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Theme Of Feminism In The Great Gatsby

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In the up and coming generation, there are various social and controversial topics that are brought up and argued with in our society. These topics vary from Drug legalization to Abortion, to Civil unions. Feminism is one of the more controversial topics among them. Feminism is simply a combination of human rights, individual rights, and equality for all. In the 1920 's, and even now, feminism is a very popular topic that takes a great role in the novel. Feminism is clearly evident in The Great Gatsby and can be shown by the contrast between the independent women such as Jordan Baker and Catherine and the dependent women, Daisy and Myrtle. They are different in their approach to their relationships even though their character qualities are similar. …show more content…

Jordan Baker and Catherine are great examples of the independent feminism that was sweeping the era. Jordan Baker is a professional golfer in a sport that 's dominated by men. Nick recognized her when he was at Daisy 's house, "I knew now why her face was familiar its pleasing contemptuous expression had looked out at me from many rotogravure pictures of the sporting life at Asheville and Hot Springs and Palm Beach." ( 21-22). With this in mind, one could conclude that she is also financially independent. In her personal relationships, it is mentioned that she dates many different people, and doesn 't have one steady partner. Jordan also shows her disgust to Nick when she comments about Toms inappropriate phone call "Tom’s got some woman in New York...‘She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinnertime. Don’t you think?" (18). One could get the sense that jordan has too much confidence to allow herself to be in a relationship, like her friend Daisy. Comparatively, Catherine (Myrtle 's sister) is another independent character that is brought up in the novel. Catherine, like Jordan, has goals for herself in the future. To point out, in the novel Jordan expresses the want she has for moving and expanding her work ,"I’d like to do more work on Long Island if I could get the entry. All I ask is that they should give me a start." (36).This quote shows her work ethic and how she 's depending on herself to make her own money, not anyone else. Catherine 's …show more content…

Additionally, when a conversation took place between Nick and Catherine, Catherine explains a trip she had taken with her girlfriends, "Just last year. I went over there with another girl.’ ‘Stay long?’ ‘No, we just went to Monte Carlo and back. We went by way of Marseilles. We had over twelve hundred dollars when we started but we got gypped out of it all in two days in the private rooms." (38). The fact Catherine supports herself financially and wants to strive and do better at what she does, along with the fact she shares a room and travels with her girlfriends are signs of a strong degree of independence. Not once does Catherine 's name come up in the novel associated with a Male in any type of dating or "love" matter. Henceforth, because of both Catherine and Jordan Baker 's character traits/qualities they can both be deemed as Independent women in the novel. In conclusion, based on the research above, the evidence strongly suggests feminism is present throughout the novel The Great Gatsby. The novel, which is based in the 1920 's has a wide variety of characters, most of them being women. in the 1920 's feminism was a very highly popular topic. Most women in this time period were made to feel lesser and as if they needed a man to serve their full purpose as a women, with that being said not all women did feel this way. Feminism is clearly evident in The Great Gatsby and can be shown

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