MaryAnderson

Is anyone in favor of Daisy?

Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

One of the most significant things for me which came up as a result of finishing the novel is the change in my opinion of Daisy. At first I found Daisy to be a ditsy kind of girl happy go lucky and simple minded. Then I started to realize she had some issues like with the wedding to Tom. She throws out the necklace as if it is not important to her and it makes her seem immaterialistic, which may or may not be true but at first I took it as she wasn't being materialistic but if you think about it, it could have been as if she were taking it for granted because she had always known money and was never without, as if it were nothing to throw away an expensive gem. Then the bit about her and Gatsby's past was revealed and I almost felt sorry for her, living with her cheating husband and the humiliation that everyone knows about it and then she finds her long lost love and now she has to make a choice. Then it comes time for her to make this choice. This is where Daisy truly reveals herself. Tom knows about Gatsby and now Daisy can't really sit on the fence. She has to make the decision about who she wants to be with. (*I don't know if anyone can relate to the hot day with the heat bearing down on you and you are on the midst of a crisis its like too much to deal with. I understand why Fitzgerald set up the hotel scene under these circumstances. It helped to build up to the climax.*) Then the hotel business happens all the while Daisy wants Gatsby to be involved but can't let go of her husband (talking about their wedding day and the people that were there, etc.). She invites Gatsby to her house, announces that she wants to go to town and then rides with Gatsby! She is almost setting it up so that she hopefully won't have to make a decision. She figures the two men will just work it out for her and she won't have to do anything but look like either the poor wife mistreated by her cheating husband or the girl who was manipulated by a man into believing erroneous ideas. She also makes sure that all this occurs in front of an audience of their peers, hoping to gain favor for her side (whatever side that may truly be). This shows she is a weak character, her unwillingness to deal with the sitatuion shows she is completely wishy washy and has no control. Fitzgerald even says that "Her frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had had were defintely gone." Only Gatsby is true enough to stand up for himself even if it means facing adversity. Gatsby even waits outside her window that night even though she is beyond going back it is obvious that the choice has been made for her. Even if Tom was controlling of Daisy or whatever she had her chance to make her choice in the presence of two other men who could have protected her if Tom had gotten violent. But no, she couldn't do it. Poor Gatsby. On the contrary my opinion of Gatsby improved by the end of the story. He was truly great in my opinion. He waited all those years for Daisy, working hard to impress her and to be able to provide for her as he was unable to do before.
The climax of the story was the turning point for everybody. AFter this point of the story things aren't quite the same for anybody. Nick realizes that all these people were horrible except for Gatsby. I think he almost feels as though he owes it to Gatsby after his death for even getting him into the whole mess. If it wasn't for Nick perhaps Gatsby would never have decided to pursue Daisy more aggressively (if you can call it that). Gatsby really was a true gentlemen, concerned about Daisy's feelings only and still on her side even after she melted on the spot and turned her back on him. In my opinion Daisy is not of Gatsby's calibar. She is below Gatsby, right with her husband Tom. They are perfect for one another because they are exactly alike when it really comes down to it. Maybe the Daisy that Gatsby knew 5 years before was different, uncorrupted by money as she was then.