The Great Gatsby Group
Question:
babyshambles
Student
High School - 12th Grade
What is the purpose of Jordan Baker in "The Great Gatsby"?
I'm doing an essay on the presentation of women in The Great Gatsby, and I can't decide on Jordan's purpose in the novel
Is it to highlight Nick's lonliness? Or is her corrupt attitude (cheating in golf) more important? Or is she simply a device used to tell Gatsby's story in Chapter 4?
Please help and feel free to tell me I'm completely wrong!
Thanks
Answers:
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luannw Teacher
High School - 11th GradePosted by luannw on Wednesday May 14, 2008 at 3:45 PMJordan serves multiple purposes as you suggest. She is there to serve as a love interest for Nick and she is there to tell Nick the story of Jay Gatsby. She is also there, though, to further Fitzgerald's theme of the decline of morality leading to the corruption of the American Dream. Jordan Baker comes from a wealthy family and like Daisy, she is spoiled. She is also a professional golfer and Nick remembers he'd heard about her having been suspected of cheating at one time. Fitzgerald wants the reader to see that Jordan is so used to having her way, that she'll cheat to continue having her way. The manner in which she so casually and quickly picks up with Nick also shows that she is somewhat loose morally. She smokes and drinks, which was considered rather risque behavior for the early 1920's. An even greater indication though of her lack of morality and her selfishness is when Nick comments to her that she is a bad driver. She says that she doesn't care, the other drivers can look out for her because it takes two to make an accident. Obviously she believes that it is fine for her to drive however she wants and that it is the repsonsibility of other drivers to watch out for her.
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gbeatty Teacher
College - FreshmanPosted by gbeatty on Wednesday May 14, 2008 at 5:34 PMYou've named a number of Jordan's purposes. I'm going to add another one. In a small way, she is like Gatsby. She cheated to be who she is, and so does he. This tells us a huge amount about Nick, and that's one of her purposes. Nick comes off as a nice guy and even a fundamentally honest guy most of the time. However, if you look at his willingness to be friends with Gatsby, and to be involved with Jordan Baker, who is also dishonest, you start getting a sense that his interior character is flawed—is attracted to the dark and dishonest, if you will. Jordan shows that more clearly than Gatsby, in part because Nick is willing to get mad at her.