The Role of Women in The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald follows the lives of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan. Throughout the novel Daisy and Gatsby have a romantic relationship but Daisy is confused between her husband and Gastby. She lets the men in her life control her actions. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novella that follows the lives of George and Lennie. Both men are migrant workers who move place to place looking for jobs. During this time, they meet a woman who is known as Curley's wife. She is disrespected by the workers. Both authors use different ways to portray how women were powerless during this time period.
Tom finally knows the truth about the affair of Gatsby and Daisy, but Daisy was not ready to confirm that she never loved him. "Just tell him the truth- that you never loved him...I never loved him" (Fitzgerald 132). Women are incapable of making decisions by themselves. Men have power over what women say. Gatsby was treating daisy as if she was a child telling her what to say. Men put pressure on women to say and do things they may sometimes not want to do. Gatsby was pressuring Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him because he wanted her in his life. Women are sometimes sensitive and therefore men have enough power to control them.
During the argument between Tom and Gatsby, Daisy was following both men's rules. "Please Tom! I can't stand this anymore...You two start on home, Daisy...They were gone without a word" (Fitzgerald 134-135). When Daisy had had enough of the fight she started to beg her husband to make it stop. Women are dependent on men to help them during confusing situations men are there to comfort the women and assure them everything will be alright. Fitzgerald shows men have power over the decisions their wives make.
In Of Mice and Men Curley's wife is never called by her real name "Did you see that girl? You mean Carly's girl?" (Steinbeck 55). She is always referred to as Curley's wife or Curly's girl but she is never mentioned by her real name. Steinbeck portrays that Curley's wife symbolizes how society devalued women. Curley's wife is unhappy isolated and powerless. Steinbeck shows that she is only there for the pleasure of her husband. He portrays that women do not have an importance in men's life that's why he chose not to give her her name. Curley's wife has no power when her husband is around.
Women might be unhappy in their marriage but they stay because they need them. Steinbeck and Fitzgerald portray women as dependents on men. Curley's wife portrays that women did not have much importance to men. She was only known because of her husband. Fitzgerald used Daisy to show how women let men control their lives. Daisy was weak and powerless to make her own decisions so Gatsby and Tom told her what to do and say.