Daisy Buchanan Character Analysis

Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Daisy Buchanan undergoes many noticeable changes. Daisy is a symbol of wealth and of promises broken. She is a character we grow to feel sorry for but probably should not.

Daisy is not a successful prince because her morals and characteristics are not very pure. She lies to her husband, and plays with Gatsby’s heart when she says she still loves her husband Tom. Daisy is not faithful and cannot keep her promises.

careless, indecisive, and loving. She is the wife of Tom, but she is Gatsby's lover. She is very

In a world where wealth determines power, the character, Tom Buchanan, is an exemplary model of the American dream and how it is unattainable. Tom represents a lifestyle which is becoming increasingly more common, especially in the United States. In today’s society, infidelity is becoming more and more acceptable to each generation. F. Scott Fitzgerald could see this happening to society around him, and he, in turn, created Tom Buchanan, in “The Great Gatsby” to illustrate that ideology that was slowly becoming acceptable and portray it in its true and repulsive form.

In FSF’s novel the Great Gatsby Nick Carraway’s perspective is poetic, paced and arguably reliable. For example, when he is retelling his first encounter with Daisy Buchanan after many years, his description of her and the room she is in is reminiscient of an angel in the heavens both “sad and lovely” (9). His tone changes, however, as the novel goes on and grows more pessimistic by the page. In the end, his description of Daisy is of disgust and almost pity, “they were careless…” (179). According to Mathew B, “the strongest feeling generated…” The horrible reality of a carefree life that is exhibited so thoroughly be Daisy and Tom in the end is in stark contrast to the desired and glamourous world in which they appear to exist. We hear this regret in Nick’s narration. Nowlin sums up Nick’s voice perfectly when he states, “but…” (28). Nick narrates from a future we know nothing about, unlike the narration of BR his story is tainted somewhat with retrospect. The narrators of both F’s writings operate within equally significant and different eras.

Morals and virtues are the basic principles of living a happy life. But those alone can not satisfy the human desire of wanting something bigger and better. The evilness within Daisy creates a cycle of problems that she can’t escape. Daisy’s greed and corruption leads her to take shortcuts and break the principles of a human being by cheating on her husband, neglecting her daughter, and betraying Gatsby.

Critics of this writing think that James created a character that makes the reader think about whether she is really innocent or not. Carol Ohmann shows that James displays Daisy this way on purpose so that we as the readers can argue whether Daisy is really innocent and just naïve. In “Daisy Miller: A Study of Changing Intentions,” Ohmann writes,

Daisy is one of the socially eccentric characters who is most responsible for Gatsby's death even though she did not pull the trigger largely because of her carelessness with the people around her. There are many points in

To add with Tom, Daisy is the most immoral person in the novel. In the beginning of this novel, she is portrayed as a sweet and innocent girl from Louisville. Throughout the story, she develops into the character that is needed in order to convey the meaning of moral decline. Daisy is immoral because she runs over and kills Myrtle, and she is careless about her crime. The “Death Car”, as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered around the next bend” (139). She is losing her values because she is using Gatsby to get back at Tom for cheating on her. At the end of the novel, she goes as far as leaving town with Tom; she doesn’t even attend Gatsby’s funeral nor leave any flowers. Daisy is just a complete immoral character all-around.

Her actions are viewed as foolish, creating the stigma around women, and though Daisy does not see herself as a fool, surprisingly she expresses that “the best thing a girl can be in this world [is] a beautiful little fool (Fitzgerald, pg 17).” Yet, Daisy is not a fool; she is merely a victim of her environment which is influenced by gender, money, and status. This leads to Daisy having no power or control over her own life and feeling as though women can only be “beautiful fools” as stated earlier.

Oftentimes, when a being is raised in a restrictive society, they learn to adapt to what said society desires of them as a means to survive. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Daisy Fay Buchanan is a master adapter. She hides her true, conniving nature from those around her as a way to achieve success in her life. Her society requires that she appears to be the perfect, kind woman, when in actuality, she is far from it. However, she is able to disguise the negative traits she possesses, such as manipulation, selfishness, and spitefulness in order to keep the reputation and image that society has taught her to uphold.

She thinks that being smart gets in the way of marrying a rich man and living in luxury. When she met back up with Gatsby, she didn’t show much care until she realized how rich he had become. Once she gazed upon his large and elegant house she becomes heavily attracted to him. Daisy shows how a thirst for wealth can corrupt someone simply because she lives a shallow life of hate and sadness and stays in a loveless relationship for access to Tom’s bank

Almost every story has an antagonist because without one, the protagonist would achieve their goals without facing any obstacles, guaranteeing an uninteresting book. Writers add these types of characters in order to add conflict and keep the readers captivated. In the American novel The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, introduced us to various contentious characters, all of who contributed to the drama in the story. One of these characters is Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman, who appears to be sweet, kind, and caring. However, this is just the first impression that the reader gets; as the story progresses, we come to realize that she is the most despicable character, as she is selfish, shallow, and manipulative.

Daisy is in love with money, ease, and material luxury, all things a rich Southern Belle grows up with.  After her marriage to Tom, she is whisked away to the east, the symbol of 'old money' and corruption of America.  Here she becomes more comfortable in she and her husband's abundant assets and allows the corruption of the east to take her over- she becomes reckless and even more materialistic.  She treats her own daughter as nothing more than an object to show off and treats Gatsby, the man who dedicated his life to seeking her out, as if he had never existed.  The combination of the Southern Belle stereotype along with that of the corrupt Rich Easterner creates the perfect portrait of Daisy Buchanan.

The Great Gatsby is considered to be a great American novel full of hope, deceit, wealth, and love. Daisy Buchanan is a beautiful and charming young woman who can steal a man’s attention through a mere glance. Throughout the novel, she is placed on a pedestal, as if her every wish were Gatsby’s command. Her inner beauty and grace are short-lived, however, as Scott Fitzgerald reveals her materialistic character. Her reprehensible activities lead to devastating consequences that affect the lives of every character. I intend to show that Daisy, careless and self-absorbed, was never worthy of Jay Gatsby’s love, for she was the very cause of his death.