Paper 2 and Cover Letter
Ms. Mintler
I chose this topic because I believe women are not properly represented without bias in The Great Gatsby. Therefore, the novel Beautiful Little Fools has a refreshing and, in my opinion, more accurate portrayal of not just the women in the original novel but of women as a whole. I noticed quite a few differences from The Great Gatsby and Beautiful Little Fools such as the narrations of both novels. Allowing the women to narrate gives them voice and a chance to be heard.
The challenges I had writing this paper, I will say I feel like there wasn’t too much challenge because they are both so noticeably different. Though one challenge I had was depicting catherines difference in both books just because in The Great Gatsby, she didn’t have a prominent part. I also had trouble organizing my argument in this paper, whether I organize it by each woman or in order of the books kind of.
My motive for this argument is that I believe women should be represented correctly in literature. Though for the time period this is how women were seen, it did not give the reader an accurate depiction of the women. Readers should care about this argument so we can learn as a society how to portray women in literature correctly and with respect. I think the stakes are women’s feelings, and if they are understood or given the time of day that men are in literature.
My argument in the differences of portrayal and how The Great Gatsby does not portray the women well is reinforced by many quotes in the novels. Such as “Men could reinvent themselves. But women? We were supposed to be content with the roles we were given.” This is in Beautiful Little Fools by Jordan Baker. I believe this very accurately represents the social dynamic and expectations of women. In The Great Gatsby men often saw women as more of objects rather than people. Stated by Tom, “And I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.” This shows how women are seen as property as well as the possessiveness of Tom.
I can’t directly think of any assignments that most helped me just because I kind of start writing and usually continue until I am finished with the paper. But I do think Prelims and group work have helped me to hear different ideas and to put some of my thoughts into writing. My essay has definitely evolved due to the amount of detail I add each revision and as more revision assignments go on, I add more quotes directly from the novels and tie it back to specifics.
A conclusion I would leave readers with is that women have been misportrayed in literature for generations in many novels. I think moving forward should be an important part in writing to make sure we are portraying all individuals with the correct depth and understanding.
As I have written this paper and as the second one of the class. I have realized that I prefer the argumentative writing style far more than others I have written in the past. Another thing I have learned is that having multiple “checkpoints” while writing a paper, as much of a pain it may seem; has been helpful for me to revise and create a better paper. The most helpful I believe has been your feedback and your criticism of my papers. I often miss details that I need to incorporate or the stupidest things because when I begin writing I just put all of my thoughts in the paper and often miss important pieces.
When we read novels, especially ones of older eras, we may not think about the possible outdated portrayals of female characters. Not all may be written that way but some I believe call for a bit of reworking or atleast examination. The Great Gatsby for example, has bias from the narrator Nick as he is a man in the 1920s, for example “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” he says this very detached and nonchalantly as he is not shocked this happened and doesn’t care that Myrtle was hit. His view of the female characters is not entirely accurate to the women themselves. The women, if they could give their side, have lots of other perspectives of their story to tell which is what Beautiful Little Fools is able to give us.
In the Great Gatsby we only see Daisy, Myrtle, Catherine and Jordan through Nick’s pov which doesn’t really allow us as readers to get to know their true characters. The way Nick portrays them is as Daisy being selfish, Jordan being a liar and Myrtle being desperate. It never really occurred to me that his perspective of the women could be very false which obstructed us getting to know them. I like Beautiful Little Fools because we actually got to hear from the women themselves as it is narrated now by the individual women rather than a mostly biased man. We are given more insight into Daisy for example and her struggles with motherhood and being married, she has her own dreams but is stuck. As well as seeing that Myrtle was just trying to find a better life for herself after hearing from her sister Catherine and Jordan wasn’t as much a liar as portrayed by Nick.
The Great Gatsby is off the bat seen as a story about wealth, love, and what the American Dream is supposed to look like. What is not really noticed is the women, Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson struggling to conform to society’s standards. They are mostly shown through the eyes of Nick, a man. In a refreshing portrayal in my opinion, Beautiful Little Fools gives an updated and deserved retelling of these women’s stories and gives them their own voices, challenges and dreams. What better way than to have the women tell their own perspectives and lives. With Beautiful Little Fools, we get to fully understand their thoughts and hardships, instead of it through the lens of men and how women were socially portrayed in the 1900s. This shift is important because it helps us see how these women actually felt about society’s expectations and how they navigated the struggle that limitations of the era brought upon women. By expanding these characters, in Beautiful Little Fools the women in The Great Gatsby were given in my view, life and a chance to be seen as people which is more than just side characters in Gatsby’s story.
Beautiful Little Fools retells Daisy in her own light and explains her decision making throughout her life, which The Great Gatsby fails to do. The Great Gatsby portrays Daisy as an object like when Nick says “It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy—it increased her value in his eyes.” Leaving out parts of her character and struggles she went through earlier on in life and in TGG. Nick often talks of his dislike of his cousin as well. Gatsby sees her as a prize to be won. In Beautiful Little Fools, Daisy is given her own perspective, such as her being able to tell about the pressure she is under not just as a woman but within her social class along with being the perfect wife and mother. BLF goes in depth about why she married Tom in the first place. Elaborating on the little options women in the 20s had. Daisy was pressured to marry a wealthy man and maintain her family’s social status. She cannot wait for Gatsby as he goes off to war while Gatsby also lacks the social stability she needs immediately. The book also allows for her directly to bring to light her feelings of being trapped in her marriage which was never shown in TGG as all views of her were from the men. Overall, The Great Gatsby missed on the personality of Daisy; and Nick having a biased view of her. Beautiful Little Fools reveals her reasons to stay with Tom and forfeit love is due to her constraints of what little choices she is forced to believe to have. The decision is just about money or status.. This is why Daisy “had” to marry the “smarter” choice because of family pressure as she was tasked with furthering their standing and for her to continue a financially rich life.
Beautiful Little Fools expands Myrtle’s character. She is not only Tom’s mistress, she is given the spotlight where we are able to learn about her past and her reasons for where she has gotten in life. The Great Gatsby portrays her as more selfish, as well as treating her like an object or a spectacle as Nick references in this statement, “carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can.” Nick was referring to Myrtle and this objectifies her as the only thing he is focusing on is her chest. In my opinion she is portrayed this way by the descriptions of her social climbing and often materialism. She had an attitude towards her husband, like these interactions, “She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye.” At times she may have had her reasons, but some may see that as ungrateful. Her story is important because it changes the whole portrayal of her from at least me seeing her as foolish for “chasing wealth” to understanding that she was just trying to escape a difficult life. Her story sheds light and depth into the ways class and gender limited women’s options throughout the early 1900s. Overall she is represented as a woman in the process of trying to escape the constraints of her lower and in the book, “unfortunate” class. She is having an affair with Tom, who she considers her last opportunity for wealth and luxury. But Myrtle is overall powerless, with little options that society has for her. Her envy for that better life just ends up in her tragic death when Daisy ultimately killed her in an unfortunate accident.
Jordan is given lots better depth and understanding in Beautiful Little Fools by showing the readers her struggles as a female athlete in a male dominated environment as well as her dreams and efforts of running her own life against the constraints of society. Unlike In The Great Gatsby where she was mainly mentioned as a mysterious tough woman and a love interest. As a woman, Jordan was expected to be proper and marry a man. As brought to light in Beautiful Little Fools, she is still attracted to men, as a queer woman in this time it is sadly controversial in the restrictive norms of society. In the time period and very much The Great Gatsby oftentimes she was seen for her appearance and occupation rather than who she is, “She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet.” This is very close minded of Nick and disrespectful of how he introduces her like an object in my opinion. Unlike in The Great Gatsby she is “seen” in Beautiful Little Fools, not just for her body as said above, she is able to tell of her secret she must keep of being a queer woman. In contrast to the Beautiful Little Fools, The Great Gatsby focuses on how Nick views her for instance… “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness…” Nick’s view of her being dishonest is the notion that is run throughout. As a whole, Beautiful Little Fools provides Jordan the chance to reveal her struggles of being a queer woman in the time and trying to make a living and life for herself rather than running to a man for it as she was expected to do. Both Novels are very different in the portrayal of Jordan, Beautiful Little Fools gives her a chance to explain who she is as a person.
Beautiful Little Fools brings Catherine to life as a character, The Great Gatsby brings her in briefly while Beautiful Little Fools gives her a chance to live. She was seen as neutral towards Myrtle’s affair with Tom in her brief appearance in The Great Gatsby. She was actually genuinely concerned for what Myrtle was getting involved in. After her death, Catherine was grieving. Stated in Beautiful Little Fools, “Myrtle wasn’t just some mistress. She was my sister. She was a person.” Though Myrtle’s focus on wealth began to drive a wedge between the women. Catherine still cared for her sister and was worried as shown in Beautiful Little Fools. Catherine also took it upon herself to try and grow her wealth independently rather than through a man. In Beautiful Little Fools we see how she navigates the struggle of her place in society while trying to grow her finances. Especially after Myrtle’s death, Catherine is very intuitive and will not settle with the initial sequence of events surrounding Myrtle’s death. She was finally given time to share her struggles, and drive that she has in Beautiful Little Fools. She is shown to have her own thoughts rather than in The Great Gatsby where she gave a little comment, which I dont think really showcased her concern and views on the circumstances.
Beautiful Little Fools’s different perspectives and focuses on the characters are very important because it at least for me showed the difference in narration matter. With Nick narrating, I viewed Daisy and Myrtle in a different and more negative light. But in Beautiful Little Fools, I understand more of their choices. The women were real people with their own dreams, and suffering. The contradiction of these books helps us to realize the struggle and constraints women had to endure in the 1920s. I think this gives us the opportunity to reconsider how women in books, real life or not, are given opportunities and portrayed. Beautiful Little Fools offers a fresh image and a redemption like one of the women from The Great Gatsby. It gives way I believe for us to question the way women are seen in today’s society and hopefully it has evolved from how the time of the Great Gatsby saw women.