The Great Gatsby - Beautiful Little Fools

Emily Wingfield

C Block H Am Lit - Billmyer

The Great Gatsby Essay

Beautiful Little Fools

F. Scott Fitzgerald and his novel The Great Gatsby have become a part of the literary tradition in America, seen as both one of the greatest American novels and authors of all time. Although The Great Gatsby is worthy of significant amounts of praise, there are many problematic undercurrents to the novel, such as the representation of females and the discussion of the patriarchal society and male domination within the United States. The Great Gatsby can be seen as a sexist novel through Fitzgerald’s representation of his female characters, and how Fitzgerald writes women in such a manner that suggests that without the presence of a man, they are not complete.  Some characters, such as Myrtle Wilson are oversexualized, presenting the idea that physical appearance is one of the only important aspects of her character. Although it is unclear as to whether Fitzgerald wrote the novel this way to make a statement or that this was the true representation of women that Fitzgerald saw as truth, it is undeniable that Fitzgerald represents females in a negative way. Through the characters of Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, as well as the various female characters’ relationships with the men in the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby negatively represents women and places emphasis on the patriarchal society and male domination of America.

        The character Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was represented in a negative manner due to her desire for wealth, selfish and cynical nature. “Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her;” (Fitzgerald 9) Daisy’s voice is one of her defining characteristics, and the motivation behind her voice represents her selfish attitude in her desire to manipulate others. Daisy Buchanan only cares for herself and speaks in such a manner in which she will receive great amounts of attention. In Daisy’s mind, receiving attention and recognition from others is one of the most important things in life. “I told her how I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way East, and how a dozen people had sent their love through me. “Do they miss me?” she cried ecstatically.” (9) Formerly living in Chicago, Daisy Buchanan’s selfish nature shines through when she asks Nick Carraway if the entirety of Chicago misses her, implying that she thinks the city should care only for her. In addition to being a self-centered individual, Daisy Buchanan is an extremely cynical person, something she admits herself. “Well, I’ve had a very bad time, Nick, and I’m pretty cynical about everything.” (16) Not only does Daisy admit that she identifies with this characteristic, but her cynicism reveals itself in many other ways throughout the novel, for example after hitting Myrtle Wilson with the car. “”Was Daisy driving?” “Yes,” he said after a moment, “but of course I’ll say I was.”” Following the tragic death of Myrtle Wilson Nick Carraway discusses the incident with Gatsby, asking him who was driving the car, to which Gatsby responds with telling Nick Daisy was driving, but that he planned to tell the authorities that it was him. This represents Daisy’s cynicism as she was only concerned with herself and her reputation and disregarded the horrid crime she had committed. Gatsby was to take the blame for the incident due to Daisy’s fear of what might happen if the people discovered it was she who killed Myrtle Wilson. After the incident, Daisy moved on, forgetting the accident ever happened and moving forward in life for her own benefit, not focusing on the consequences received by others such as Myrtle.  In addition, although not explicitly stated, Daisy’s fear of Tom is shown through her failure to tell him that she was driving. Daisy was afraid of the consequences that she may have been given by Tom if he were to find out she was in fact the person who killed his mistress. Another aspect of Daisy’s character which Fitzgerald depicts in a negative manner is Daisy’s desire for wealth. “She groped around in a wastebasket she had with her on the bed and pulled out the string of pearls. “Take ‘em down-stairs and give ‘em back to whoever they belong to. Tell ‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine.” She began to cry -- she cried and cried… and half an hour later, when we walked out of the room, the pearls were around her neck and the incident was over.” (76) At the time before her marriage to Tom Buchanan, Daisy Fay found herself second guessing the decision to marry Tom. Tom had gifted Daisy three hundred and fifty thousand dollar pearls. In her fit of despair before the wedding Daisy took these pearls off, telling the people present with her at the time to give them back, implying that they, and in turn Tom, no longer mattered to Daisy. However not shortly afterwards, Daisy emerged from the room, wearing the pearls, and married Tom Buchanan the next day. Daisy found security in Tom’s wealth and found herself overwhelmed with desire for his wealth, as in her mind, money was the ticket to true happiness. This desire for wealth implies that Daisy Buchanan is a woman who is willing to sacrifice real love and happiness for money, something many women today would argue is a pitiful thing. Fitzgerald’s choice of creating the character of Daisy Buchanan in the manner he did presented Daisy as an extremely flawed and somewhat pathetic individual.

        Another character in The Great Gatsby which Fitzgerald wrote in a negative manner, is Myrtle Wilson, a physically enticing woman who further taints the representation of females within the novel. “She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus of flesh sensuously as some women can… there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smoldering.” (25) In his first encounter of Myrtle Wilson, Nick Carraway describes her curvaceous body in detail. Fitzgerald overly sexualized description of Myrtle Wilson continues later in the novel when Nick and Tom meet Myrtle at an apartment which Tom had purchased for Myrtle. “She had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin, which stretched tight over her rather wide hips,” (27) Myrtle Wilson is discussed in this overtly sexual manner throughout the novel through the narrator’s descriptions of her figure, seeing this figure as the only aspect of Myrtle’s personage that matters. Following her car accident, Myrtle Wilson is observed and her injuries are described in detail. “...they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap,” (137) After being hit by the car, Myrtle’s breast was torn apart and her curvaceous body was destroyed. This description of Myrtle’s injured body and the implication that after seeing the injury to her breast “...there was no need to listen for the heart beneath.” (137) further presents the idea that without her voluptuous figure, Myrtle is a flesh torn corpse. Fitzgerald wrote the character of Myrtle Wilson in a manner that implies that once her physical body was altered, Myrtle was destroyed entirely, furthering the idea that her figure is the only aspect of Myrtle that matters to the world.

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