Critical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby was written during the 1920s, which is also known as the Roaring Twenties. In the narrative F. Scott Fitzgerald gave a critical view of this time. In the 1920s and the 1930s there was a lot going on, for example bootlegging, drinking, criminal activity, and an evolution of jazz music. The women were also going through an evolution. In 1920 they got the right to vote, and there was a rise of a new kind of woman known as the flapper. Women not only wanted to take care of their families anymore but also wanted to have a career. Following this development a next stage presented itself: “The independent New Woman of the late nineteenth century, who rejected marriage for career and political action who often rooted her emotional…show more content…
in Drowne 163). This is definitely the case with Daisy Buchanan. In The Great Gatsby, the narrative is told through the lens of Nick Carraway. He comes to live in West Egg next door to Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is in love with Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan and uses Nick to rekindle their love. Daisy however is married to Tom Buchanan, who is rich. He got all his money from his parents and that is why Daisy married him. Daisy comes across as a very beautiful and charming woman, but in fact she is shallow, selfish and focused on her individuality. Daisy has a daughter with Tom Buchanan but that is not her focus, her focus lies with herself and her own life. Gatsby is infatuated by Daisy and Nick understands why: “It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth” (Fitzgerald 8). In this fragment it shows that men are being lured towards her and that there is a sexual attraction there. Men cannot seem to forget her. But it is not only the fact that she is beautiful that attracts Gatsby, but also the fact that she is rich. This is related to new concept of the American Dream, which Daisy…show more content…
She loves money and she knows her husband is unfaithful but that does not matter to her, because she really chooses for herself and she does what she pleases to do. Also what makes her standing out is that before the 1920s it was unheard of that a woman had an affair outside of her marriage. Daisy runs away with Jay Gatsby for a short period of time and cheats on her husband. What F. Scott Fitzgerald is representing in this female character is the change from a woman that was traditionally focused on family into a woman that makes her own choices and celebrates her sexual independence. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s conception of America in the 1920s Daisy represents the amoral values of the aristocratic part of
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