The idea of accepting her decline of hierarchy embodies the inner struggles of still existing as a woman in societal times of a xenophobic based era. Therefore, such surrender reflects the struggles that even at one point; invincible beings are still susceptible to as a result of gender-affiliated norms.
She was developed to make the reader believe she would leave Tom for Gatsby. As a reader, we believed her happiness and love for Gatsby was more important than her security and that she would desire this happiness over big cars, mansions and popularity. As a character, she is a believable liar.
She was built that way to entertain the reader and push the boundaries. Other virtues, such as morality, are sometimes more important than the truth.
To explain these instances Lynch breaks down good into two basic ways something can be considered good, good all things considered, and prima facie good Lynch Prima facie good is good when all things are equal, this is the category that truth falls under according to Lynch. An example of prima facie good, is the belief that all truths should be pursued, this belief is normally good unless it would require the death of millions or other moral issues.
In this case morality trumps the pursuit of truth. Not just with colors, but with objects and even certain people as well. However, the various hues and combinations of color bring the most depth and complexity to the novel.
The use of the color white denotes perfection and pristineness while it also represents imperfection and corruption. The use of green represents ambition, while also illustrating the tumultuous flaws within Gatsby that fuel this ambition. To read some excellent detailed analysis of how to compare Jordan to Myrtle or Daisy, check out our article on comparing and contrasting the novel's characters.
Make sure to move beyond the obvious when writing about Jordan —yes, she has a job while Daisy and Myrtle are both married, but what else makes her stand out? Pay special attention to how Jordan is described versus Daisy, Jordan's dialogue, and Jordan's focus—it's clear that Jordan is often focused outward, observing other characters and their interactions, while Daisy tends to be turned inward, with her own emotions. Despite the progress in women's rights made in the early twentieth century, including the right to vote won in , most women, especially wealthy women, were expected to marry, have children, and stay at home.
Daisy sticks to this prescribed societal role by marrying and having a child. But Jordan plays golf professionally, "runs around the country" and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to marry 1.
In short, on the surface, it appears that Daisy is a traditionalist while Jordan is expanding the possibilities of a woman's life. However, Daisy and Jordan aren't exactly a straightforward housewife and career woman duo. First of all, Daisy is quite removed from her role as a mother, since her daughter Pammy is mostly raised by a maid.
She also seriously contemplates leaving Tom during the novel. Meanwhile, Jordan tells Nick at the end of the novel she's engaged. Whether or not this is true, it suggests that Jordan will certainly get married one day, and that her current golf career is just a temporary diversion, not a permanent independent lifestyle.
Indeed, both Daisy and Jordan are also both at the mercy of their families : Daisy derives all of her wealth and power from Tom, while Jordan is beholden to her old aunt for money. They don't actually have much control over their own wealth and would lose everything if they went too far out of line. So while Daisy and Jordan both typify a very showy lifestyle that looks liberated—being "flappers," having sex, drinking in public which before the s was seen as a highly indecent thing for a woman to do , playing golf professionally in Jordan's case—they in fact are still thoroughly constrained by the limited options women had in the s in terms of making their own lives.
Jordan briefly narrates in Chapter 4. How is Jordan's narration different from Nick's? Why rely on her narration at all? What would the novel be like from her point of view? Jordan's narration is definitely distinct from Nick's. Her diction is a bit sharper and she has more blatantly judgmental asides , calling Daisy "drunk as a monkey" 4.
She also uses more vivid imagery: the red, white, and blue banners on the houses flapping "tut-tut-tut-tut" in a "disapproving way" 4. Her choice of words is a pretty good insight into her character and how sharply observant she is!
So why is there a section narrated by Jordan at all? Perhaps Nick leans on Jordan because he feels unqualified to talk about Daisy's past. After all, aside from their conversation in Chapter 1, Nick doesn't have close conversations with Daisy. But since Nick gets to know Gatsby through several close conversations, he feels comfortable telling about Gatsby's past.
You also get the sense he's washing his hands of whatever Jordan reveals about Daisy. He doesn't fully trust in the details or really care about Daisy's story, using it only as a means of understanding Gatsby. It's also notable that Nick uses Michealis's point of view to talk about the aftermath of Myrtle's death, which in a similar manner suggests he feels less connected to the Wilsons than he does to Gatsby.
The novel from Jordan's point of view would likely be much less sentimental when it comes to Gatsby. Nick obviously idealizes him by the end while Jordan doesn't seem to see him as anything more than a source of fun and intrigue.
We would also likely get a much better sense of Daisy's motivations and thought process throughout the novel, something we barely get access to with Nick's narration. Daisy's motto: if you don't have anything nice to say, come and sit by me. Extra Advice: Want to get into the best college you can?
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These are points that don't come up as often in essay topics or study guides, so give them a look if you're still wondering about Jordan's feelings and motivations!
Daisy professes her feelings to not one but two men in Chapter 7, and Myrtle makes her attraction to Tom Buchanan clear. Jordan, in contrast, is not one to make her feelings so plainly known, so it's not surprising that many students wonder if she even likes Nick at all. Like Gatsby, Jordan seems drawn to Nick because he presents himself as a stable, honest, and grounded personality in the midst of many larger-than-life, overbearing types. She even says that she's drawn to him because he's cautious.
There's also a part in the book where Nick says that Jordan tends to prefer being with people she can dominate or pull one over on, and Nick does seem to rely on her for emotional strength at some points for example in the car when he's thinking about turning Nick and Jordan break up right at the moment when she can't control his actions —can't make him go into the house, can't make him apologize for ignoring her.
By the end of the book, Jordan does admit that she was rather thrown by the break-up, suggesting she came to have somewhat deeper feelings for him. In fact, their break-up scene is worth looking at in full to really answer this question:. Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride. She didn't answer. Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away.
She also criticizes Nick for mischaracterizing himself as honest and straightforward when he dispatched her pretty coldly over the phone. In short, we can tell she has definitely been thinking their short relationship over and was shocked and hurt by how abruptly things ended.
In Chapter 3, Jordan attends one of Gatsby's parties and is called upstairs to speak with him. We can infer that Gatsby has heard she is staying with Daisy Buchanan, and calls her up so he can find out more about Daisy.
In that conversation, Gatsby confesses to Jordan that he's in love with Daisy and wants to try and see her again. Well, for one thing, Jordan's nosy, and likes to be in the middle of things. She tells Nick about Tom's affair in Chapter 1 and also tells him all about Daisy's past in Chapter 4, and seems to love being a source of information and gossip. However, you could also argue that, as someone with knowledge of Gatsby and Daisy's original relationship, Jordan knows how devastated Daisy was when she got a letter from Gatsby, feels compelled to help the pair reunite.
Finally, Jordan might also see it as an opportunity to expose Daisy as much less virtuous as she comes off. Jordan is consistently the only character who recognizes Daisy as less-than-perfect, as evidenced in her remarks about Daisy in Chapter 4 "Daisy was popular in Chicago, as you know.
They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely spotless reputation. Perhaps because she doesn't drink.
Oh, and her body has " demands," which, to us, sounds a lot like sex. Golf, sex, and dishonesty: Jordan may come from the same world as Daisy, but she's a modern woman, with "slender golden arm[s]" 3. Golden arms? Code for tan. Code for not white. And white means pure. Check out our " Symbols " section for more on color in The Great Gatsby. Jordan may not make a rich, brilliant match like Daisy, but we get the feeling she's going to have a much more successful life.
Maybe it won't be happy—we're pretty sure no one in this novel gets to be happy—but she's going to make it in the modern world. In fact, she might be the only one who doesn't end up retreating back West. So what does Nick see in her, anyway? One of the first things she says to him is that she "hates careless people" 3.
Nick hates careless people, too. It's a match made in heaven. And Jordan has a little bit of the same glamour that Daisy does; when he's thinking about breaking up with his Chicago girlfriend, he thinks about how that girlfriend gets a little sweaty when she plays tennis.
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