the Saturday Evening Post in May the same year. The story is based on Fitzgerald letters to his sister. It marked the beginning of Fitzgerald’s writings from lifestyle issues to philosophy in the 1920s lifestyle. During the writing of this story, America was recovering from World War I. Families that had been scattered and communication was through letters. This was a period of assimilation and cultural pluralism, from the story the writer was against this.
Even though Jordan Baker represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s she is still subject to levels of disrespect. She manages herself in a forward thinking way which shows that she possesses self-respect and knows her value as a member of society. Jordan “need not be bothered by a mere summer romance while Nick” (Hays). Her independence is what makes her so powerful, but also causes her to be looked down on by society. When Nick says, “And you oughtn 't to drive at all” he shows how he does not believe that women are responsible enough to drive a car or take care of themselves (Fitzgerald 58).
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is full of themes of wealth, love, and tragedy. Also during the time this book was written, women’s suffrage had begun, so women were taking their first steps towards equality with men. The three main women characters in the novel: Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker, all have things in common but can be vastly different; they reflect the view of women in the early 20th century. The Great Gatsby portrays the characters Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan as stereotypes of women during the 1920s, seen in their behavior, beliefs, and their ultimate fate.
She is rather arrogant and it is revealed later in the novel that she is very dishonest. She is Nick’s love interest through most of the novel and is in many pivotal scenes including the climax. Jordan Baker represents the “new women” of the 1920s. She wore shorter dresses and had shorter hair. She was also very self-centered and arrogant which also represents the 1920s according to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In actuality, Zelda bore a resemblance to Rosalind because Zelda too was independent, did what she yearned to do and expressed her viewpoints without inhibitions or restrictions (Solomon). For her, women such as Rosalind must be admired because of their courage, their recklessness and spend-thriftiness. The first quarter of the 20th century saw several young women in America as “flappers” because it was a craze adapted by all. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the character of Rosalind Connage resembled his own wife and thus “the original American flapper” was in reality base on Zelda herself
Eras are remembered by wars, civil rights, legislation, and popular culture. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the role of women in society are significant motifs. Little Women was written and set in the 1860’s at the same time as the development of the women's rights movement within the United States. The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God are both set in the 1920s when women gained the right to vote and therefore women's rights should have evolved from those featured in Little Women. The goal of this essay is to attempt to determine if literature arising simultaneously to the feminist movement parallels laws passed.