Rosie the Riveter, star of the American World War II poster who sports the iconic workers’ jumpsuit and red bandanna, was a symbol for modern, emancipated women in the 1950s, before becoming a mere representation of vintage artwork. The independence that this character models is represented by Scott Fitzgerald’s Daisy, in The Great Gatsby, who at first glance seems to oppose this. Her innocence and purity, however, can be easily deconstructed, because she both supports the traditional image of women, and challenges it, fitting perfectly into the context of ideological transformation of the 1920s. A more superficial interpretation of Daisy would argue that she is the ultimate “golden girl”: an innocent, idealized and flawless object of desire. This is due to the “ardor of [her] pursuers”, who, as Keats argues, are responsible for creating her value (Keats 148). Already in the novel’s first pages the reader realizes that she represents a patriarchal society’s concept of the ideal woman, and is encouraged to observe this standard by the men who surround and idealize her as such. The way Nick describes her voice, which Gatsby later states “‘is full of money’”, helps to portray her as nothing more than an embodiment of charm and of man's greatest desires - love and wealth (Fitzgerald 120). Daisy is illustrated as graceful and a “beautiful little fool”, as she states, whose only purpose is to look pretty and observe traditional roles assigned to women, such as being an exemplary wife and mother (Fitzgerald 17). Color, and aspects of Daisy’s appearance, further contribute to the creation of this idealized, perfect image. The color white suggests innocence, ingenuousness and chastity, and is, therefore, used to describe her. The a... ... middle of paper ... ...to which we are exposed, and, that, therefore, human empathy and solidarity are rooted in the major portion of individual selves which society has come to constitute. Works Cited Churchwell, Sarah. Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby. London: Virago, 2013. Google Books. Web. 27 May 2014. Denby, David. "All That Jazz." New Yorker 13 May 2013: n. pag. The New Yorker. Web. 22 May 2014. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. The Great Gatsby. Dir. Baz Luhrman. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobby McGuire and Carey Mulligan. Warner Bros., 2013. Keats, John. Life, Letters, and Literary Remains, of John Keats. Ed. Richard Monckton Milnes Houghton. Vol. 2. London: E. Moxon, 1848. Google Books. Web. 27 May 2014. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Green, Keith, and Jill Lebihan. Critical Theory & Practice: A Coursebook. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Cohen, Adam. "Jay Gatsby is a man for our times" The Literary Cavalcade New York: Sep 2002. Vol.55, Iss.1; Pg.1-3
Daisy’s character is built with association of innocence and purity. Narrator in the novel mentions, “They were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house” (18). In this passage, the narrator talks about Daisy and Daisy’s friend, Jordan. They both were dressed in white, which represents the purity and innocence. Daisy’s exterior beauty is pure and innocence, but her interior self represents false purity and innocence in the novel. When Daisy and Gatsby reunites after five years, they seem to have found their love for each other, although Daisy loves the attention. Daisy is aware of her husband’s affair but still does nothing about it. Daisy’s response to Gatsby’s wealth proves the love Daisy has for money, especially the shirts. Narrator mentions in the novel, “Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shorts and began to cry stormily” (92). This describes that’s for Daisy the shirts represents wealth. Daisy bows her head into the shirts representing her interest in wealthy materialism. Daisy doesn’t cry because of the pure affection unlike Gatsby.
For five years, Gatsby was denied the one thing that he desired more than anything in the world: Daisy. While she was willing to wait for him until after the war, he did not want to return to her a poor man who would, in his eyes, be unworthy of her love. Gatsby did not want to force Daisy to choose between the comfortable lifestyle she was used to and his love. Before he would return to her, he was determined to make something of himself so that Daisy would not lose the affluence that she was accustomed to possessing. His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions...
He writes, through the voice of Gatsby, that “her voice is full of money” (127), implying that Daisy speaks with an eloquence and elegance found only in the voice of those born wealthy. Gatsby inherently connects Daisy with the idea of wealth and money, and shows a desire to be seen as one born with money. Hence, the reader can conclude that Gatsby is in love with what Daisy represents: wealth and the high class. By associating Daisy with the high society, Fitzgerald indirectly reveals his attitude towards America of the 1920s. He implies that similar to how Daisy chooses material pleasure and societal benefit as opposed to a real feeling that brings true joy, the people of the 1920s prioritize wealth and fleeting pleasure over concrete feelings that bring true happiness. He even takes his commentary a step further, as the “true” feeling represented in The Great Gatsby is love. Ironically, the love depicted in this society is corrupt and fake. Thus, Fitzgerald states that the ideologies and values of the American 1920s will result in its downfall, just as the corrupt and fake love between Gatsby and Daisy results in the downfall of Gatsby. Furthermore, through his portrayal of Daisy’s inadvertent cruelty towards both Myrtle and Gatsby, Fitzgerald parallels the unconscious depravity of the high society and its negative impact on America. This is seen
Daisy’s persona is to conform to the expectations given to her to be a perfect housewife in society, and to fulfill her desire to achieve a standard of perfection within her family.
Daisy's life is full of excitement and wealth, she gets practically everything she desires and feels like she has it all. As a person of high society she treats those below her with disdain, even her cousin. “What shall we do with ourselves this afternoon...and the day after that, and the next thirty years?” (Fitzgerald 118). The Jazz age had changed Daisy and influenced her to become careless as she seeks empty love, money and pleasure. It is only when Gatsby comes along she realizes that she has been missing something. Gatsby had been her first love, but she
The Great Gatsby is an emotional tale of hope of love and “romantic readiness”(1.2) that is both admirable and meritorious .Yet, the question of Daisy ever being able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations is one that reverberates throughout the course of the novel. Be that as it may, Daisy is never truly able to measure up to Gatsby’s expectations because the image of Daisy in Gatsby’s mind is entirely different from who she actually is. Even during his younger years, Gatsby had always had a vision of himself “as a son of God”(6.98) and that “he must be about his fathers business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty”(6.98). Gatsby’s desire for aristocracy, wealth, and luxury is exactly what drives him to pursue Daisy who embodies everything that that Gatsby desires and worked towards achieving. Therefore, Gatsby sees Daisy as the final piece to his puzzle in order realize his vision. Gatsby’s hyperbolized expectation of Daisy throws light on the notion if our dreams as individuals are actually limited by reality. Since our dreams as human beings are never truly realized, because they may be lacking a specific element. Daisy proves to be that element that lingers in Gatsby’s dreams but eludes his reality.
Characters in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald are often described differently than they actually act throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Daisy is told to be “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville”. She was said to have great beauty, and its even said that she holds her popularity spot because of it. She is also described as a “fool” which means she is beautiful, just like an angel. As we read on, we come to see that Daisy is actually very careless, selfish, and only focuses herself on wealth and power. She never looked at the consequences of her actions; and she let others clean up the messes she made. She wanted her daughter to grow up just like her, even though it’s a life nobody wanted to live. She even gave up her true love to be with somebody who had money and a good repetition. As perceived in the novel, Daisy is the most despicable character in the novel of The Great Gatsby.
... the word ‘white’ used many times to depict Daisy such as her car, room, and clothes. Also, many adjectives used to describe her were white. This ‘white’ supposedly refers her innocence. The irony is that she is depicted as a selfish and careless woman through the relationship between two men and her. This could be either that the author wants to emphasize of her guilty or that the author wants us to tell the possibility of changing of personality.
...nted everyone to feel sorry for Daisy. However, one finds it hard to feel sorry for someone as well off as herself. She is a symbol of money and the corruption it brings. One must be careful not to identify Daisy with the green light at the end of her dock. The green light is the promise, the dream. Daisy herself is much less than that. Even Gatsby must realize that having Daisy in the flesh is much, much less than what he imagined it would be when he fell in love with the idea of her.
"John Keats." British Literature 1780-1830. Comp. Anne K. Mellor and Richard E. Matlak. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 1996. 1254-56. Print.
Throughout “The Great Gatsby,” corruption is evident through the people within it. However, we discover with Daisy, initially believed to be a victim of her husband’s corruption—we find she is the eye of the storm. In the story, the reader feels sorry for Daisy, the victim in an arranged marriage, wanting her to find the happiness she seemingly longed for with Gatsby. Ultimately we see Daisy for what she is, a truly corrupt soul; her languish and materialistic lifestyle, allowing Gatsby to take the blame for her foolish action of killing Myrtle, and feigning the ultimate victim as she “allows” Tom to take her away from the unsavory business she has created. Daisy, the definitive picture of seeming innocence is the most unforeseen, therefore, effective image of corruption—leading to a good man’s downfall of the American Dream.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the main female character, Daisy Buchanan, is portrayed by, Nick, the narrator, only by her superficial qualities. “Guided only by Nick’s limited view of her, readers often judge Daisy solely on the basis of her superficial qualities” (Fryer 43). What the reader sees through the eyes of Nick only appears as a woman whose impatience and desire for wealth and luxury cost her the love of her life, Gatsby. Nick’s narrow perception does not allow one to see that “…[Daisy’s] silly manner conceals a woman of feeling or that her final ‘irresponsibility’ towards Gatsby stems from an acute sense of responsibility towards herself” and that Nick “…clearly does not understand what motivates her” (Fryer 43). One can easily view Daisy as a victim. Fitzgerald distinctly exposes Daisy’s need for stability, which, according to Fitzgerald or perhaps the mentality of the time period, can only be found in a man. “Her need for stability was immediate, and she attempted to satisfy that need through something tangible, something close at hand” (Fryer 51). This “need” that Fitzg...
Parker, Robert Dale. Critical Theory: A Reader for Literary and Cultural Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012 . Print.