Gatsby 5

Through the interactions between male and female characters, Fitzgerald depicts a variety of social expectations regarding "typical" male behavior in the 1920's. In the novel The Great Gatsby, characters such as Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, George Wilson and Nick Carraway demonstrate behavior that acts to maintain and live up to expectations inherent in society. Through their controlling ways, these characters strive to define the "typical" man in the 1920's. The notion that a man's success …

…Nick comments on Gatsby's relationship with Daisy years ago, "but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same strata as herself- that he was fully able to take care of her." (156). From these statements, it can be concluded that men were expected to be financially responsible. Thus, men gained a sense of control over women, who were expected to be dependent.