How Does Daisy Corrupt In The Great Gatsby
The East Egg depicts the established aristocratic families with their inherited money while the West Egg depicts those characters that strive to become rich and obtain money in “get-rich-quick schemes” as shown by Gatsby’s bootlegging. Having large amounts of money for a long period of time is prejudicial as it causes corruption and makes the owners become desensitized, shallow, selfish and hypocritical. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows his distaste towards the deceitful aristocratic class through Tom and Daisy, the two East Eggers. Both Tom and Daisy have been blessed with their luxurious lifestyle, but they become superficial through the hypocrisy within their relationships; frivolity for materialism and wealth; and lack of sympathy and moral values.
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Early on in the novel, we learn that everyone knows of Tom having “some woman in New York.” (20) We find out later that this woman is Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson’s wife. Tom, Nick and Myrtle head out to New York where they party and forget about the rest of the world. It is not until Myrtle starts shouting “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (39) that Tom decides he does not want Myrtle to mention Daisy’s name and gives her a smack, which breaks her nose. Tom does not want Myrtle to mention Daisy’s name because it reminds him that he is leading a double life as he is having an extramarital relationship. This shows that he is aware of this hypocrisy but does not want to mix the two relationships and remind himself of his indignity. As this acts as a wake-up call for Tom, he wants to dismiss it and not think of the other relationship when he is busy with one of them. This hypocrisy is further manifested when Daisy reignites her relationship with Gatsby even though Tom disapproves of this relationship. The fact that Tom allows himself to have a secret affair with Myrtle but “was evidently perturbed at Daisy’s running around alone” (100) shows his hypocrisy. It is not fair to Daisy that Tom can have an extramarital relationship but she cannot. Daisy, as the other aristocratic character in the novel, shows her superficiality in one of the most important areas of her life, her marriage.
She is in a relationship with Gatsby before the war, truly loves him, and promises to wait for him. But as she is part of the upper-class aristocracy, it is more ‘proper’ to marry someone in the same class as her. In the end, she allows herself to believe that having more money would be more important than true love. As a result, she did not wait for Gatsby to come back from the war but marries Tom, a man from a very wealthy family, instead. Daisy faces the consequence of her decision and shows the readers of her regret when she says, “that’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a [man]” (17). She feels even more remorseful when she sees Gatsby’s “Hotel de Ville” (11) and cries “That huge place there?” (87) because the mansion is even bigger than the house that she is living in at the moment. Daisy further shows her materialistic desire when she sees Gatsby’s shirts and sobs, “it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.” (89) This materialistic appetite and thirst for wealth is very evident to the aristocracy and contributes to their corruption as they never seem to have
enough.
The East Eggers have had their money for a long time. With this money, they feel that they are comfortable and happy in their current state and do not need anyone else. This leads to their lifestyle characterized by a lack of sympathy and moral values. Although Daisy was Myrtle’s murderer, she allows Gatsby to take the blame for her. Therefore, Fitzgerald is able to show the reader that Daisy is selfish and lives only for her own well-being. On the other hand, this act of selflessness on behalf of Gatsby comes with a price as ‘no good deed goes unpunished.’ Tom, thinking that it was Gatsby driving the car back to the Eggs, tells George Wilson that Gatsby is Myrtle’s murderer. Consequently, George goes to Gatsby’s mansion and shoots him. When it comes to Gatsby’s funeral, no one attends except Nick and Gatsby’s father. It is a total shame that even though Daisy murmurs, “you know I love you,” (111) and that Daisy was the reason for Gatsby’s death, in the end, she decides not to attend Gatsby’s funeral.
F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively shows us the corruption within the aristocracy through the novel The Great Gatsby and its aristocratic characters, Tom and Daisy. He is able to convey his message that having an excess of money for a prolonged period of time is detrimental to the human and warns readers not to become like Tom and Daisy, hypocritical, superficial and lacking in sympathy and moral values.
Early on in the novel, we learn that everyone knows of Tom having “some woman in New York.” (20) We find out later that this woman is Myrtle Wilson, George Wilson’s wife. Tom, Nick and Myrtle head out to New York where they party and forget about the rest of the world. It is not until Myrtle starts shouting “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (39) that Tom decides he does not want Myrtle to mention Daisy’s name and gives her a smack, which breaks her nose. Tom does not want Myrtle to mention Daisy’s name because it reminds him that he is leading a double life as he is having an extramarital relationship. This shows that he is aware of this hypocrisy but does not want to mix the two relationships and remind himself of his indignity. As this acts as a wake-up call for Tom, he wants to dismiss it and not think of the other relationship when he is busy with one of them. This hypocrisy is further manifested when Daisy reignites her relationship with Gatsby even though Tom disapproves of this relationship. The fact that Tom allows himself to have a secret affair with Myrtle but “was evidently perturbed at Daisy’s running around alone” (100) shows his hypocrisy. It is not fair to Daisy that Tom can have an extramarital relationship but she cannot. Daisy, as the other aristocratic character in the novel, shows her superficiality in one of the most important areas of her life, her marriage.
She is in a relationship with Gatsby before the war, truly loves him, and promises to wait for him. But as she is part of the upper-class aristocracy, it is more ‘proper’ to marry someone in the same class as her. In the end, she allows herself to believe that having more money would be more important than true love. As a result, she did not wait for Gatsby to come back from the war but marries Tom, a man from a very wealthy family, instead. Daisy faces the consequence of her decision and shows the readers of her regret when she says, “that’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a [man]” (17). She feels even more remorseful when she sees Gatsby’s “Hotel de Ville” (11) and cries “That huge place there?” (87) because the mansion is even bigger than the house that she is living in at the moment. Daisy further shows her materialistic desire when she sees Gatsby’s shirts and sobs, “it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.” (89) This materialistic appetite and thirst for wealth is very evident to the aristocracy and contributes to their corruption as they never seem to have
enough.
The East Eggers have had their money for a long time. With this money, they feel that they are comfortable and happy in their current state and do not need anyone else. This leads to their lifestyle characterized by a lack of sympathy and moral values. Although Daisy was Myrtle’s murderer, she allows Gatsby to take the blame for her. Therefore, Fitzgerald is able to show the reader that Daisy is selfish and lives only for her own well-being. On the other hand, this act of selflessness on behalf of Gatsby comes with a price as ‘no good deed goes unpunished.’ Tom, thinking that it was Gatsby driving the car back to the Eggs, tells George Wilson that Gatsby is Myrtle’s murderer. Consequently, George goes to Gatsby’s mansion and shoots him. When it comes to Gatsby’s funeral, no one attends except Nick and Gatsby’s father. It is a total shame that even though Daisy murmurs, “you know I love you,” (111) and that Daisy was the reason for Gatsby’s death, in the end, she decides not to attend Gatsby’s funeral.
F. Scott Fitzgerald effectively shows us the corruption within the aristocracy through the novel The Great Gatsby and its aristocratic characters, Tom and Daisy. He is able to convey his message that having an excess of money for a prolonged period of time is detrimental to the human and warns readers not to become like Tom and Daisy, hypocritical, superficial and lacking in sympathy and moral values.