Daisy Buchannan is made to represent the lack of virtue and morality that was present during the 1920s. She is the absolute center of Gatsby’s world right up to his death, but she is shown to be uncaring and fickle throughout the novel. At first, I believed her to be immature based on her inability to take responsibility for her actions and decisions. However, I now feel that she simply prefers to ignore her problems because there is no need for her to worry about them because of the power money and charm have provided her.
Proof of Daisy’s glaring personality flaws can be seen in her indifference towards her child, the way she allows Gatsby to take the blame for Myrtle’s death, and her decisions involving Gatsby and Tom. Not only did she choose Tom over Gatsby for the sake of stability, after Gatsby’s death her and Tom move away leaving no address in order to separate themselves from these events. Gatsby is however blind to Daisy’s faults. He only sees her sophistication, wealth, confidence and beauty. That is what Gatsby learned to want growing up in rural North Dakota. He was removed from what he saw as the pinnacle of society. But being born James Gatz, he would have to use any means necessary to acquire the essence of what Daisy represented. The result is the corruption of his morals, and decision to make a living illegally.
While Gatsby is the most influential and most flawed character in the novel, it is important to understand how flawed Daisy is as well. Gatsby loved her, and she promised to wait for him to return from the war. This promise would fall through however, since she would marry Tom. He could not let go of Daisy, and she ended up having a negative impact on his life, altering his morals and causing him to gain wealth illegally and essentially live, and die, alone.
I totally agree. I don’t think Daisy Buchanan is as innocent as the reader may think she is. Daisy doesn’t really care about anything, as long as she is rich she will enjoy life. Daisy ultimately destroyed Jay Gatsby. Even though she had an affair with him and still loved him, she eventually resorted back to Tom because he was rich and a safe option.
I really enjoy you pointing out that the reason Gatsby loves Daisy is for these characteristics he was taught to cherish and envy as a poor person of the Mid-West. It makes me question further whether if Gatsby truly loved Daisy or just the idea of her. I also wonder if Daisy is possibly a metaphor for the American Dream itself. On the outside and from an outsiders point of view she seems to be all one could want in life, she’s beautiful, and rich. But, upon further look she’s selfish and too passive to practice good morals, so desperate to avoid conflict that she goes with what’s easiest and not right.
Daisy does not take responsibility for her actions. When she has issues, she is able to brush it off due to her wealth. This is a characteristic that Fitzgerald is trying to portray, that nobody is innocent and when one is wealthy, it is easy to get away with almost anything.
This is another example of female characters relying on men for help. The fact that Tom had “old money” would protect Daisy from external dangers. Although it is a different scenario than Stowe’s Uncle Toms Cabin, the key reliance on male guardianship is still a representation of common inferior roles that woman played in American history. Fitzgerald clearly depicts that if somebody is wealthy, they will be able to get away with almost anything.