Feminist View on the Great Gatsby Essay - 1070 Words

Susan B. Anthony once said â€Å"The true republic: Men, their rights and nothing more; Women, their rights and nothing less.† This is her point of view on the way women were thought of during the 1920s. She recognizes the large gap between women and men’s rights. During this time though, many changes had began. Women just got the right to vote, therefore gaining more independence of their own which they did not always know how to use. This is also when the trend of a flapper began. Views changed from politics to social lives, hem lines were raised, and risks were taken. The confusion of this time for most men is easily seen in The Great Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, women are portrayed as a minor role†¦show more content†¦She is shown as selfish and not trustworthy. Nick Carraway, the narrator, realizes this also. While running into Tom after Gatsby’s death he makes the comment â€Å"you know what I think of you† (179). This is Nick referring to his anger towards tom and daisy for betraying Gatsby. Daisy was supposedly in love with Gatsby, until she killed Myrtle and knew that Tom could keep her from getting caught. She left Gatsby behind in the dust, and let Tom blame him for the murder of Myrtle. Myrtle, before her death, is another example of being unfaithful. She lies to Wilson regularly about going into town with Tom, she is happier with Tom. If it was not for the inconvenience of getting a divorce she possibly would have. Instead though, she decides to build a web of lies and live by them. Wilson does not even realize he is being betrayed until he finds the expensive dog collar. Myrtle â€Å"trie[s] to tell [him] something funny about it, but [he] knew it was something funny† (158). He came to the conclusion then that he had always been suspicious of; myrtle had not been faithful to him. Women were thought of as deceiving during this time period, as it was reflected into The Great Gatsby. The way that men thought of women during the 1920s is shown all throughout this novel. The way men saw them, the way they saw themselves, and the way they were struggling toShow MoreRelatedThe Feminist Criticism Of The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1697 Words   |  7 PagesFrom the feminist criticism, everything seems somehow related to everything else. Feminism is involved in any given field cannot be cordoned off. Marxism, however, ignored the position of women which is strange as its key concepts are the â€Å"struggle between social classes and the blinding effects of ideology†, it might have been employed to analyze the social situation of women. 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