Exploring Shifting Representations of Patriarchal Ideology in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' (1925) and Nghi Vo's 'The Chosen and the Beautiful' (2021)

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2.0, University of Bremen, language: English, abstract: The following bachelor thesis deals with patriarchal representations in Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' (1925) and compares them with a contemporary representation 'The Chosen and the Beautiful' by Nghi Vo (2021). Themes such as masculinity, femininity and LGBTQA+ are explored along the characters and a comparison is made between the past and present. This thesis presents the context of the two main works first. To contextualize The Great Gatsby (1925), it looks at the historical context of America in the 1920s, issues of race in U.S. national culture and views on gender, patriarchy and queering in the Jazz Age. To provide a context for The Chosen and The Beautiful (2021), it highlights what social movements have taken place in order to understand how the topic of gender is viewed today. Since The Chosen and The Beautiful is a retelling of The Great Gatsby, the rewrite as a genre and its function will be examined. The next chapter explores concepts, ideas and developments of Feminist Literary Theory, Queer Theory and Intersectionality Theory. The fourth chapter then analyzes both primary texts in comparison along gendered themes: Masculinity, femininity and queer characters are examined by changing the perspective from a male to a female point of view. The concluding chapter presents the findings.