Friday, August 2, 2019
How women are presented in ââ¬ÅThe Great Gatsbyââ¬Â Essay
F. Scott Fitzgerald said of The Great Gatsby that it ââ¬Ëcontains no important woman characterââ¬â¢. How are women presented in The Great Gatsby, and how can this be compared with the presentation of women in Cormac McCarthyââ¬â¢s No Country for Old Men? Initially, it appears that the women characters are seen as inferior and are significant only in the relationship to male characters. A distorted view could be shown as both texts are written by male narrators. F.Kerr said that Fitzgerald felt ââ¬Å"women are so weak, really- emotionally unstable- and their nerves, when strained, breakâ⬠¦ this is a manââ¬â¢s world.â⬠This insinuates that neither ââ¬ËThe Great Gatsbyââ¬â¢ or ââ¬ËNo Country for old menââ¬â¢ contain an important female character. In The Great Gatsby, Daisyââ¬â¢s life is defined entirely by her relationship with men. The line ââ¬Å"Dinner with the Tom Buchanans,â⬠enforces the unimportance of women characters because it suggests that Daisyââ¬â¢s identity is only as Tomââ¬â¢s wife, not as an individual in her own right, which fits with the Patriarchal society of the time. Fitzgerald uses Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle as props to reveal the male characterââ¬â¢s personalities ââ¬Å"tell em all Daisyââ¬â¢s changed her mindâ⬠shows Daisyââ¬â¢s main role within the novel is to be the object of Gatsbyââ¬â¢s desire. The character of Daisy also realises how little control she has over her life when she says ââ¬Å"the best thing a girl can be in the world is a beautiful little fool.â⬠This confirms Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement of no important females because it simply implies women believed their roles in society werenââ¬â¢t important and had accepted the reality of living in the shadows of men. The noun ââ¬Ëfoolââ¬â¢ is a person who lacks judgement which reflects Daisyââ¬â¢s life as she is dictated by Tom and was easily persuaded to marry him. It indicates that Daisy is aware of her unimportance as a woman and corroborates Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement. Furthermore, the adjective ââ¬Ëbeautifulââ¬â¢ means looking pleasing at sight which was how Daisy first met her husband and triumphed in sustaining a rich, luxurious lifestyle. Similarly, In No Country for Old Men Carla Jean lives in the shadow of her controlling, assertive husband. Although Llewelyn doesnââ¬â¢t have money to control her, he possesses another kind of controlling factor to ensure that she feels insignificant. ââ¬Å"What? Quit hollerin.â⬠Thisà enforces Llewelynââ¬â¢s dominant behaviour because his disrespectful response indicates he shows no regard towards her point of view. The verb ââ¬Å"hollerinâ⬠is extremely commanding and domineering, implying Carla Jean had yelled at Llewelyn, which isnââ¬â¢t particularly reflective of her nature suggesting Llewelyn finds his wife irritating and sees her of no great importance. Fitzgerald enforces his statement of no female importance when he gives Jordan a name that isnââ¬â¢t gender specific as it could show he believes masculinity is a key aspect to obtaining importance. The descriptions of Jordan focus on her masculine characteristics, ââ¬Å"she wore her evening dress, all her dresses, like sports clothes,â⬠which suggests, through the use of a simile, she has to flaunt her boyish figure in order to remain independent and not become controlled by male characters. On the other hand, the novel was set in the aftermath of World War One, a time when women started to fulfil the job roles of males who found themselves fighting a war. This contradicts Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement ââ¬Å"like a young cadet,â⬠through use of a simile, Jordan could represent a modern changing woman of the 1920s. The noun ââ¬Ëcadetââ¬â¢ means a young trainee in the police force or armed services which can stereotypically be seen as a masculine job. However, even though Jordan appears to be independent and obtains a certain level of importance, the men still seems to act apathetically towards her, thus confirming her irrelevance and insignificance. Similarly, in No Country for Old Men McCarthy displays Carla Jean being the victim of unimportance through Llewelyn and Chigurh constantly referring to her using the pronoun ââ¬Ësheââ¬â¢ instead of her name. Although, when Chigurh is committing murder he doesnââ¬â¢t distinguish between the sexes he just kills equally, he still pays no respect to Carla Jean ââ¬Å"it doesnââ¬â¢t make any difference where she is,â⬠which enforces her unimportance because to Chigurh it is just another wasted bullet rather than the taking of someoneââ¬â¢s life. Ryan P. Doom agrees with Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s: ââ¬Å"the women in No Country for Old Men serve no purpose other than to offer support.â⬠He believed they have little influence on the plot or the decisions made by the male characters. ââ¬Å"You ainââ¬â¢t going have to come looking for me at all.â⬠This supports Doomââ¬â¢s statement as it shows Llewelyn becoming more concerned about himself, rather than the urgency to save his wife. Therefore, the narcissistic Llewelyn helps portray woman as containingà no importance because he puts himself first, irrespective of what will happen to his wife. Myrtle is a character that represents the working class women of the 1920s and is someone who isnââ¬â¢t happy with what she has as she naively thinks Tom would leave Daisy and take her away from the Valley of Ashes. Therefore, she is a character who believes in the ideals of the ââ¬ËAmerican Dream.ââ¬â¢ Fitzgerald uses the oxymoron ââ¬Å"soft, coarse voice,â⬠to relate to her two contradictory lives as the ââ¬Å"coarseâ⬠wife of Mr Wilson and the ââ¬Å"softâ⬠mistress of the upper-class Tom Buchanan. Additionally, although Myrtle believes she is Tom Buchananââ¬â¢s mistress, she is essentially just involved in adultery and exposed to Patriarchal treatment because Tom has the power and control of the relationship and make the authoritative decisions as to when he wants to see her. When Myrtle begins to mock Daisy in front of Tom, ââ¬Å"Daisy, Daisy, Daisy,â⬠he becomes protective of his wife and let his anger overpower him by punching Myrtle. ââ¬Å"Making short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.â⬠This proves Myrtleââ¬â¢s unimportance because Tom is indifferent to her feelings and values her with little significance. Feminist critic Judith Fetterley would argue Myrtle is like the unattainable ââ¬ËAmerican Dreamââ¬â¢. Her objectification by Tom means she has no hope of actually achieving the Dream because the Valley of Ashes has left her with little opportunity to achieve more in life, thus confirming Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement of ââ¬Ëno important women characters because he gives them a poor quality of life. On the other hand, Myrtle displays some power over her husband, ââ¬Å"his wifeââ¬â¢s man and not his own,â⬠which helps contradict Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement as a higher authority and importance is being portrayed, however, her death overturns this and makes her insignificant. Similarly, in No Country for Old men, Carla Jean can be compared to Myrtle because they are both victims of lives they have no control over. Llewelyn explores female unimportance through a contemptuous tone ââ¬Å"Well I got a good feeling, so that should even out,â⬠suggesting he possesses no shame in the ignorance of his wifeââ¬â¢s viewpoint and feels no disgrace in taking control. It is evident that both Myrtle and Carla Jean are powerless to control their deaths Myrtleââ¬â¢s erotic personality followed her right until death ââ¬Å"her leftà breast swinging loosely like a flap,â⬠suggesting by the use of the simile ââ¬Ëlike a flapââ¬â¢ and because the focus was on her ââ¬Ëleft breastââ¬â¢, rather than any other body part, it was her sexuality that metaphorically killed her. The adjective ââ¬Ëlooselyââ¬â¢ helps confirm Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement as it could indicate how fragile and insignificant Myrtle is as a woman character. The physical mutilation or ââ¬Ërapeââ¬â¢ as some critics argue shows her insignificance and weakness. It suggests Fitzgerald felt some disdain or misogynism towards women. Similarly, in No Country for Old Men Carla Jean watches powerlessly as Chigurh flips the coin that decides her fate ââ¬Å"This is the best I can do. Call it.â⬠The inability to influence the plot implies Carla Jean delivers no significant importance because she suffers with the fate that lies in the hands of a male character, which holds the direction her life is heading. Thus implying women are unimportance because they are powerless and given no authority. A feminist may argue that women characters in The Great Gatsby are victims to a distorted interpretation as it contains male narrators and male protagonists. Fitzgerald himself admitted it was ââ¬Å"a manââ¬â¢s bookâ⬠which perhaps gives a biased representation of women in ââ¬ËThe Great Gatsbyââ¬â¢ and supports the notion that it ââ¬Ëcontains no importance woman characters.ââ¬â¢ Arguably, Nick is an unreliable narrator as the only events brought to attention are those he has witnessed, which could suggest heââ¬â¢s portraying a subjective view on the female characters. Also, his opinion of Jordan as ââ¬Å"incurably dishonestâ⬠implies distain towards her and a disregard of her viewpoint. On the other hand, in No Country for Old Men Sheriff Bell perhaps gives a more faithful representation of female characters because he shows respect her wife Loretta Bell ââ¬Å"sheââ¬â¢s probably right. She generally is,â⬠suggesting his admiration shows he gives women the acknowledgment they deserve. Arguably, when the book goes into third person, traditional ââ¬ËWestern cowboyââ¬â¢ attitudes are exposed as women have very minor roles and barely any time to build up an important image. This could lead to a distorted view of women as they are not treated fairly and not given equal opportunity to gain the recognition and importance the male characters achieve. Overall, the impression is given that women serve less importance than men in both novels and are less influential towards the direction the plots take. Some parts within The Great Gatsby contradict Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement because it contains characters such as Jordan who help portray a modern, independent woman which allows her to obtain a certain amount of importance. However, in No Country for Old Men the plot is largely based around Llewelyn and Chigurh who are both very narcissistic which leaves little opportunity for characters such as Carla Jean to express any importance as she isnââ¬â¢t even valued by her husband. On the whole, it could be argued Fitzgeraldââ¬â¢s statement is acceptable because both novels are very male dominant.
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