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Portrayal Of Women In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Portrayal of Women Women of the 1920’s paved the way for women today. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, touches on the role women played in society. Characters of this novel, Daisy Buchannan and Myrtle Wilson, had different standards and morals compared to women now. Daisy, married to Tom Buchannan, reunites with an old flame. She makes questionable choices while married, but so does Tom. Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Both women were enticed by men that were wealthy, high socialites. This differs from women today who through the feminist movement have become more independent and self-reliant. Women in The Great Gatsby are portrayed as shallow, submissive, and dependent. The Great Gatsby portrays women as shallow. As Daisy is …show more content…

Flappers, women who started to have a more care free living style, start to break away from societal norms which included women staying home, cleaning, caring for the children and the husband, as well as having their own opinions and say so. Daisy on the other hand, comes from old money. She has been in the upper-class for a while and old money has a different view of women compared to the new money. “The marriage also has other problems like Tom being rude with Daisy. He bruises Daisy’s knuckle. Tom’s aggressiveness is also showed when strikes Myrtle,” says Bode in her article. He punches myrtle in the face for saying Daisy’s name. As the author states, “You did it, Tom. . . I know you didn’t mean to, but you DID do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen of a – “(Fitzgerald 9). Daisy was very unhappy with Toms personality, but she was his wife and he provided for her so she did …show more content…

Both Daisy and Myrtle depend on men for their needs. This can be shown when Daisy conspires with Tom and they both leave after Gatsby’s murder. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made (Fitzgerald 179).” She knew that she could go back to Tom and be taken care of so she made herself dependent on him. Another article states, “On one hand they want to resist against their men’s domination. Having relationships with other men, they try to sustain their independence of their husbands. But on the other hand, they do not want to lose their husbands. Both of them want to keep their husbands, because they are dependent on their men.” They want to be independent, but they will forever be dependent. They have no job, less rights, and less social acceptance then

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