GendreauAP English 65 May 2001The Portrayal of Women in American LiteratureThroughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret societys views of women in a completely different nature than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may represent his main female character as a victim in the 1920s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays hers as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930s. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the main female character, Daisy Buchanan, is portrayed by, Nick, the narrator, only by her superficial qualities. Guided only by Nicks limited view of her, readers often judge Daisy solely on the basis of her superficial qualities (Fryer 43). What the reader sees through the eyes of Nick only appears as a woman whose impatience and desire for wealth and luxury cost her the love of her life, Gatsby. Nicks narrow perception does not allow one to see that [Daisys] silly manner conceals a woman of feeling or that her final irresponsibility towards Gatsby stems from an acute sense of responsibility towards herself and that Nick clearly does not understand what motivates her (Fryer 43). One can easily view Daisy as a victim. Fitzgerald distinctly exposes Daisys need for stability, which, according to Fitzgerald or perhaps the mentality of the time period, can only be found in Villareal 2a man. Her need for stability was immediate, and she attempted to satisfy that need through something tangible, something close at hand (Fryer 51). This need that Fitzgerald displays on Daisys account is for an attainable partner who could provide through marriage- the sense of identity and stability she so desperately craved (Fryer 51). As seen in society today ...
