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Eng Lit Coursework

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel about self-betrayal, self-discovery and love. It is

set on the American Jazz-Age New York, a playground for irresponsible
millionaires and the subtle concealed corruption that goes with money. A
place where “the women are glossy, capricious heiress-girlfriends” as
described by Diane Roberts – Daisy is a prime example of this. I am going to
discuss the representation of women in The Great Gatsby, using Catcher in
the Rye to compare and illuminate.
Women are not equally significant in the two texts; in the Great Gatsby, the
story is narrated by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbour, who dictates the
reader’s judgement through his moral attitude. He focuses on the two main
character’s Daisy and Myrtle. The women drive the actions of key male
figures, Gatsby the protagonist and Tom the antagonist. In Catcher in the
Rye, the women are written subsidiary to the central plot. They’re essentially
peripheral figures, on the margins of Holden’s downward spiral and eventual
breakdown
Nick introduces himself as a man who is “inclined to reserve judgments”,
however this could be considered contradictory - he judges everyone
throughout the novel. On the other hand, Holden is considered to be
hypocritical as he’s the true phoney and is two-faced. Being restless after the
war, Nick “went east in the spring of 1922 to learn the bond business”.
He begins his story when he goes to have dinner with Daisy. She is Tom’s
second cousin once removed, lives in the “fashionable east-egg” with her
wealthy husband. She is one of the most consequential characters in the
story. When she’s first introduced, she is appears very graceful and feminine,
“both in white”; “white creates a sense of richness and innocence” as argued
by Kevin Rea. I believe that they appear to by innocent however it’s not
genuine, it’s artificial as we learn later. She is juxtaposed with Tom, her
husband. He is aggressive and self-assertive; he is very arrogant
“supercilious manner”. Tom is an ignorant bully; in chapter 7 in Tom’s upper-
class execution of Gatsby, Tom calls him a “common swindler”; you’re a
thug, gangster. Also, you’re an illegal distiller, “bootlegger”; Tom is siding
with his own class people, against the parvenus.

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Tom and Daisy are in some instances quite similar, for example the fears that
I have concluded about both characters are losing each other and losing
familiarity, change. Also, both characters fear losing their lifestyle, being a
part of gentry, and having the perfect lifestyle. Nick says about Daisy and
Tom, “they were careless people…they smashed things and creatures up and
then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever
it was that kept them together”. Tom and Daisy truly are materialistic and
careless; they indirectly smashed both Gatsby and Myrtle up and are now
retreating. It voices the reader’s view as they wonder exactly what it is that
prevented Daisy from joining Gatsby and what influenced her decision to stay
with Tom.
Daisy is very materialistic. Through Jordan’s narration, we find out that Daisy
and Gatsby had a relationship, however while he was absent, she went and
got married to Tom because he provide money and stability, which Gatsby
couldn’t provide. His gift, “a string of pearls valued at three hundred
thousand dollars” sealed the deal; her desire for money is more important to
her than her love. Tom was an adulterer from the beginning “she was one of
the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara hotel” yet she still sticks by him.
Returning from the war, in 1919 Gatsby decides to win Daisy back, through
criminal activity, “he’s a bootlegger”. The ‘green light” is a motif associated
with Daisy, that Gatsby looks at to remind him of his dreams; however when
he does get her he realises that “the colossal significance of the light has now
vanished forever”. He’s realised that everything’s changed; this “enchanted
object” is once again just a green light. In Catcher of the Rye, Jane is a
beacon that Holden never reaches. Would Holden be just as let down if he did
eventually call her? Gatsby had always longed for many qualities when he
was a child in North Dakota; charm, wealth, sophistication, grace and
aristocracy. It is these qualities that first attracted him to Daisy; she
represents the paragon of perfection. Similarly, Holden idealises Jane like
Gatsby romanticises over Daisy, “I really got to know her quite intimately”;
Jane is Holden’s partner in the platonic, pre-sexual relationship.
Despite Daisy being beautiful and charming, she is also shallow and
manipulative. She is indifferent to her daughter, showing her off to Gatsby as
though she’s a doll; it appears artificial and has an ulterior motive. She only

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brings her out to remind Gatsby that the girl is part of her now but points out
that she’s not like Tom, “she doesn’t look like her father”. Regarding her
daughter, she’s pessimistic towards her future, “I hope she’ll be a fool, that’s
the best thing a girl can be in this world”. This sounds hollow, she only wants
a reaction. It is canny, cunning, disillusioned; it appears self-centred rather
than caring. However she could be protecting her child from her own
experiences, “laughed with thrilling scorn…God, I’m sophisticated”. This
implies that her life is lacking substance and is inane; she has nothing
meaningful in life, it’s aimless because her sophistication has no direction.
We discover Daisy’s true nature when despite all of Gatsby’s efforts to
provide her money and stability, she chooses Tom over him. She is cowardice
and narrow-minded, she wants to stick with her own class. She ultimately is
the cause of Gatsby’s death, letting him take the blame for killing her rival,
Myrtle Wilson. Throughout the novel, Daisy is the most criticised character by
her own cousin, Nick. She describes her as “a careless person who smashes
things up and then retreats behind her money”; this reiterates what was said
earlier, that she is materialistic and self-centred. Similar to Zelda Fitzgerald,
Daisy is in love with ease, money and material luxury. She is capable of
attention but not of sustained loyalty or care and in the end is nothing but a
coward. A Marxist reading is that Daisy is an example of the 1920s
materialistic culture; there is nothing substantial for her or other women of
this time. Daisy’s life could be summed up by safety through risk, she “went
over to Gatsby…kissing him on the mouth” and back to safety, Daisy “and
Tom had gone away…taken baggage with them”.
Juxtaposed with Daisy, is Myrtle. She is Tom’s mistress and is first mentioned
at the beginning of the novel; Tom receives a phone-call when Nick goes to
their house for dinner, “Tom’s got some woman in New York”. This is
confirmation of Tom’s affair, she’s the “name-less woman” and she’s not
there but is still influential. Myrtle is materialistic, “she bought a copy of Town
Tattle and a moving picture magazine…some cold cream and a small flask of
perfume”. She wants to appear to be classy and she also “wants one of those
dogs”. Myrtle is a primary example of the 1920s American Dream. Whilst she
is with Tom she is fooling herself and believes that there could be a chance of
them getting married however we realise that Tom is not as committed as

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she is. Whilst describing her first interaction with Tom, she says “his white-
shirt front pressed against my arm”, this implies the sexual nature of their
interaction, and she was swept off her feet but ultimately only fell in love with
his image –which represents his money. She says “you can’t live forever, you
can’t live forever”, this phrase describes Myrtle how she really is. It’s a good
opportunity and her last chance to become rich, famous etc. At her own
party, Tom refuses to let her say Daisy’s name; Myrtle has what she wants
but is attempting to receive more from Tom, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy... I’ll say it
when ever I want to” but this backfires on her. She ends up aggravating Tom,
who “broke her nose with his open hand”. This makes you realise how
desperate Myrtle is, in becoming a wealthy East Egger; she is willing to settle
for bad treatment despite him not loving her.
The most heroic action in the novel I believe is when Myrtle decides to risk
everything and confront Tom, after seeing him with Jordan. However she dies
at the hand of her love-rival, still not knowing who Daisy is. She is not
grateful for her husband Mr Wilson; she is briefly mourned for by Tom “tears
were overflowing down his face…he didn’t even stop the car”, although he is
crying over her death, he doesn’t talk about Myrtle but about Gatsby. This
implies that Tom doesn’t really care however in Mr Wilson’s case, he
sincerely and deeply mourns for her. She has an undignified ending after
being hit by Daisy’s car, “her left breast was left swinging like a loose flap”
implies that her sexual nature has been exploited; also it says “she had
choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long”.
This is a good description to mark the ending to Myrtle, it shows that she
didn’t make the most of herself and suppressed her “tremendous vitality”.
Myrtle’s life could be summed up in a variety of ways; from content to
destroyed by liberty and societal norms, from the high-life to a sordid low-
level death or from hope and aspiration to mistaken identity and a tragic
death.
Jordan is a character who could be classed as unnecessary; besides her being
useful for back story and narration, “One October day in nineteen –
seventeen’ (said Jordan Baker)”, her role is peripheral compared to Daisy and
Myrtle. She is a childhood friend of Daisy’s and is the love-object of Nick. She
is a flapper, a 1920s post-Edwardian figure; “throwing her body backwards…

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like a young cadet”. This shows us that she’s not very feminine, more
masculine behaviour. She is beautiful yet haughty, she was “completely
motionless, and with her chin raised a little”. This shows us her class
arrogance and haughtiness. She doesn’t care about others and eavesdrops
on Daisy and Tom, “Miss Baker leaned forward, unashamed, trying to hear”.
Jordan possesses wealth and occupies a coveted position due to her
reputation as a golf pro, fans worship her. “With Jordan’s slender golden arm
resting in mine…with the two girls in yellow. When Nick pull’s Jordan’s
‘golden’ arm close, he hopes for the sanctity provided by wealth and
reputation.
The two girls in yellow, that Nick and Jordan approach, represent an
energetic, playful pairing. They seem to aspire to Jordan’s position. As argued
by Kevin Rea, yellow is a pale imitation and mimicry of gold’s richness. I
disagree as the happiness linked to yellow seems genuine whereas gold
appears phony.
Overall, we get the impression that Gatsby admires the opulence and
colourfulness of women however we notice that they’re actually quite fake
and artificial. He mocks the women in chapter three, at first he shows them
as acting independent “confident girls who weave here and there”, he is
mesmerised by this. In contrast, at the end of the chapter, they’re suggested
to be shallow and superficial, the girls think that “when ever he sees I’m
having a good time, he wants to go home” and that “we’re always the first to
leave”. This shows that all the women are complaining about not being able
enjoy themselves and having to leave early dispite being some of the last to
leave the party. Similarly, in ‘Catcher’ Sally is shallow and socially
pretentious, “didn’t talk much except to rave about The Lunts, because she
was busy rubbering and being charming”. This suggests that she’s trying to
show off and gain attention from the others. She is criticised by Holden,
“Grand. If there’s one word I hate, it’s grand. It’s so phoney.”

Unlike in The Great Gatsby, where the women are central to the plot, in
Catcher in the Rye the women are subordinate to the plot. A cultural reading
would be that women are relegated to peripheral roles in this angry-young
man, post-war novel of disillusionment. The story relates to women as it’s of

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Holden meeting a whole range of women, finding his ideal girl. He avoids the
pretentious women but chooses Phoebe.
Holden wishes to protect Phoebe, she is important to him as she shares
memories of Allie with him, “When she was a little kid, and Allie and D.B. and
I used to go to the park”. He’s remembering the good times, when there was
no care in the world. Her innocence is the main reason for him trying to
protect her. When Holden is in a crisis, she is the one that lends him her
shoulder. When he first mentions her, he says, “Never saw a little kid so
pretty and smart in your entire life”. This is a hyperbole, as he’s trying to
convince us, it’s important that we like her because he genuinely likes her. It
appears slightly insecure however as he repeats it a lot of times. She is his
companion; it doesn’t matter about the age difference, there is a true
meaningful bond between them. She trusts him and understands him, “took
out my red hunting hat and put it on my head”. This is the moment that he
has the carousel epiphany as he realises that one day she is going to grow
up. The carousel represents how they are all “trying to grab for the gold ring”
but it’s risky.
A psychoanalytical reading is that the novel is about Holden coming to terms
with sexual desire (failure to get it) whilst idealising innocence. He talks
about it, “they better for sex and all?” He even comes to contact with
possible ‘candidates’; Sunny is a prostitute, he’s uncomfortable and out of his
depth, “I felt much more depressed than sexy”. He is role playing as an older
man trying to master sex and enter adult relations, “I figured if she was a
prostitute and all, I could get in some practise”.
Faith Cavendish is at first “a real tigress” but afterwards “she gets friendly as
hell” after finding out that he’s from Princeton. She becomes more feminine
and suave. He appears to be conniving “Well, approximately”, he doesn’t tell
her the truth about getting kicked out. It’s about altering behaviour, she puts
on “an English accent” but also uses a New-York accent “Mr Cawffle” in her
attempt to be mature and posh. In contrast, he attempts to be masculine and
mature “suave as hell”. She says that she needs her beauty sleep, “you know
how it is”. This suggests that she’s beautiful. She’s complimentary and
sensitive, “you’re very sweet”. She puts on a polite act, “like awfully to get
together”.

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