Sample Annotated Bib

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. 153166. 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.