The 1920’s was a roaring time of transformation; the economy boomed, and there was a new kind of lifestyle for people after World War 1. During this time there was also new challenges to the role gender played in society. The 1920’s were known as the “Flapper” era for women. In this decade, women fought for the right to be considered a person and for the right to vote. Further, women’s actions in this decade were often considered unladylike. Women wore short dresses, had short hair, often smoked and drank alcohol. In 1925, an American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, wrote the novel The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby followed the lives of the rich living in Long Island, New York during the summer of 1922. Fitzgerald’s portrayal of women in The Great Gatsby is often criticized by feminists. This hostile portrayal of women, although unfortunate, was often the case for a women living in the 1920’s. Women still had a long way to go in order to experience the rights of the modern world. Throughout The Great Gatsby, women are portrayed as subordinate to men. This can been seen through the men’s actions as material possessions, valuing women strictly on physical appearance and supporting the idea that
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Scott Fitzgerald portrayed women in The Great Gatsby as dependant on men. Women were simple possessions to men. Men owned women and had control of them physically and emotionally. Women could only be considered worthwhile if they were exceptionally beautiful. It was also a common trend in the 1920’s to refer to a couple by the male’s name, thus proving women to be unequal to men. This portrayal of women was not entirely the fault of Fitzgerald – this is the world he grew up in. During the 1920’s gender roles kept women suppressed, despite the transformations the world has already made. In America women did gain the right to vote in 1920, but there was still an explicable need for feminism as there is today. The Great Gatsby portrays women as subordinate possessions to
Scott Fitzgerald portrayed women in The Great Gatsby as dependant on men. Women were simple possessions to men. Men owned women and had control of them physically and emotionally. Women could only be considered worthwhile if they were exceptionally beautiful. It was also a common trend in the 1920’s to refer to a couple by the male’s name, thus proving women to be unequal to men. This portrayal of women was not entirely the fault of Fitzgerald – this is the world he grew up in. During the 1920’s gender roles kept women suppressed, despite the transformations the world has already made. In America women did gain the right to vote in 1920, but there was still an explicable need for feminism as there is today. The Great Gatsby portrays women as subordinate possessions to