What role does gender play in your story? - Carson Corrick

     During the late 1800's and early 1900's it was expected of women to play the 'typical housewife' by staying home to clean, cook for their husbands, and to take care of the family.  Getting married should have been a woman's  top priority.  Marriage had a life time commitment.  Women were discourages from working, it was frowned upon.  Women were powerless.  The Southern belle is a stock character designated to exemplify the deep southern upper class.  They were raised to be educated and appealing to the public.  They were well-mannered and were raised to be prepared for marriage.  Daisy is a perfect example of these types of women when she says, "'I'm p-paralyzed with happiness.' She laughed again, as if she said something very witty, and held my hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see" (Fitzgerald 8-9).  Daisy is a sweet and affectionate person who tries to win the people around her.   She craves attention and wants people to adore her, but she is incredibly selfish and cares too much about social status.  She is quite fashionable and has many of the qualities of a Southern belle.  She loves to social and showing off her husband.

     In the novel, the female presence is almost nonexistent and the male presence is predominate.  This is portrayed through how the male characters and how they act around their family, specifically Tom Buchanan.  Tom has a powerful male voice and is brutal and intimidating.  He only cares about money and social status.  Tom does not acknowledge other women's opinions and throws them off to the side. Tom is abusive to Daisy, and she follows his commands.  In the novel, everyone keeps referring to Tom and Daisy as the "Tom Buchanans."  I personally feel like Tom views Daisy more as a property than an actual human being.  Daisy also hopes that her daughter will be a "beautiful little fool" (Fitzgerald 17).  Perhaps being submissive to the husband is an easier life style for women at the time rather than being independent.   On the cover of the book, if could be seen as three women.  The main woman and then two women in her eyes.  The women in the eyes could represent Myrtle and Jordan and the main woman could represent Daisy.  It could also be that the main woman is Daisy, and the two people that are in the eyes could be Tom and Gatsby.

     I think that the novel states exactly how this time period was with gender roles.  Women may be starting to gain power and be able to vote, but many men are still treating them like they are things to be obtained.  They are viewing them more along the lines of objects rather than people who can express their own opinion.