Sunday, May 17, 2009

12. Females

Compare the major female characters in the novel: Jordan, Daisy, and Myrtle. How does each act toward men? What seem to be their motivations and goals?
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 8, 2009 at 9:38 PM

    Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan view men very differently. Daisy wants to have the American Dream, even if it means her staying with a man that she says she doesn’t love. Daisy isn’t afraid of depending on a man. Jordan on the other hand, never really has a steady man. She goes out with Nick for a while, but they then get in an argument and break up, but Jordan is not really affected by it. Jordan is one of those women that is tied up in her career and doesn’t depend on a man. When Nick first meets Jordan she is lying on the couch and does not get up when he and Tom walk in (Fitzgerald 13). Myrtle wants to get out of the relationship that she has with her husband and sees Tom Buchanan as a way out of that situation. Myrtle sees Tom as a man who pleases her physically and buys her what she wants.

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    1. AnonymousMay 10, 2016 at 8:12 PM

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    2. AnonymousMay 10, 2016 at 9:02 PM

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  2. Ana CristinaJuly 9, 2009 at 3:57 PM

    The three main female characters are very different. Even though, they live in the same environment, where women are below men, their reactions to it are diverse. Jordan for example is a strong female character that tries to rise above the fact that she is a girl. She fights to become someone more than a perfect house wife. She is independent and does not need a man to take care of her. She is a bit advanced for her time, for example of this is the way she travels alone and she is not married. It can be seen that some people in society do not approve of her independence; Tom thinks “they oughtn’t to let her run around the country this way” (Fitzgerald 23). Because of the environment in which Jordan lives, she has to do certain things to keep her head above the water. “She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage “(Fitzgerald 63) so she “was incurably dishonest” (Fitzgerald 63) and “instinctively avoided clever shrewd men” (Fitzgerald 63). Jordan had to be dishonest and become this strong shielded woman so that she could progress in world run by men. Jordan stands tall in front of men, Daisy on the other hand becomes the woman that society wants her to be. She is the perfect girl, sweet, kind, pretty and not that smart. She is subservient to men and she tolerates to be treated like a foolish child by her husband. She allows him to treat her like dirt and have a mistress in front of her eyes. According to her “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 21). That is what Daisy is. Her response to world ruled by men is to place herself below them and simply not fight. The last female character is Myrtle. She knows that men are considered to be better than women. But instead of fighting men, like Jordan, or putting herself below them, like Daisy, Myrtle uses them. She married Wilson so that her status in society could rise and when she saw that was not going to happened she moved on to Tom. Myrtle knew that Tom could get her what she longed for. Money, status and wealth could all be hers if she used Tom. Tom gave her things and let her buy things that Wilson could never give her “I’m going to make a list off all the things I got to get” (Fitzgerald 41). All the women are very different. Personally I like Jordan. She is strong and independent, something that is very admirable for her time.

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  3. UnknownAugust 5, 2009 at 2:19 PM

    The three women in the Great Gatsby can be considered as different sides of the same spectrum for the time period were men were always the dominant figures. On one side of the spectrum is Daisy. Daisy is a girl that will depend fully in a man. She relies on men for security. “She wanted her life shaped now, immediately—and the decision must be made by some force—of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality…” (Fitzgerald 159) “Her voice is full of money,” (Fitzgerald127). She uses this to attract the men who she will depend on.
    She is the stereotype of a housewife; she doesn’t talk back at her husband, or at least not directly. She is subordinate to man. She is not too smart. This is on purpose. She prefers to be ignorant to the world, as she tries to be oblivious of the affair her husband Tom is having. When placed under the stress of the discussion between Gatsby and Tom, she just cracks and is unable to stand it.
    Jordan is on the other extreme of spectrum. She is a strong woman that fights even harder to strive in a world that is led by men, even if to succeed she must cheat, lie and be dishonest. She is a feminist. She will do what is necessary to reach her goals. She wants to project to men that she is a strong women that will not bow to them. She is so much into this idea that she has distorted herself to be this idea. She probably plays golf to prove her point. Golf is a sport in which most players are men so by playing it, she is challenging the social order.
    Myrtle Wilson is a more centered character. She doesn’t object to the men in her life but she uses them for her means. She squeezes every bit of advantage she can get from a man, and then moves on. She is sort of a parasite. You normally can’t see it, but soon enough, your life is gone. She married George Wilson because she thought she could improve her life and be at a better social standing, but when she realized he was not so successful, she moved on to Tom. “I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe”. Myrtle might seem like a subordinate woman but in reality, she uses men to get her way.

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