The Negative Images Of The Three Heroines In F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's representative works. Since its publication in 1925, it has been a focus for critical attention, and studies on it have never stopped. Women characters in the novel, especially Daisy, are frequently discussed. However, most critics take negative attitudes toward them. They have made little effort to obtain an overall and objective insight into their negative images. This dissertation aims to explore the negative images of the three women characters from different walks of life: Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle. It points out that, although immorality is dominant in their characters, the three women characters deserve sympathy and understanding; moreover, as women characters, they have some brilliant qualities such as self-consciousness awakening, rebellious spirit against the conventional conceptions of women.This dissertation consists of four chapters. Chapter One studies the immorality in the three women characters. It points out that the three women, from the different walks of life, are representatives of the "flappers" of the 1920s.Chapter Two makes an exploration of the social and cultural influences upon the moral degradation of the three women characters, which mainly include: material influences, impact of the mass media, changes in religion, new ideas in philosophy, and the loss of faith.Chapter Three deals with the causes of immorality in the three women characters which lie in the author himself. First, Fitzgerald is quite reserved in conventional morality. He maintains traditional recognition of women characters, and has a conflicting feeling of both love and hatred toward the "flappers" of the Jazz Age. This ambivalent feeling influences the characterization of female as well as male characters in his works. Secondly, the dissertation points out that women's rise in political status and appearance of professional women run into conflict with people's (especially men's) traditional recognition of women. The negative portrayal of the women characters reflects, to some extent, men's prejudice against, dissatisfaction with, and fear of women and women's increasing rights.Chapter Four also reveals the causes of immorality in the three women characters. The dissertation points out that although social influences are to be taken into account, personal characters should also be considered, such as, the lack of independence, spiritual emptiness.