A content analysis of women empowerment according to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

Abstract

This study identified the women empowerment as reflected in the three major female characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. This study aimed to: (a) describe the values showed by the three female characters; (b) determine how the three main male characters treated the women and; and (c) identify how the three main female characters handled difficult situations in the novel. The feminist theory was used to analyze the experiences and oppression of women; while the historical approach made the historic time significance of their experiences and the social approach pointed out the influence of the individual, the group, the society, and the culture on individual’s behavior. The study revealed that The Great Gatsby is filled with romance and irony and also of the wealth and habits of New Yorkers during the jazz age. Since the women in the novel belong to the 1920s, they seemed not that influential rather they were helpless, thus, they were threatened and maltreated. Despite their condition, they were contented with their health, wealth, employment, and even more concerned of their beauty. It is recommended that an in-depth discussion of the characters as regards to women empowerment and other elements such as setting, plot, themes, should be explored to enrich classroom discussion and give more understanding about the different approaches to use for literary analysis.