In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a common theme of characters having an outward appearance that does not reflect their true personality. Daisy Buchanan, the main character, is a perfect example of a character with a misleading appearance. Daisy believes that in order for her to continue being accepted into society, she must act and appear as a perfect woman. Daisy keeps up her pristine image by acting as though her marriage is perfect, but in reality, her relationship with her husband, Tom, is in terrible condition. Daisy is constantly making sure to appear perfect and regal, but she does become upset, and at times she is incapable of hiding those pure feelings. The day before Daisy’s marriage to Tom, Jordan …show more content…
One of the flaws that she hides is the mess of her marriage. Nick, Daisy’s cousin and the narrator of the novel, has a conversation with Catherine, a girl he meets at a get-together, and she tells him about Daisy’s wrecked marriage. Catherine explains that Daisy and Tom despise each other, and they have only stayed together because Daisy is a catholic and can not get a divorce. However, Nick is aware that his cousin is not a catholic and never has been. Catherine says, “‘You see?’ cried Catherine triumphantly. She lowered her voice again. ‘It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic and they don’t believe in divorce.’Daisy was not a Catholic and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie. (Page 23)” Daisy seems happy with her husband and life, however in actuality, she is stuck with a man who is cheating on her. Daisy gives the excuse that she is catholic and therefore can not divorce, but that is a lie she made up in order to keep her reputation intact. Daisy wants to appear as a perfect woman and getting a divorce would ruin that image. Therefore, Daisy remains married to Tom and pretends she is happy in her situation in order to fit in with society’s view of perfection; in the process, she is forced to continue living with her cheating …show more content…
Although Daisy appears flawless, she is capable of getting upset like any other person. Nick is in the middle of having a conversation with Daisy and one moment she is perfectly normal, while seconds later she storms out of the room in a fit of fury. Fitzgerald writes, “She was only extemporizing but a stirring warmth flowed from her as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words. Then suddenly she threw her napkin on the table and excused herself and went into the house. (Page 11)” Daisy does not want anyone to be aware of her anger, in fear that it will take away from her reputation. At that moment during her conversation with Nick, she has a burst of anger and is unable to conceal it. A moment before she becomes angry, Daisy appears perfectly normal and calm. Daisy calculates all of her actions because she needs to appear effortless, however, she is not. Daisy has problems of her own, including a temper, that she usually hides well, but in occasional moments of weakness, her true self is seen. Daisy is a character that seems calm and collective, but she is actually a normal person with a minor
When Nick visits Daisy she tells him the story of how her daughter was born, “It’ll show you how I’ve gotten to feel about––things. Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling.” By leaving Daisy behind at a time when she most needs him, Tom loses his value of companionship with Daisy. He no longer fits the three criteria that Daisy feels she needs in a man. Daisy knows that Tom no longer loves her and is having an affair with another woman, but despite all of this, Daisy has no intention of leaving him (20). This is because Tom, despite no longer fulfilling her emotionally, is still better for her financially and socially than if she left him to live alone. If Daisy wants to stay in her class, she has no option other than to stay with Tom. When Daisy finally sees Gatsby again, she suddenly has another option besides staying with Tom. Daisy knows that Gatsby has true feelings of love towards her, but leaving Tom would prove to be risky as it could tarnish her reputation and by extension her social stability. Daisy is now struggling between taking a risk for love and maintaining a safe, stable life she is ultimately unhappy
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about a new money man, Jay Gatsby, and his pursuit of acceptance into the upper class as well as to gain the love of Daisy. Daisy Buchanan is the cousin of the Nick and married to Tom Buchanan and she is one of Gatsby’s old friends. As a result of Gatsby’s past being so materialistic and goal oriented, he is unable to keep relationships, causing him to objectify his “love”, Daisy. He is a new money man whose money has come to him recently. As opposed to the Buchanans, who are old money and where they have a family legacy of being rich. In this society of West and East Egg, two peninsulas of Long Island, New York, legacy comes out to mean everything. Legacy essentially determines whether
When she hears Tom talking on the phone to his mistress, she throws “her napkin on the table” (14) and goes into the house. Since, Daisy throws “her napkin,” this shows how upset Tom’s actions makes her. However, she never confronts Tom about his affair because that might mean giving up the great lifestyle she is living, thus showing her selfish nature. Also, Daisy assumes that Nick did not come to her wedding because “[they] don’t know each other very well,” (16) when it was in fact because Nick was fighting in the war. Daisy is too self-centered to realize that Nick was in the war which is why he could to come to her wedding, implying that her wedding holds more significance. Also, Daisy’s comment to Nick shows her spoiled personality because she does not seem to care about other peoples’ life, only her own life, portraying her to be self-absorbed. Furthermore, when she finds out her newborn is a girl, Daisy “hopes she’ll be a fool” because “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (17) This shows how Daisy does not really have an emotional attachment with her child; she just wants her to be beautiful so she will attract people with her looks. Evidently, Daisy does not value intelligence in women and she thinks women should be able to get through the world using their looks. Moreover, Daisy treats Pammy as an object; she tells her to say hi to the guests and
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald conveys how Jay Gatsby’s ambition is the root of his success and death. When Gatsby, a man of humble beginnings, meets Daisy, her wealth and high status allures him. They fall in love, but due to Gatsby’s low financial and social position, Daisy feels insecure and leaves him. Gatsby’s optimism and obsession to win Daisy prompts the ambition that ultimately drives him to his noble yet tragic ending.
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.
Daisy, for example, lives a miserable life, even though she appears otherwise. On the outside, she seems to have everything—a happy marriage, wealth, and beauty— which also connects to the American dream. Her relationship with Tom may appear to be perfect, however their marriage is marked by adultery, deception, and dissatisfaction. She married him only because she had to for his wealth and reputation. Daisy finds out that Tom has an affair with another woman in New York, but she does not leave him when Gatsby gives her the chance to.
This is an example of objectification. Knowing that Daisy has somewhat moved on from her past with him, Gatsby tries to relive it and form an unrealistic idea of her. By doing this, he throws massive parties in his mansion and purchases expensive shirts in hopes of Daisy becoming a part of his dream. When Gatsby has Daisy, he tries to manipulate her to conform to be the perfect ideal girl. In Chapter 7, Gatsby is making decisions for Daisy without her input and consent, claiming that Daisy is leaving Tom when it wasn’t true. He also expected Daisy to say that she never loved Tom when, once again, was not true. He truly did not care for her opinion, only on achieving his dream. Though it may have seemed that Daisy is the one that destroyed Gatsby’s dream, it’s really Gatsby who causes the destruction to his American Dream in which Daisy was a victim
From the outside, Daisy seems like the demure wife of a wealthy ex-football player, Tom Buchannan. The relationship the two share is far from a perfect marriage, but it is functional for upper-class society. Daisy often speaks nonsense, putting off the impression that she lacks intelligence, but there are moments when Daisy shows her true nature. The first moment occurs when Daisy shares
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.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Daisy Buchanan undergoes many noticeable changes. Daisy is a symbol of wealth and of promises broken. She is a character we grow to feel sorry for but probably should not.
But when alone with Nick she explains to him she is sophisticated but cynical, proving to us to think she is much smarter than Tom. She does also show criticism on women’s status when talking about her baby hoping it’s a girl “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’ the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” This portrays the idea of women in the 1920s. But we do as well see that Daisy is very complex as she is in a secret society of which she and Tom are. We already know that Tom and Daisy's marriage is troubled and it mainly is due to the fact that he has a woman in New York.
The Great Gatsby, is a classic American novel about an obsessed man named Jay Gatsby who will do anything to be reunited with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. The book is told through the point of view of Nick Caraway, Daisy's cousin once removed, who rented a little cottage in West Egg, Long Island across the bay from Daisy's home. Nick was Jay Gatsby's neighbor. Tom Buchanan is Daisy's abusive, rich husband and their friend, Jordan Baker, has caught the eye of Nick and Nick is rather smitten by her. Gatsby himself is a very ostentatious man and carries a rather mysterious aura about himself which leads to the question: Is Gatsby's fortune a house of cards built to win the love of his life or has Daisy entranced him enough to give him the motivation to be so successful? While from a distance Jay Gatsby appears to be a well-educated man of integrity, in reality he is a corrupt, naive fool.
Daisy’s original impression of Gatsby is evident in her early letters to him, “...he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself- that he was fully able to take care of her” (149). Daisy loved Gatsby under the false hope that they belonged to the same social class. She grew up surrounded by riches, never working a day in her life, and she could not comprehend the struggles of a man who must work for the food he eats each day. Daisy knew that she must marry when she is beautiful, for being a beautiful rich girl of good social standing was her highest commodity and most valuable chip in marrying well. In order to live a secure life, she had to find someone the had the means to provide for her extravagant lifestyle, and the deep care for her that would allow Daisy to do as she pleased. The only definition of love Daisy knew was one of disillusioned power and commitments under false pretenses in order to keep the wealthy continually rich. Daisy acknowledges the false pretenses of marriage for the wealthy in how she describes her daughter’s future. She tells Nick, “‘And I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this
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...