The Great Gatsby Gender Analysis

After the devastations of World War I, the Jazz age took over with a fun and lively twist. New music and dances were appearing. People enjoyed peace time with extravagant parties and picking up lives and living in the moment. With the struggles of war behind them and all the exciting entertainment around, many people could not see the “less important” issues in life. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows the life of Nick Carraway and his elitist friends. Nick lives in the West Egg district of Long Island, where the people with new money live. In East Egg, Nick’s cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom, lead an extravagant life with their old money. Tom is known for openly having multiple mistresses at a time. Mr. Carraway also lives next door to The Great Gatsby, a mysterious man who throws legendary parties. Nick learns about Daisy and Gatsby’s scandalous past from his girlfriend Jordan. Gatsby, in his attempt to create the life he never had with Daisy, tries to recreate turn their past romance, with the help of Nick. In trying to take control over his past, Gatsby has not considered Daisy’s life now …show more content…
This can be seen through the control men have over women and women’s lack of power. However, Daisy does gain control and power over Tom and Gatsby for one small moment in the Plaza Hotel. Many may argue that the American Dream is a more prominent theme of the novel compared to gender roles. Gatsby is the embodiment of the American Dream because he advanced in life to attain stability and material goods. However, Gatsby did not do this on hard work or a good education. Yet the relationships between the characters in the novel drive the plot forward. Without Gatsby’s love for Daisy, he would not have chased the American Dream to the extent that he has. The Roaring Twenties was a time for fun and prosperity after the first world war. The glamor of it seemed to hide the other issues going on such as gender