Women and
Sympathy
Objectives
Know how women are presented in ‘The Great Gstsby’
Be able to explore a view in depth using relevant textual support
Undertstand how to plan and structure a response to section A (Part
b) of the exam
Snog, Marry, Avoid*
*Completely
metaphorical
The Question
What do you think
about the view that
there are no women in
‘The Great Gatsby’ with
whom the reader can
sympathise?
Task
• Each of you will be given an undercover brief
• DO NOT SHOW / DISCUSS THIS WITH ANYONE
ELSE – UNDERCOVER = SECRET.
• You have 10 mins to complete your task – one
clear point and evidence to back this up is
fine.
• You will then need to put this on a post it note
and pass it to the Chief (me)
A Way In…
• Think about your character in the
following ways:
– Destination
– Nick’s interpretation of the character –
bias?
– Their actions and motivation
– How they are physically portrayed
– The context of the novel
– How they influence other characters
Pro-Myrtle
• She has dreams and aspirations – she doesn’t
want to live on the edge of society forever “on
the edge of the wasteland”
• Her husband is un-intelligent, meek “like he
was a ghost” can’t give her what she needs
• In ch7 her husband locks her up and is violent
• She is stuck in a dismal life in the metaphorical
fallout of the Jazz Age
• Has been stuck in this situation with a hapless,
spineless husband for the past 10 years
Pro-Myrtle
• She sees Tom as her way out
• Her death is a sad and violent event – waste of
life.
• She wants to be happy and fulfil her dreams.
• Victim of consumerism – she cannot be
expected to live in the Valley of the Ashes
dreaming her life away.
• She is a pawn in the careless games of the
rich; talking the brunt of the consequences of
their games.
Anti-Myrtle
• She comes across as very flirtatous ‘She
carried her flesh sensuously’; ‘wet her lips’;
‘Looking at him flush in the eye’
• It is hard to sympathise with her because she’s
happy to be treated like a dog by Tom to get
ahead in the world
• She is cheating on her husband who clearly
loves her.
• She doesn’t want to stay poor so she uses Tom
– power hungry.
Anti-Myrtle
• She is selfish – only cares about herself.
• Treats George badly “spoke to her husband in
a soft, coarse voice.”
• Using Tom as an escape route – only cares
about money and wealth
• She doesn’t have good motives and is willing
to cheat to get what she wants
Pro-Daisy
• Submissive – doesn’t question or fight against
Tom when she know he has another woman
• Men at the time wanted wives like this
• Trapped – victim of her class. Has to keep up
appearances in a loveless marriage.
• Physically potrayed as sweet, pure, innocent
“her white dress”, “rippling and fluttering”,
“charming little laugh”
Pro-Daisy
• Car accident: she was in a a vulnerable state had been drinking all afternoon
• She just wants to be happy / content
• Her husband is having an affair
• She is aware of what is happening but is
powerless to do anything about it.
• Tom is the dominant one in the relationship
Anti-Daisy
• Nick’s descriptions of her are bias – she is
romanticised
• She is lazy and has no motivation –
symptomatic of her class
• Cheats on her husband
• She is fickle – loved Gatsby but couldn’t be
bothered to wait
• Weak and dependent
• Stereotypical – fulfills a gender role but never
Anti-Daisy
• Terrible influence on Gatsby – her careless
actions result in his death
• She is childish and lazy – no motivation, never
had to work hard to achieve anything,
everything been given to her and she just
accepts it.
• She is self-consumed – does not care about
anyone else other than herself
• She cheats – says she loves two men.
Pro-Jordan
• She’s over-shadowed constantly by Daisy
• She is very judged – liar, cheat – Nick’s biased
opinion.
• She has little choice contextually – female
character – independent (un-married, against
expectations of society)
• She is judged and then abandoned by Nick
• Her appearance makes her seem strong and
independent
Pro-Jordan
• She is loyal and can be relied on
• In ch7 when Nick is fed up of everyone he says
suddenly “that included Jordan too” In the
novel she has been Nick’s love interest and he
just takes everything out on her.
Anti-Jordan
• She likes to gossip “Don’t talk. I want to hear
what happens”
• She listens to all the gossip and wants to know
what’s going on, even if it’s about her friends.
She can’t be trusted – she is dishonest and
tries to fit in with society
• Nick sees her as careless – representative of
the rich – cheats and doesn’t care about the
consequences.
Plenary
• From what we have learnt today
about the three women characters
complete a 5 min essay plan to help
you write a response.
• Look at the Band 6 mark scheme to
help you complete the boxes
• 5 mins – GO
• Homework is to complete the essay
task – 30 mins