Considered to be one of the most noteworthy films of all time is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. This film not only paints us a picture of American culture and society in the 1920s, but also is relatable to modern day America by featuring the American Dream. There are many elements put together in this film to represent what the American society in the 1920s looks like. Looking at this film through a feminist view reveals many conflicts between men and women during this period of time. The controlling of women by men in this film is very obvious. Men remained superior throughout the 1920s despite women on the come up from given the right to vote. In regard to looking at The Great Gatsby with a feminist lens, it is important to look at the most evident focal points that include the format and content of the film, gender roles, and masculinity.
First to understand the period of time in the film, analyzing the form and content of the film is crucial. To begin, The Great Gatsby took place in New York during the summer of 1922. This period can also be called the Roaring 20s. The three focal location settings in the film from the east coast include Long Island, Manhattan, and The Valley of Ashes (an industrial part of Queens). To break it down even further, Manhattan can be split up into two specific locations; Tom and Myrtle’s apartment and a suit in a hotel. Long Island can be broken into two extremely wealthy towns that face each other across the bay. These towns are known as East Egg and West Egg. East Egg is where older and more established families live, families that come from old money, where the Buchanan’s live. East Egg is where families from “new money” establish themselves, where Jay Gatsby and Nick Callaway live. West Egg is representative of Gatsby’s extravagant mansion and Nick Callaway’s small rented house next door to Gatsby. In East Egg remains Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s mansion. Very rich people live in both East and West Egg, the difference between these two locations must be the kind of rich people that occupy these areas. East Egg is the land for old money, money that is inherited by people that remain the upper class of society. West Egg is for the self-made rich people who recently became rich but were originally born into a working-class family. This difference between these locations can conclude that the people from East Egg look down upon people in the West Egg to reassure their dominance and superiority. The Valley of Ashes in Queens setting is mainly George Wilson’s garage and the road that runs next to it, connecting Manhattan to Long Island.
The Great Gatsby takes place during the Roaring 20s which makes its setting more complex. The period of the 1920s were just after the end of World War 1 making it the post-war period in America because of the growing economy due to America’s involvement in the war. During the 1920s the prohibition of alcohol was put into effect making the recreational use of alcohol illegal. So, anytime alcohol use is showed in the film it is illegal. Not to mention, Gatsby’s wealth derived from him being a bootlegger, a person who illegally sells alcohol. Also, during the 1920s women had the right to vote, showing how the interaction between relationships with men and women in the film had or had not changed. The elaborate pillars of this era are what contributes to the form and structure of the film.
Paired with the form and setting of the film includes the content of The Great Gatsby. The film’s core theme is about obtaining a high status on the social ladder, how is it done, and how greatly influenced the social ladder is by gender. Although the story is very much driven by the characters, the narrator is only a witness sharing his side of story, there is no real antagonist. The characters are suggested not to be portraying real people, but rather a means of representing social life during this time. The film’s content is based upon the actions of the characters and their contribution to the plot. The main characters include Nick Callaway, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Jordan Baker. Nick Callaway best represents the outsider who moves to New York to learn the bond business after serving in WW1. Nick serves as a confidant for many of the characters and their secrets. After moving to West Egg, he befriends Jay Gatsby, who he thinks of as his estranged next-door neighbor. Being the cousin of Daisy, he works with Jay to rekindle Daisy and jay’s past relationship. The perception of the film is seen through Nick’s eyes representing him to be an outsider looking in. Tom Buchanan is Daisy’s extremely wealthy husband. Coming from a family of high social class and old money, Tom is an arrogant hypocrite whose social behaviors are built upon racism as well as sexism. He uses his power to control every aspect of Daisy’s life. He gives no care in the world about his affair with Myrtle, but when h suspects an affair between Daisy and Jay he becomes furious and demands a confrontation. Daisy Buchanan is the wife of Tom Buchanan, the cousin of Nick Callaway, and the women Jay Gatsby loves. As a young woman before the war, she met Jay Gatsby and fell in love. She promised to wait for Gatsby until after the war, but feeling the need for love, she marries the wealthy and powerful Tom Buchanan. Now living across the bay from Jay with Tom, her feelings for Jay begin to submerge as she masks her pain from Tom’s un-loyal behaviors. Jay Gatsby is the wealthy young man who lives in a mansion in West Egg. He was famous for his huge parties he would throw on the weekends, but no one knew who he was, where he came from who how his wealth came about. It is learned throughout the film that Jay worked for millionaires as a boy which motivated him to work for an extravagant lifestyle. While training to be an officer in the war, Jay falls in love with Daisy, but over time loses her. Jay’s wealth comes from criminal activity, as he was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought was good enough to win Daisy back. Jordan Baker who was Daisy’s friend and a single woman, represents the “new woman” of the 1920s. This “new woman” depicts the changing of women through the receiving the freedom to vote and be independent from men. Although all of these characters play different roles in the film, together they all demonstrate different roles in society during the Roaring 20s.
Second, gender roles are depicted in The Great Gatsby in many different ways. Each of the social groups in the film are defined by at least one person of each sex. When comparing Daisy and Tom Buchanan as well as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson, the restrictions, freedoms, and expectations put on each of the characters based on their sex becomes evident when contrasting these individuals. The film seems to promote traditional gender roles, the male and female characters, swaying away from any possible variations. The women, Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the wives of some of the main characters of the film, stay at home and do nothing but look pretty. They are shown to live their life to fulfill the needs of their husbands rather than creating a personal life for themselves. Jordan the single women in the film, develops a career as a pro golf player to support herself. She represents a rebel in the film due to the fact that she strays away from a traditional married status during this time period. Although they may play different roles, all three of these women use their looks to draw in men’s attention. This is an old feature of women in general but came more into play in the 1920s as women were trying to gain independence in fighting for more rights. The superior men in the film which include Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, show dominance not only towards women but towards each other as well. Tom shows his dominance over daisy through his words and actions. An example of this may include how throughout the movie Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson believing he has impunity of these actions against his relationship with Daisy. He shows this by answering phone calls from Myrtle at his own home while in the middle of dinner with Daisy and by inviting Nick Callaway (Daisy’s cousin) to meet Myrtle with him in the city. Daisy is aware of what is going on but feels trapped inside Tom’s dominance and superiority over her. Tom’s ego denies Daisy of her humanity and depicts her as more of an object and trophy of his wealth and power. Once Tom realizes the history between Daisy and Jay, he re-establishes he dominance and becomes very territorial over Daisy, creating conflict between himself and Jay. The gender role difference in showing the dominance over women in the film are very evident and show the conflicts between men and women during the 1920s.
Third, masculinity is portrayed directly through one of the main characters, Tom Buchanan.