Keyword Guide · study-guide-general
This guide breaks down Jordan Baker’s role, traits, and narrative purpose in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. It is built for high school and college students prepping for class discussions, quizzes, and essays. All content is aligned with standard US literature curriculum expectations for The Great Gatsby.
Jordan Baker is a professional golfer, friend of Daisy Buchanan, and romantic interest of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. She represents the careless, privileged, and morally unmoored attitudes of 1920s East Coast upper class, and acts as a narrative bridge between the novel’s core social circles. Use this guide to build notes for your next class or assignment.
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Jordan Baker is a secondary main character in The Great Gatsby who exists outside the core love triangle between Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom. She embodies the “new woman” of the 1920s, with independent financial means, a professional career, and a rejection of traditional gender expectations for the era. Her unapologetic dishonesty and disregard for the consequences of her actions mirror the moral decay of the old money social group she belongs to.
Next step: Open your copy of The Great Gatsby and mark every scene Jordan appears in to cross-reference with the traits listed in this guide.
Action: First pass reading annotation
Output: Highlight every line of dialogue or description related to Jordan Baker, with a 1-word note in the margin labeling the trait or action shown (e.g., “dishonest”, “cold”, “independent”).
Action: Post-reading analysis
Output: Create a 2-column chart listing Jordan’s positive traits on one side and negative traits on the other, with one piece of textual evidence for each entry.
Action: Assignment prep
Output: Write a 3-sentence paragraph explaining how Jordan supports one major theme of the novel, which you can expand into an essay body paragraph or use as a discussion answer.
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Action: Annotate Jordan’s scenes to track her character development
Output: A color-coded set of annotations in your book that link every Jordan scene to a core trait or theme, which you can reference quickly during open-book quizzes.
Action: Write a discussion response about Jordan’s moral character
Output: A 4-sentence response that takes a clear stance on whether Jordan is a sympathetic character, with 2 pieces of textual evidence to support your claim.
Action: Build a Jordan-focused body paragraph for a literary essay
Output: A complete paragraph with a topic sentence, two pieces of evidence, and analysis that ties Jordan’s actions to a major theme of the novel.
Teacher looks for: Specific, accurate references to Jordan’s actions and dialogue, not vague descriptions of her personality.
How to meet it: Pair every claim you make about Jordan (e.g., “Jordan is dishonest”) with a specific scene reference (e.g., “when she lies about leaving the top down on a borrowed car after Myrtle’s death”).
Teacher looks for: Analysis that links Jordan’s character to core themes of The Great Gatsby, not just isolated discussion of her traits.
How to meet it: End every paragraph about Jordan with 1-2 sentences that connect her actions to a theme like class privilege, 1920s gender roles, or the emptiness of the American Dream.
Teacher looks for: Understanding that Jordan serves a specific function in the story beyond being a side character or love interest.
How to meet it: Include at least one line in your analysis explaining how Jordan’s actions or dialogue reveal information about other characters or move the main plot forward.
Jordan is defined by three consistent traits: her extreme self-interest, her rejection of traditional gender expectations, and her casual dishonesty. She does not adhere to the 1920s expectation that women should be quiet, domestic, or focused on marriage, instead building a public career and prioritizing her own comfort above all else. Write down one specific example of each of these three traits from the novel to add to your notes.
Jordan acts as a bridge between the novel’s core groups: she is part of Daisy and Tom’s old money circle, interacts regularly with Nick, and knows details about Gatsby’s past and his pursuit of Daisy. She is the first person to tell Nick about Tom’s affair with Myrtle, and she helps arrange the first meeting between Gatsby and Daisy after years apart. Use this information to add Jordan to your existing plot map of the novel, marking every scene where she drives action forward.
The 1920s brought a cultural shift for women in the US, with expanded voting rights, more access to work outside the home, and rejection of Victorian social norms. Jordan embodies this “new woman” archetype: she is unmarried, financially independent, has a public career, and behaves with the same casual disregard for social rules as the wealthy men around her. Note one way Jordan’s behavior fits the 1920s “new woman” archetype and one way it challenges that archetype for your class notes.
Nick’s casual romantic relationship with Jordan reveals his own conflicted feelings about the wealthy East Coast circles he moves through during the summer of the novel. He is initially drawn to Jordan’s cool confidence and independence, but eventually ends the relationship because he is repulsed by her lack of remorse after Myrtle and Gatsby’s deaths. Write down one line of Nick’s narration about Jordan that shows his shifting opinion of her to use as evidence in essays or discussion answers.
Jordan and Daisy are both wealthy, privileged women who move in the same old money social circles, but their lives and values are structured very differently. Daisy is trapped in an unhappy marriage, prioritizes her social status above all else, and projects a soft, feminine persona to the world. Jordan is unmarried, has her own career, and makes no attempt to perform softness or likability for others. Create a 2-column comparison chart for Jordan and Daisy, listing 3 similarities and 3 differences between the two characters for your study notes.
If you have a discussion about The Great Gatsby coming up, review the discussion questions in this guide and pick one you feel comfortable answering, with one piece of evidence to support your point. You can also pull the key takeaways from this guide to build a quick study sheet for pop quizzes about secondary characters. Jot down your chosen discussion answer on a note card to bring to class with you.
Jordan is a secondary main character. She does not drive the core conflict of Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy, but she is present for most key events, reveals critical information to Nick, and serves as a symbol of core novel themes.
Nick ends his relationship with Jordan because he is disgusted by her lack of remorse after Myrtle’s death, and he no longer wants to be associated with the careless, unaccountable behavior of the old money social group she belongs to.
Jordan represents the moral emptiness of 1920s old money culture, and the freedom and isolation of the “new woman” archetype that rejected traditional gender norms of the era.
Jordan is engaged to another man by the time Nick meets her for the final time after Gatsby’s death. She shows no remorse for her role in the summer’s tragic events, and she accuses Nick of being as dishonest and careless as the people he judges.
Editorial note: This page is independently written for educational support. Verify specifics with assigned class materials and the original text.
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