Women In The Great Gatsby

Words: 778
Pages: 4

Fitzgerald criticizes American society during the 1920s. He uses the characters in The Great Gatsby as a demonstration of how American society behaved. The rich acted as if they were high and mighty. Men believed they had superior power over women. Women didn’t have equal privileges as men did. The American Dream was corrupted by Gatsby. The rich did not feel wrong blaming their crimes on the inferiors. American society was delusional and cruel.
Tom showed several examples of being superior to women. First, he cheats on his wife. He does this continuously and in a careless manner. His wife, Daisy, knows yet she does not say anything. Nick goes over to Tom and Daisy’s house to have dinner with them along with Jordan Baker. The telephone rings and Tom goes to pick it up along with Daisy following behind him. Jordan and Nick have a conversation about the mysterious call. “Why-” she said hesitantly, “Tom’s got some woman in New York.” “Got some woman?” I repeated blankly. Miss Baker nodded. “She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner-time. Don’t you think?” Another example of Tom showing his superiority is when he punches
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Even though she knew her husband had been cheating on her many times, she still stays with him. Fitzgerald includes a quote that criticizes women and their exponentials during the time. “And I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” Daisy chooses to stay with Tom and not Gatsby, the one she truly loved. She could have lived a happier life with Gatsby, but chose Tom’s wealth and status. She did not even show up at Gatsby’s funeral when the cause of death was her fault. Myrtle was punched in the face and it resulted in a broken nose because of Tom. She still stays in the affair with him because of his wealth and status. Women were corrupt during this period. Since women were powerless, they had to rely on men for