Examples Of Daisy Buchanan In The Great Gatsby
The Characters Who Made the 1920’s Roar
The roaring twenties, a time period of great change in society, has become synonymous with desire for great wealth, the emergence of new cultures for men, women, and society, in addition to a recreation of the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses his major characters in the novel as a microcosm of high society, to represent its complexity. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characterization to offer commentary on high society during the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald begins his commentary in his introduction of the character of Daisy Buchanan, a typical woman of the time. Her very name emphasizes to the reader her fragility and delicate nature while described as, “opening up again in a
flower-like way” (Fitzgerald, 19). Fitzgerald uses Daisy’s high maintenance and fragility personality to incorporate the age-old story of men being unable to resist rescuing the princess, making Daisy highly desirable. She is the quintessential “damsel in distress,” just a little too helpless to care for herself. This is how he defines almost all women of high society. Daisy has the inability to control most things that occur in her life because she is so indecisive, and, “something within her was crying for a decision…and the decision must be made by some force…” (Fitzgerald 151), which is why Daisy is, “completely controlled by her husband, Tom, who constantly condescends her” (Hickey). By allowing him to have this much control over her actions, she is deemed to be incompetent, fragile, and docile.
While Daisy is, “Unhappy in her marriage because of Tom Buchanan’s deliberate unfaithfulness” (Magill On Literature) she accepts the fact that she is not the only woman in her husbands life. The sole reason in which Daisy tolerates Tom’s obvious adultery is because she is dependent on him for his money. Fitzgerald is stating that women of high society are completely desperate to maintain their social status; they will tolerate mistreatment and betrayal by those who are supposed to care for them to be viewed highly by all. Money also causes Daisy to completely reject her role as a mother in order to please Tom who evidently does not want the child. When Daisy finally speaks to her daughter in the later end of the novel she is, “held to her nurse’s hand and was pulled out the door, just as Tom came back,” (Fitzgerald 118), demonstrating Daisy’s absence in her life because she relies on the nurse to raise her. Daisy is a horrible mother because she can afford to be one in more ways than one.
Daisy is continuously portrayed as selfish. It is evident that she only marries Tom because he is the traditional wealthy male whom she is told by society that she should marry. While she is moderately sentimental toward her relationship with Tom, when left alone she, “…went over to Gatsby and pulled his face down, kissing him on the mouth. ‘You know I love you’” (Fitzgerald 116). While driving with Gatsby, Daisy hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, and feels no guilt in blaming the murder on Gatsby. Overall, “Daisy flirts with him, entertaining his obsessive interest until she commits murder and he takes the rap” (Telgen). This represents how Daisy was too self-absorbed to face the consequences of her own actions, and blamed someone who was seemingly more vulnerable than she was at that moment. Fitzgerald is generalizing that all traditional women of high society use those around them in order to suit their own needs since they lack the independence to advocate for themselves. Traditional women rely predominantly
The roaring twenties, a time period of great change in society, has become synonymous with desire for great wealth, the emergence of new cultures for men, women, and society, in addition to a recreation of the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses his major characters in the novel as a microcosm of high society, to represent its complexity. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characterization to offer commentary on high society during the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald begins his commentary in his introduction of the character of Daisy Buchanan, a typical woman of the time. Her very name emphasizes to the reader her fragility and delicate nature while described as, “opening up again in a
flower-like way” (Fitzgerald, 19). Fitzgerald uses Daisy’s high maintenance and fragility personality to incorporate the age-old story of men being unable to resist rescuing the princess, making Daisy highly desirable. She is the quintessential “damsel in distress,” just a little too helpless to care for herself. This is how he defines almost all women of high society. Daisy has the inability to control most things that occur in her life because she is so indecisive, and, “something within her was crying for a decision…and the decision must be made by some force…” (Fitzgerald 151), which is why Daisy is, “completely controlled by her husband, Tom, who constantly condescends her” (Hickey). By allowing him to have this much control over her actions, she is deemed to be incompetent, fragile, and docile.
While Daisy is, “Unhappy in her marriage because of Tom Buchanan’s deliberate unfaithfulness” (Magill On Literature) she accepts the fact that she is not the only woman in her husbands life. The sole reason in which Daisy tolerates Tom’s obvious adultery is because she is dependent on him for his money. Fitzgerald is stating that women of high society are completely desperate to maintain their social status; they will tolerate mistreatment and betrayal by those who are supposed to care for them to be viewed highly by all. Money also causes Daisy to completely reject her role as a mother in order to please Tom who evidently does not want the child. When Daisy finally speaks to her daughter in the later end of the novel she is, “held to her nurse’s hand and was pulled out the door, just as Tom came back,” (Fitzgerald 118), demonstrating Daisy’s absence in her life because she relies on the nurse to raise her. Daisy is a horrible mother because she can afford to be one in more ways than one.
Daisy is continuously portrayed as selfish. It is evident that she only marries Tom because he is the traditional wealthy male whom she is told by society that she should marry. While she is moderately sentimental toward her relationship with Tom, when left alone she, “…went over to Gatsby and pulled his face down, kissing him on the mouth. ‘You know I love you’” (Fitzgerald 116). While driving with Gatsby, Daisy hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, and feels no guilt in blaming the murder on Gatsby. Overall, “Daisy flirts with him, entertaining his obsessive interest until she commits murder and he takes the rap” (Telgen). This represents how Daisy was too self-absorbed to face the consequences of her own actions, and blamed someone who was seemingly more vulnerable than she was at that moment. Fitzgerald is generalizing that all traditional women of high society use those around them in order to suit their own needs since they lack the independence to advocate for themselves. Traditional women rely predominantly