Significant Connections

F.Scott Fitzgerald uses character type to portray the idea of the golden girl, by showing us that they are wanted by all men, they are wealthy and get away with everything. During the whole period of the 1920s, most women aspired to be a golden girl because it was a good look at them and their family. Throughout Fitzgerald’s work there has always been a golden girl who charms all the men. In the novels, The Great Gatsby, Winter Dreams, Babes in the woods and the film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button directed by David Fincher there was always a female who was shown as the golden girl.

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is seen as the golden girl because she lives a luxurious life, she is beautiful and is wanted by all men. Jay Gatsby dedicates his whole life to be with this one girl but never gets to her because she is a golden girl and is too hard to get. Daisy has everything in life and doesn’t need to worry about anything because everyone chases after her and makes sure she has everything she needs “High in the white palace the king’s daughter the golden girl”. Daisy knows Gatsby is into her and she uses this to get to him because she knows he has money and will be willing to spend it on her. Daisy flirts with him because she knows he will fall for it. Gatsby is drawn into her beauty and doesn’t see her for what she really is. As Daisy and Gatsby become very close, he then is sent off to war for 5 years. When Gatsby has returned back from the war he is surprised to see that Daisy has moved on and married someone else. Gatsby becomes very wealthy because he knows Daisy is into money. She then becomes interested in him and his money “Her voice is full of money,” This quote shows that daisy is into the money and not into Gatsby or Tom her husband, she is just looking for someone new to give her everything she wants. Because Daisy is so selfish, she will never find her true love and will always be chasing something new.

Winter dreams the short story, by F.Scott. Fitzgerald tells us about a young woman who was sought after by Dexter Green. Much like Daisy Buchanan, Judy Jones is a golden girl who uses her looks and charm to get her way in life. Like Daisy, Judy has always been wealthy and has never had to work for anything in her life. Her and Daisy love nothing more than money and this is what drives them to find someone who can take care of them and their needs. Dexter who fell for Judy’s beauty just like Gatsby did with Daisy relates them together because they both fell for their looks and status. “I’m more beautiful than anybody else,” she said brokenly, “why can’t I be happy?” This exposes Judy because she knows that she is seen as perfect to all her chasers and because she has been wanted by so many guys it makes her fall under the illusion that she is perfect and that everything should just go the way she wants it. In one of Dexter and Judy’s first conversations, she said to him ” Are you poor?” This shows that Judy only was looking for money and didn’t care about Dexter’s personality. Daisy and Judy both look for someone who has money or that could make their life better. They are both selfish and didn’t care about their partners; they just wanted to have the ideal lifestyle known as the American dream.

Babes In The Woods is also a Fitzgerald short story which is about a young girl Isabelle and her life as a golden girl. Like Judy Jones, Isabelle is desired by most guys around the town for her looks, wealth and status. She is very well-known around the town and Kenneth powers is “simply mad to meet you He’s stayed over a day from college and he’s coming to-night. He’s heard so much about you.” Isabelle is much like Judy here because she is wanted by many of the male characters. She knows she’s a golden girl which makes her think she’s better than everyone else when really, in reality, she is the same as everyone else and isn’t something big and special. Isabelle got away with everything just like Judy did because of her looks and charm. “She said suddenly turning to him innocent eyes.” This quote shows that even Isabelle knew she could get her way just by being beautiful and charming. Her idea of being perfect corrupted her into thinking everything should be her way and should be right for her. she got away with everything for a start so she rolled with it and it kept working for her.

The film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button inspired F.Scott Fitzgerald, tells a story about a young golden girl also named Daisy and a male protagonist that ages backwards. Daisy was admired by Benjamin her whole life. Benjamin was born an old man and aged younger which didn’t help him reach his goal of being with the golden girl. Early in their friendship, they learnt a lot from each other because of their difference in age and time. Daisy said “Would you still love me if I were old and saggy?” to then benjamin replied with “Would you still love me if I were young and had acne? When I’m Afraid of what’s under the stairs? Or if I end up wetting the bed?” After Benjamin and Daisy separate and take different paths, they then find each other later in life and end up falling for each other. The only problem between them is time, Time will always be moving away from them. Daisy is very different from the other golden girls in Fitzgerald’s novels as she isn’t looking for some rich guy or using her beauty to get what she wants. She wants someone to love her for who she is and however she looks when she’s older. Daisy and Benjamin have a baby later in life then end up splitting up. Benjamin goes to see Daisy once their kid has grown up and sees that Daisy has remarried. This relates to Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby-like when Gatsby returns to Daisy to see that she has moved on to someone else. Daisy has moved on to another guy just like all the other golden girls in Fitzgerald’s stories.

Overall The Great Gatsby, Winter Dreams, Babes In The Woods and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button all have a similar golden girl that wants a life full of money or a partner that can give them what they want. This illusion of the golden girl is very fake and it is different from what most girls want these days. Society in the 1920s made women think that having this new thing and that new thing made them happy but in reality, it made them happy for a short time but it wasn’t enough for them long term because they always wanted more. All four golden girls seem perfect on the outside but really they are far from it on the inside because they don’t seek love, they seek money. Fitzgerald doesn’t purposely put a golden girl character in his stories which portrays the idea that his life in the 20s was similar to these fictional novels. nowdays women in films or stories look for love which really shows the difference between what it was like back in the 20s and then now.