How Is Jordan Oppressed In The Great Gatsby

Powerless and Oppressed
Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an American author, journalist, lecturer, and social activist, once said, “When men are oppressed, it's a tragedy. When women are oppressed, it's tradition”. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, women are degraded in comparison to males in the 1920’s. In the novel, society expects women to get married, have kids and be loyal wives to their deceiving husbands, which demeans women by making them seem almost useless to an advancing society. Jordan Baker is unlike the rest of the female characters in the novel. Jordan chooses to remain unmarried and keep the minimal power she has in the world during the 1920’s. Jordan goes around golfing, partying, and traveling. She does not conform herself to the marital world she was born …show more content…
Tom is describing Jordan as if he is above her. Tom sees himself as a powerful masculine man that is of higher ranking to females. Tom does not think that women should be able to live life the way Jordan is. He believes that they should be settled down in one place with a man telling them what they can and cannot do. Jordan Baker is a unique individual in the novel because she is the only female who does not fully commit herself to the life of a woman in the 1920’s. Another part of Jordan’s lifestyle is her driving. Jordan is driving in the car with Nick Carraway and Nick tells her she is a bad driver. "’You're a rotten driver’," I protested. "’Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all.’" "’I am careful.’" "’No, you're not.’" "’Well, other people are,’" she said lightly. "’What's that got to do with it?’" "’They'll keep out of my way,’" she insisted. "’It takes two to make an accident’" (Fitzgerald 58). Jordan does not have to care about a husband or kids so she acts spontaneously and carelessly. Her driving is a representation of her lifestyle. She drives recklessly and does not care about others or her own safety

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