Outside/Inside

Instead of calling the 20's a Jazz Age, I think it would be more fitting if we called it the "Extended Gilded Age". On surface level, Jordan is a talented young woman in a male dominated sport, wealthy, young, and pretty, but underneath it all, she has the personality of a stick and the morality of a naughty child.

Her rise to fame in golfing only came about because she deliberately cheated in a match, illegally moving the ball. As she continues her career, her immoral decision doesn't seem to bother her. Fitzgerald also shows us her particular mindset by Nick commenting on her bad driving. Since she believes it takes two to cause an accident, she is fine with being dangerous and unfair. The high social status she carries should show that she is more refined than that, that she is educated enough to make "good" choices for society's benefit. However, like most of the East-Eggers, she takes her money for granted and doesn't care much for  life or others. Her quick engagement at the end of the novel shows her inability to think ahead as she currently coasts from party to party.

Her inner emptiness reminds me of the students whose lives are falling apart internally. Yes, they look great on paper. 4.0 GPA, president of two clubs, varsity sports..., but they have to cope with mental stipulations, too. They might be socially awkward, or completely bipolar, or filled with rage problems.  Their wonderful exterior shell conceals the roughness beneath.

The good-on-outside-bad-on-inside cliche can be found throughout history, from the 20's to now, and probably even before.


By the way...
personality=