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Feminist View on the Great Gatsby Essay

Decent Essays

Susan B. Anthony once said “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…

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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 “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 “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

to

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