BrendaChristeleit

Gatsby has come across to me as a sneaky person throughtout the whole book. He seems very jelous that Daisy married someone when he went off to war, and also how he spies through the brushes watching Daisy and Tom.

Yes, that's a very important chapter. Glad to see you're getting ahead in the book.

I also felt an interesting part to understanding Gatsby came as late as Ch. 7

"Shall we take anything to drink?" called Daisy from an upper window. "I'll get some whiskey," answered Tom. He went inside.

Gatsby turned to me rigidly: "I can't say anything in this house, old sport." "She's got an indiscreet voice," I remarked. "It's full of --" I hesitated.

"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly. That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it .... High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl ...."(pg. 120)

Gatsby, as much as he cared for Daisy could never have even approached her until he amassed a fortune of his own to compete with the money Tom Buchanan had. Gatsby, even coming from a blue-collar background, so to speak, understood this about her.

He had to have money, and lots of it, in order to try to win her back. Love would not be enough.

Hence Gatsby's showing off his house and even his expensive tailored shirts that day Nick invited Daisy for tea. It was all meant to showcase that he too could afford Daisy's lifestyle.

When Daisy cries into Gatsby's shirts, I wondered what it was that created the tears. Perhaps she was sad about all the missed years with him, maybe she was overwhelmed because she knew he had done all this for her, or could she have just been thrilled with the expensive materials? I think the answer to this question would provide a great deal of insight into Daisy's character.

Another interesting aspect about this seems to be property.

When we spoke in class about Tom breaking Myrtle's nose, it occurred to me he treats Myrtle like another possession for which he's bought an paid. Tom paid for the apartment in which they meet and at which she acts like the queen of the castle (so her authority comes at his discretion), he buys her the dog and she seems to be at his beckon call. So when she spouts off (perhaps) he feels like he needs to demonstrate he is the owner.

Gatsby is also fixated on possessions. Despite his seeming nonchalance about his parties, he is quick to point out a particular item (like the car) when someone eyes it up. He takes Daisy on the house tour and points out every little detail in the home.

The day Daisy comes to Nick's house, Gatsby remarks he wants her to notice his home. In fact, Gatsby is the one who initiates the idea of a tour.

The house itself is bait: Gatsby leaves the all the lights on like an airport runway at night to (I think) attract Daisy's notice across the bay. The parties also seem to simply be a vehicle to attract her. Gatsby even mentions at one point he hoped to see Daisy wander in one night during one of the parties.

So if both men are possessed of the same woman, (and what qualities has she really displayed to set off such a conflict?), is Gatsby really trying to get back the property he thinks he lost years ago? And is Tom trying to keep the piece of property he sees slipping away?

I doubt you could accuse Tom and Daisy of being in love. So what keeps them together? The money and the property, maybe. Even their daughter seems to be "put on display" in one scene, before the nanny takes charge of her again.

You know, Brenda, the more I think about this the less I'm liking Mr. Gatsby.

Okay, Tom and Daisy aren't exactly Cinderella and Prince Charming, and she's admittedly receptive to Gatsby's charms, money, etc. but shame on him for trying to steal a woman who has a child by another man.

Given his occupation, did he really think he was the better choice to raise a little girl? The daughter is hardly mentioned in this story and if Daisy were a serious mother, then the girl's welfare would have put the stop to any idea of a fling.

No one even mentions the daughter amid all the romantic scheming. It's kind of sad when you think about it.

Nice insight, Matt.

I have to say that I disagree with the idea that a man must have money to win Daisy's affection, though. That may have been the perception of both Tom and Gatsby, but even if that's true, I think they're both wrong.

Daisy, unlike many of the other characters in the story, takes pleasure in a lot of things that don't have anything to do with money. For instance, when she visits Gatsby's home for the first time, she is the one who points out the beauty of nature while she is watching the sky. Likewise, when she attends one of Gatsby's parties for the first time, she marvels at the beauty of the unknown woman under the tree, despite the fact that the woman has fallen out of the public spotlight.

Gatsby and Nick both remark that Daisy doesn't seem to enjoy the party; when this is considered along with the fact that Daisy never went to one of the parties of her own accord, before she was reunited with Gatsby, it seems a fair conclusion to say that she doesn't really care much for them because they are so rich and lavish.

That may also explain why she cries when Gatsby shows her his expensive shirts. Perhaps she's upset because she's disappointed in Gatsby, disappointed by the fact that he has wasted time working his way into nobility, becoming like her husband, and thus changed dramatically from the person she knew (I'm pretty sure Gatsby didn't inherit his money until after he and Daisy parted).