Monday, February 28, 2011

In The Great Gatsby, how does Jordan reveal herself to be materialistic?

Jordan represents the material essence of the "flapper" in
a couple of ways.  The first is that her condition of being self centered is something
that plays a large role in her character.  Jordan is concerned with herself, no more and
no less.  Jordan is fairly pragmatic about issues in terms of love, seeing them as more
as a means to get what she wants or a vehicle to enhance her own social standing.  Her
use of destructive gossip reflects a materialist approach in that the most tender and
intimate moments that individuals share are fodder to solidify her own social hold.  She
moves from party to party, showing little regard for those she destroys, so long as her
needs are met.  She is not one to appreciate poverty or anything associated with a lack
of wealth.  Her displays are wealthy and it is something she values.  Her disgrace from
the professional golf circuit because of cheating reflects this hard- driven material
end in that she is concerned with herself and her needs, nothing else.  Jordan's
materialism is reflective of the flapper of the time, someone with whom Fitzgerald knew
on a very effective level.

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