Gender Roles In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is a great representation of the Roaring Twenties and the multiple problems that existed within the society of that time, some of them are still seen today but aren’t not that much like those days. Many of this problems are related to the years after World War 1 and the women rights. This was a time that in which women still weren’t considered to form part on the society’s decisions and in which many soldiers left their families and relationships behind, this was the case of Gatsby, according to the book. Together with the women issues and the WWI there’s also the differences within the people that lived in the high class, there were those that had richness due to heritage and those that had money because of their businesses,…show more content…
In this time men worked to earn money for the maintenance of the women. Men are dominant over women, especially in the case of Tom, who asserts his physical strength to subdue them. Tom is a figure of control, dominance and power in the house, that’s why Daisy can’t speak with authority and has no voice on any matter or discussion at her “own” house. But that is the problem, is not her house, its Tom’s house, he is the one who maintains her and gives her all the comforts that she has, and due that she likes that life, she must deal with the fact of being totally dependent. Even when the phone rang several times, she had to stay quit, knowing that Tom was cheating on her and the person on the phone was his lover. This was one of the problems that are clearly shown at the beginning of the book, when Nick visits…show more content…
Nick settles in West Egg, rather than East Egg, living in a small rental house adjacent to Gatsby's mansion, in which he pays less than 100 dollars per month, he prefers this than paying several thousands of dollars for one of the houses around him. This detail immediately encourages to see the clear difference that exists within the high class. Although both Eggs have beautiful mansions, East Egg is home to "old money," people whose families have had great wealth for generations. West Egg, although also home to the rich, was home to "new money," people whose wealth was recently earned, as well as to
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