Sample Annotated Bibliography

Jordan Baker Material

Fryer, Sarah Beebe. "Beneath the Mask: The Plight of Daisy Buchanan." Critical Essays on F.
Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1984. 153-
166. This is a feminist essay that argues that Daisy is trapped in cultural constructions of
Rich Wife and Pretty Girl - she chooses the "unsatisfactory stability" of her marriage
because of those constructions. Fryer's only mention of Jordan is a foil to Daisy - - "Like
Jordan, Daisy is affected" (156).
This essay seems somewhat useful for me, but other sources have more substance. The
information appears reliable—in fact, she makes some of the same points about the novel
as a couple other sources. This essay is included in a collection of peer-reviewed essays
written by academics who specialize in literature and/or F. Scott Fitzgerald. Sarah Fryer
is a professor at Vassar College, so she seems credible and reliable. The list of sources
that she uses in her essay are academic and come from academic sources.
Since this article only briefly mentions Jordan, it does not seem like it will be that helpful
for my thesis. However, the article is helpful for elucidating the “cultural constructions
of Rich Wife and Pretty Girl.” This idea has helped me to think about this theme in
Fitzgerald’s other novels. The secondary sources listed in this article also look
promising. I am beginning to change my focus from just looking at female characters to
looking at how Fitzgerald constructs gender. I really am starting to see how deep the
issue of gender is in Fitzgerald.
Kerr, Frances. "Feeling Half-Feminine: Modernism and the Politics of Emotion in The Great
Gatsby." American Literature 68 (1996): 405-31. A brilliant analysis of the homoerotics
in the novel--Nick's attraction to McKee and to Gatsby. Kerr thinks the tennis girl with
sweat on her lip is Jordan (which I think is wrong); she notes that Jordan has more
control over her emotions than the other women in the novel (Daisy and Myrtle). Kerr
argues that Nick's narrative about his dumping her "leads the reader to believe that it is
Jordan's indifference, shallowness, and dishonesty that prompt his move. The
psychological subtext of Gatsby, however, suggests a motivation entirely different. Nick
Carraway identifies with and feels most romantically drawn not to 'masculine' women but
to 'feminine' men" (418).
This is a more recent article about the novel, and it appears in the peer-reviewed
academic journal American Literature. The note about the author mentions that she has
 Sample Annotated Bibliography
Jordan Baker Material
written two books on Fitzgerald and has published over 100 articles in scholarly journals
on various topics in American Literature, so she seems credible and reliable. Compared
to other sources, this one seems to go a bit out into left field with the argument that there
is a homoerotic subtext to the novel. However, it is still a brilliant analysis and
something that hadn’t occurred to me, but now that it has been argued, it really makes a
lot of sense. This article is convincing because of its thoroughness in argumentation and
sources.
I think I will use portions of this article for my thesis, especially those parts that
demonstrate the construction of both female and male gender in the novel. Especially
useful will be Kerr’s analysis of femininity in the male characters. I am starting to see
Fitzgerald’s female characters as poor imitations of the ideal man, and therefore they lead
the main male characters to their destruction.
Mandel, Jerome. "The Grotesque Rose: Medieval Romance and The Great Gatsby." Modern
Fiction Studies 34(1988): 541-558. Mandel argues that Gatsby follows many of the
conventions of medieval romance, and analyzes East and West Egg as competing courts,
Buchanan as a prince/Lord with Daisy as unattainable queen/fair lady. Gatsby and Nick
are both construed as knights; Jordan is only mentioned in passing as a sort of attendant
figure on Queen Daisy. This whole analysis seems somewhat farfetched.
Although Mandel has excellent credentials in the field of medieval literature, his grasp of
modern American literature seems less sure. He does cite many of the most frequently
noted scholars of Fitzgerald, so it is clear Mandel has done his homework. However, he
doesn’t seem to be aware of some of the more nuanced interpretations of Gatsby. In fact,
after reading Kerr’s article, Mandel seems simplistic (but he can’t help this—Kerr’s
article didn’t appear until 1996.)
I don’t think I can use much of this article. Perhaps I can draw a parallel between the
power differences between princes and “fair ladies” and power differences between men
and women in the modern era and Fitzgerald’s use of money and power to masculinize
women or feminize men. Overall, though, this source has not been very helpful in
developing my thesis. The other two articles seem much more helpful, both for their
arguments and for their list of sources. I didn’t find any sources listed by Mandel that
looked at all promising or connected to my topic.