Women In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby The women in The Great Gatsby are primarily concerned with money, pleasure and social status to the extent that it compromises their moral values. Teagan Smith 12AB The three main female characters in ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald, are Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle. Each woman represents a different typical group of women in the nineteen twenties. Despite their many differences, all three women behave immorally in order to live a particular lifestyle, regardless of the consequences. Daisy is introduced in the novel when wearing an airy, white dress, which has pure and angelic connotations. Daisy appears to be innocent by taking the passive role in her relationship with Tom, a ‘hulking brute’. This is seen when…show more content…
We see her obsession with money and the social status it brings when she cries on her wedding day after hearing her husband (George Wilson) borrowed his wedding suit; implying that he is poor. Myrtle tries to escape her mundane life at the car garage in the Valley of Ashes by having an affair with Tom Buchanan. He is a source of hope for her to have the life she has always dreamt of- one with wealth, glamour, status and comfort. We see how Myrtle shamelessly, infront of her husband, wets her lips and leans in towards Tom when he and Nick come to Mr Wilson’s garage. At her New York apartment with Tom, Myrtle lavishes herself by buying luxury and unnecessary gifts- such as her dog, a common accessory to a wealthy woman’s outfit. This is another attempt to fit in with the wealthier society she so desperately wants to be part of. Jordan too cheats but rather in a golfing tournament than committing adultery, like Daisy and Myrtle, because she is not married. Nick describes Jordan as a ‘dishonest’ woman. She continuously lies (such as in the golfing tournament) in order to maintain her status (of an excellent gofer). She also pries in other people’s business such as when Tom and Daisy’s argument when the phone (Myrtle) rings during dinner. Jordan also encourages Daisy to have an affair with Gatsby, despite being a friend of the Buchanans. Furthermore, all three women are guilty of being money, status
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