Playing along the danger line: women in the 1920s Kayleen, Evelyn, Lizzet, and Yara.

Central Idea: flappers were women who defied the standards of society of their time

"Scott Fitzgerald told his wife, 'I would like you to think of my interests as your primary concern, because I am the one to steer the course, the pilot'" (Rowbotham 1). Zelda Fitzgerald was changing the game for women everywhere by being fearless and sensual in public, something that was previously frowned upon. Her husband, Scott, tells her that he wants her to think about and cater to him and what he wants instead of doing what makes her happy. Something that we can all agree sounds very familiar to what Tom wanted from Daisy in The Great Gatsby.

"…flapper habits had upset moralists " (Rowbotham 2) Zelda inspired a generation of women to be free and do what made them happy,j to explore their sexuality and be free spirited. Of course, there were people that believed that women should not behave in that way, that they should let the men do the socializing. In The Great Gatsby Myrtle and Daisy are similar to flappers in that they are putting their happiness before anyone else's. They both cheat on their husbands with a man they "truly love" and they both get mistreated by Tom, who symbolizes the "moralists" in that they both believe the man's needs should come before his woman's needs.

"…the old rules fail to work; bewildering inconsistencies confront her… Slowly, clumsily, she is trying to construct a way out to a new sort of certainty in life" (Rowbotham 3). "The old rules," where a woman is seen and not hears, and stands by whatever her husband believes even if it's not what she herself believes, were no longer working for Daisy. She wanted something better for herself, and by cheating on Tom with Gatsby she was able to find something she longed for… true love. That love she shared with Gatsby was her "certainty in life" and cheating was her "slow" and "clumsy" way of finding it.

IN RELATION TO GATSBY

Men were "superior" to women in the 1920s In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchanan was cheating on his wife, Daisy Buchanan. Everybody knew, but nobody did anything about it. It was almost "acceptable" that he was disrespecting his wife in such a way.

Writing strategy

The author used a lot of examples to support that flappers were women who defied the standards of society of their time.