During the 1920's the view on women began to change. Before, men were thought to be more superior to women. However in F.Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby the three main characters, Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle, are modern women. Although modern, they are portrayed as dishonest and unflattering. In The Great Gatsby Daisy Buchanan is portrayed as shallow, ditzy, and foolish. Daisy cares about her appearance and wealth more than anything. She married Tom Buchanan for his wealth and his rank within the social class. Before she married Tom, she was in love with Gatsby. She promised Gatsby when he got back from war they would get married, but she did otherwise. Tom is having an affair with Myrtle, and Daisy acts clueless to the fact that he is constantly adulterous. When she sees Gatsby and how wealthy he has become she falls for him all over again. This proves that she only married Tom for his money. "I did love him once " but I loved you too. "(Fitzgerald 261) She is confused as to which one she wants. In chapter 7 she chooses Tom over Gatsby. She lets Gatsby take blame over killing Myrtle which in the end gets Gatsby killed.
Jordan Baker is different from the other girls in the novel and most women of the 1920s. Jordan is portrayed as hard, independent, and confident. She does not put all her time into a relationship like the other girls. Instead, her time is consumed of golfing. "she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round " (Fitzgerald 57) Nick notices that she bends the truth not only to get ahead in golf, but to get ahead in life. She loves getting attention from men, but is not interested in a relationship. When she is with Nick she feels like she can be herself and talk to him about anything. Jordan loves big parties. "And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy. " (Fitzgerald 54) In smaller parties everyone is forced to pay attention to every detail, rather in larger parties one could do something without going noticed.
