Jim Robinson
Dr. Strickland
English 234
3 May 2007
Modernity and Gender-Power Relations
The rise of modernity in general is a time of radical change in American
history. Changes were occurring in the economy, social order, and culture. This
was a time where morals began to change, and the personification of the American
dream began to shift with them. Of course, with these shifts came changes in the
power structures and wealth distributions. Average people were able to make
leaps and bounds to make it “big” in the world. Among the shift in these power
relations were women’s struggles as well. During the shift in power, women
began to take control of the situation as well. Often women were given more
chances for independence.
All of these changes are represented in the literature of the time period. A
few examples that are of significance are ranging from The Great Gatsby, by
Fitzgerald, Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Hurston, and The Big Money, by Jon
Dos Passos. All of these novels present very interesting takes on the struggle
of gender relations during this period of modernity.
With the changes in society, this of course impacted the idealistic notion of
the American dream. However, even inside the American Dream there are power
struggles between the genders. Females begin to grow in power and influence, as
demonstrated in all of these stories.
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However, each of the stories has shown the perversion of the dream, and how it
is as much of a destructive force as it is a positive force. The Great Gatsby
in particular focuses on how the American dream can destroy a man on the
inside. The character of Gatsby is of course, the quintessential
personification of the American Dream. Here a boy of humble beginnings strives
for the better portion of his adult life to make it to the top. He reaches the
point of corrupting his very soul through criminal activities and moral
ambiguities just to achieve this place in the higher society; all to impress a
woman. If all of his actions are strictly to win the love of a single female,
it truly shows how much power she has.
Charley Anderson follows suit almost exactly in The Big Money. Intent on making
it rich, he uses and discards people as if they were simply poker chips in his
big game of life. Both of these characters are struggling to find a place in
the realm of higher American society, and once they reach it, they still do not
find happiness. Also in The Big Money, Mary French and Margo Dowling quest
through their lives to find meaning and happiness. Mary French uses her natural
born wealth to help people, while Margo Dowling uses her natural born beauty to
take advantage of others. In the end of the novel, it is clear that although
Mary French led the most difficult life, she came out ahead.
Finally, there is Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. In this novel, she
achieves her dreams. She finds the love she wishes, and loses it. However,
unlike the other characters she grows because of the experience. This is also
an important point on the power struggle. The quintessential males’ characters
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all “devolve,” while only the female characters seem to grow.
The Great Gatsby, being the first on our list, shows perhaps the most striking
change in power relations between men and women during modernity. In this
novel, the lead female role is Daisy Buchanan. As a character, she represents
some of the worst traits one could imagine. She is beautiful and charming, but
also fickle, shallow, and sardonic. She is in love with power, ease, and money.
In fact, she is more in love with money and power than her own daughter. Her
conversations always seem to revolve around money and rarely ever even bothers
to mention her daughter; never discussing her and treating her as an
afterthought.
This is further exemplified when Daisy reveals her true nature in the final
events of the novel. When given a choice between love and wealth, as
personified by Gatsby, or power and wealth, as personified by Tom, she chooses
Tom. She also allows Gatsby for taking the blame for killing Myrtle Wilson,
even though she was the one who accidentally did so. To add insult to injury,
she did not attend Gatsby’s funeral either. Instead she moved away with Tom
with no forwarding address.
With this information in mind, it is very easy to see how Daisy can represent
the growing change in gender relations. She commands the most power in the
novel. The main characters of the book fight for her love, and yet, no
importance is actually placed upon what she wants for herself. To the males,
she is looked at strictly as an object. She has, by far, the most power in the
entire novel. Almost every action by Gatsby and Tom revolves around her
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approval. With just a look or a hint of affection, she is able to obtain from
Gatsby what she desires, as well as from Tom.
It is of a curious nature however; she is portrayed as a cruel and heartless
person. It can be seen a serious commentary on the altering of the human
condition during modernity. If the central power figure in the novel is a cold
and heartless abomination, it not only tells about the destruction of the
American dream and what is valued, but it also shows how the idea of a the
focus of gender has shifted. While Daisy is still an item to be sought over, to
be earned, she has power. She is regarded as a jewel, but as we all know, jewels
have great value.
This can also be seen as a very declarative statement about the rising power of
women in society in general. Women have always had a tight control however. As
primary household caretakers and child raisers, they have always influenced out
country in significant ways. The works of this novel show that this power is
growing outside of such a narrow scope however. Even Myrtle and Jordan
influence the men in the novel. Jordan controls Nick to a very limited extent,
and Myrtle’s death drives George to insane murder.
The Big Money portrays an entire different look upon the ideas of femininity.
The two female roles, Mary French and Margo Dowling, each take very different
views on life and goals.
Mary French is a girl born into a wealthy family. She sees her mother’s
wasteful habits and decides that she wants to contribute and make the world a
better place through activism and public relations. She gives up her parent’s
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money and tries to make a difference. Here we are presented with a very
different type of gender role than Daisy Buchanan. This proactive figure is
quite selfless in nature and in the end really does succeed in doing some good
in the world.
Her relationships with men do not border on them being fanatical. However, men
try to take advantage of her every chance that they get. Mary French is
generally aware of these plots and does not allow them to succeed. This is such
a foreign concept from Daisy Buchanan that the parallels are indeed hard to
find. However, one thing they do have in common is the power that they control.
In Mary’s perspective, her power generally derives from her selfless attitude,
perseverance, and wit. This is a very different type of power than crushing
money and wealth. In a way, this type of power truly shows the type of social
gender changes present. Mary, being a normal citizen by choice, is able to take
care of herself and help others.
Margo Dowling is a different story. Being born into a poor home, she had only
her incredible beauty to help her. In a dissimilar way to Mary, she uses this
to her advantage. She cons men with her beauty into giving her money and takes
advantage of them. However, she is also punished by her husband and coned into
going to his home country where she lives a miserable life.
In this sense, Margo’s power is almost false. She believes that she is able to
get her way through the use of her sex appeal only. She even gets money from
Charley Anderson. While she is able to take advantage of some men, men also see
her as nothing more than a sex object, unlike Mary who eventually manages to
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actually do some good. Margo never pleases anyone but herself, and is not
rewarded for it.
Finally, there is Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie’s story is
radically different from the previous stories of females presented thus far.
Her story is one of a quest for a secure sense of independence. While her
journey is aided by male partners along the way, it is not a search for a man.
This is especially true at the end of the book. Janie’s decision to save
herself rather than yield her life up to the crazy Tea Cake points to her
finally finding her sense of self.
With this final piece of literature, we get to see the ultimate in the
modernity gender power struggle. Janie not only has power over men by the end
of the book, but she also has the power over herself. She is able to think for
herself and be independent without hesitation. She has overcome the power
inflicted to her by Logan, Jody, and finally the deranged Tea Cake. She has
more power than all of the other feminine character of the other modernity
novels put together.
Not only is this a powerful example of the shift in gender roles, but also a
shift in power for women in general. Women are no longer confined strictly to
their husbands for identity. Women are allowed to form their own identity and
voices. The power over others is one thing, but the power to understand
yourself is one far superior.
As you can see, taken individually these stories all share common traits when
dealing with the theme of growth and maturity. However, the stories as a group
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also take an interesting look at the topic. Character analysis is key when
looking for the messages of a story. In regards to the analysis itself, there
are two growing characters, and two stationary characters. Janie and Mary
French, the two growing characters, have two big similarities: they are both
able to find power without resorting to conning others either through beauty or
money, and the fact that they truly understand what it right. Janie learns this
through finding her independence; Mary learns this through philanthropy, hard
will, and a keen mind. These stories show that these two traits are the most
important and necessary ones needed to truly assert power. Only when seen as a
group can the repetition of qualifying characteristics be made.
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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 2004.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. NY: Harper Collins
Publishing, 2000.
Pasos, John Dos. The Big Money. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.