摘 要

上世纪二十年代的时髦女郎尽情享乐且藐视一切传统习俗和道德标准，在菲茨杰拉德的许多小说中都有她们的身影，黛西、乔丹和迈特尔是最具典型代表的。通过小说中的时髦女郎，本论文呈现了爵士时代她们的生活情境并且以揭示她们这个群体的重要意义为目的。

关键词：时髦女郎；及时行乐；女性主义；性解放

Contents

1. Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

2. Demonstration --------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

2.1 Three flappers in The Great Gatsby----------------------------------------------------- 3

2.1.1 Daisy—pursuit of love ------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1.2 Jordan—independence in life -----------------------------------------------------------4

2.1.3 Myrtle—rebellion against fate ----------------------------------------------------------5

2.2 New trends and social statements of 1920s ---------------------------------------------5

2.2.1Feminism in American during 19^th century and 20^th century -----------------------6

2.2.2Daisy and Jordan—embodiment of carpe diem --------------------------------------7

2.2.3Daisy and Myrtle—incarnation of sexual revolution --------------------------------8

2.3 The importance of flappers in this time period -----------------------------------------8

2.3.1Rise of the women’s status caused by role transitions -------------------------------8

2.3.2Advancement of female consciousness inspired by flappers ------------------------8

1. Conclusion -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Works Cited -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

An Analysis of the Images of “Flappers” in The Great Gatsby

1. Introduction

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896—December 21, 1940) is an American novelist and short story writer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. His career as a writer began with the publication of This Side of Paradise (1920), an epoch-making novel. The representative works of his novels are: The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, and This Side of Paradise. The similarities in F Scott Fitzgerald's these novels was all about a group of different women—flappers. Oxford Dictionary defines flapper as “a fashionable young woman in the 1920s, intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behavior.”(Fitzgerald) And that's what the glamour in the cinematic adaptation of author F Scott Fitzgerald's novel was all about -- plume head gears, chemise, drop-waist dresses and sexy opera gloves. We can see flappers in plenty of his works, yet we must say that Daisy, Jordan and Myrtle in The Great Gatsby are the most typical.

American culture in the 1920s experienced a clash between the old and new. Despite the influence of traditional culture, America after World War I was changing. Women in 1920s could not tolerate being busy with housework day after day because of the role of housewives, so they wanted to struggle to free themselves. Looking from the outside, these women started to try bob hairstyle and make-up, enjoying champagne and parties. They were called flappers. As a matter of fact, flappers lay free hearts beneath the surface. Due to World War I, women had to go out of home to feed their families. At the same time they had the right to work like men and be respected like men. Historian Michael Lerner asserted, “Women had the right to enjoy themselves socially as much as men did, whether through drinking, sex, or indulging in the pleasures of urban nightlife.” (Michael)