F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Bernice Bobs Her Hair'

According to Helen Lawrenson, “If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted - there is practically nothing she can't do.” Women in history have been limited and bound in different aspects of their lives in the past. They are confined to meet certain and precise standards for marriage, to raise a family, and also in the work field. In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson, all women living during the flapper 1920’s style that embodied the real women of the time which F. Scott Fitzgerald (got?) his characteristics from. Ginevra King, Zelda Syra, and Edith Cummings influenced Fitzgerald’s view of the world and women throughout his life. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes growing freedoms

The 1920s were an era of exciting social reforms and deep cultural struggles. During this decade, time became progressive for women in America. Women were allowed to experience freedom on a more personal level. This didn’t hold back all the sexism that caused quite the controversy. Women from rural parts of the country started moving to the urban areas in search of jobs. In the work force, men received much more money than women did. The women who moved to the city found themselves with little money to go out and seek entertainment.

The texts ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ (1845) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ (1926). Both explore the universal values of idealised love, limitation of time and hope of restoration. As such inherently reflected through their relevant contexts of the Victorian Era and 1920’s Jazz age value systems. Even though the text share similar themes their interpretation completely differ influenced by diverse historical context, personal experiences and human values.

The Roaring Twenties, characterized as a progressive era toward changes and advances, it was a start for freedom and independence for women. Women gained political power by gaining the right to vote. They changed their traditional way to be, way to act and dress to gain respect, and the liberty of independence. Society had different ways of ideals and the ways women were willing to do were disapproved of, and it was wrong for lots of different people, including women from the older generation. In the 1920’s women went through a lot of changes that made them a free spirit, changes that made them what they are now and having the liberty of being independent.

In the nineteenth century, woman had no power over men in society. They were limited in their freedom, as their lives were controlled by their husbands. Some women did not mind this lifestyle, and remained obedient, while some rebelled and demanded their rights. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are short stories that exposes the lifestyle women lived in the nineteenth century. The protagonists from both stories, Jane and Georgiana, similarly lived a male dominated lifestyle. Although both Georgiana and Jane lived the same era, in which their husbands dominated them, their behaviors, social reputation, and tolerance differed.

In her essay “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860”, Barbara Welter discusses the expected roles and characteristics that women were supposed to exhibit in accordance with the extreme patriarchy of the nineteenth-century America. The unnamed narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is seen to conform and ultimately suffer from this patriarchal construct that Welter labels the Cult of True Womanhood. The narrator falls victim to this life of captivity by exhibiting several of the fundamental characteristics that Welter claims define what a woman was told she ought to be. She has been brainwashed by the patriarchal society of her time to worship the man, her husband, and perform her duties and daily rituals as a means to please him. Welter outlines several characteristics that constitute the perfect or true woman; however, the most crucial and detrimental so-called “virtues” exhibited by Gilman`s the narrator are her submissiveness and domesticity. Although the artistic narrator clearly has her own desires to be free and write as she pleases, her desire to satisfy the patriarchal construct of the household by attending

The 1920s is a time of technological, economical, and social exploration. Myrtle, Daisy, and Jordan display the full image of what it is like to be a women in New York during the 1920s. They each have a personal struggle with society and the fight between what they want and what is expected of them. Each of these women wants to experience the glamor of the 1920s but has to maintain some of the traditional elegance of a woman. If the neglect to do so, they are treated harshly by society. Daisy shows her struggles with the social status of women through her daughter and relationship with Tom. Jordan proves that being a “new” women of the 1920s comes with a price of judgment and accusations of dishonesty. Myrtle seeks to become a member of the

Golden blonde hair falls on the cheeks of a pure face. A woman so accustomed to money and privilege, yet a hole in her heart prevents her from happiness. Meanwhile, sweat of poverty covers the skin of one who only has eyes for a man already wed to another. Betwixt them all is a dark haired, athletic woman who cares only for her own well-being. All three of these beauties walk down paths as different as lead is from gold, yet their similarities are uncanny. Through use of comparison between Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jordan Baker, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s message about women and feminine power is that having a man deprives the women of their power, ranking higher in social standards deepens the wound of selfishness, and being deceptive

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. Middle-class, white, adolescent girls embraced the symbol of the flapper and the development of change and innovation. It is important to note not all young women embraced the flapper’s rebellious movement and adhered to traditional pre-World War I morals and values. Young women who joined the flapper movement would no longer abide by pre-conceived conventional expectations

Louise Mallard is described to us as “firm” and “fair. She exists in a time when women are classified as objects of beauty and property, and her heart trouble suggests that she is fragile. Louise’s initial reaction to the news of her husband’s death suggests that she is deeply saddened and grief stricken when she escapes to her bedroom. However, the reader is caught off-guard with Louise’s secret reaction to the news of her husband’s death because she contradicts the gender norm of the 19th century woman. Her contradiction to the stereotype / gender norm is displayed when she slowly reveals her inward

Between World War I and the Great Depression, the 1920’s were unique and special years in American history. The best way to represent that time would be by historian Frederick Lewis Allen providing the historical account of America in the 20’s in Only Yesterday and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel, The Great Gatsby. Both of them reflect America in the Twenties by showing lifestyles and behaviors of people who lived in that time. We can follow their beliefs, actions, and morality through the works. While Allen was seeking to capture a decade, F. Scott Fitzgerald did a good job by pointing to the main issues during that time. We can put them into 3 groups: disillusionment, rise of “new money” and their behavior, and business replaces God and

Katherine Mansfield wrote about an aged woman, Miss Brill who is isolated from the real world. Miss Brill attempts to build a fantasy life to protect herself from the harsh facts of her existence. The short story “Miss Brill” is very descriptive and has decent examples of imagery to help readers better understand and see what is happening. Robert Peltier mentioned that “Miss Brill” has a rise and fall in each paragraph, so in his overview of “Miss Brill”, he also “chose the rise and fall of every paragraph to fit her, and fit her on that day at that moment” (Peltier), to help readers picture what is happening. The character Miss Brill does not look past what is present, which causes her to be narrow minded and not understand why things happen

“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

Considered as Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby offers a similar point of view about women in the 1920s. In this novel, there are three remarkable female characters. The first of them is Daisy Buchanan, the leading female character. She represents Jay Gatsby’s lifegoal; she is a pretty, young woman who had an affair with Gatsby before he went to the Great War. She is married to Tom Buchanan and is Nick Carraway’s (the narrator) cousin. Secondly, Jordan Baker; she is cynical and self-centered. A competitive golfer; she is a stunning boyish woman who is romantically involved with Nick Caraway eventually. Last but not least, Myrtle Wilson; she is Tom Buchanan’s lover. A fierce and lively woman who, tired of her