Loyalty In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Daisy is actually a very weak person. This is probably due to all the physical and mental abuse she has suffered by her husband. She allows him to have complete control over her and order her around as if she were a small child. In a way, she seems to like that Tom is in control because she never has the burden of making decisions. Because of Tom?s finances, Daisy never is in need of anything. She likes living a life of luxury and appears to be quite happy with her situation. While she may not like the concept of her husband cheating on her, she would never consider leaving him or getting a divorce because of what society would think of her. It is Daisy herself that chooses to remain in a loveless marriage.

Daisy, on the other hand, seems at first as though she truly does love and care for her husband. While Tom keeps himself at a distance in both relationships, Daisy seems to possess an outright need for his company. This is supported by Jordan’s recollection of Daisy’s behavior towards Tom after marrying him: “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘Where’s Tome gone?’ and wear the most abstracted expression until she saw him coming in the door. She used to sit on the sand with his head in her lap by the hour, rubbing her fingers over his eyes and looking at him with unfathomable delight” (Fitzgerald, 76-77). That being said, there are in fact several signs that point toward Daisy not loving her husband at all. Perhaps the most notable is her behavior just before her and Tom’s wedding ceremony, when she is found “lying on her bed as lovely as the June night in her flowered dress – and as drunk as a monkey. She had a bottle of Sauterne in one hand and [Gatsby’s] letter in the other” (76). Daisy goes so far as to even momentarily call off the marriage altogether, ordering the bridesmaids to “tell ‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: ‘Daisy’s change’ her mine!’” (76). Why, then, does she marry Tom after all and seem so in love with him afterwards? People usually seek out partners who will make them happy, protect them from that which they fear, etc. What does Daisy fear? She

Even when he goes on a rampage, his love for her remains strong. “'I've got my wife locked up in there” (Wilson 136). On the other hand, George's treatment of his wife, Myrtle, is less than ideal. He locks her up and mistreats her, despite his conflicting feelings of love and hate towards her. In the end, it's clear that Tom and George are different in how they handle their relationships and emotions.

“The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I had made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.” Myrtle showed that she did didn’t appreciate George in many ways. Myrtle wanted to become part of the upper class and was more worried about material things.

“The only people you have to look out for in life are the people that don’t care about anything or anyone” (Alde). In The Great Gatsby by, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom and Daisy are just those people that are not to be trusted. They have no regard for other’s feelings and live life without facing the consequences. Tom and Daisy show that they are careless people through their insensitive, thoughtless and selfish acts.

Daisy and Myrtle are greedy people who do what they want, not caring who they hurt. Daisy and Myrtle are both inconsiderate, selfish, and careless. In the novel, Myrtle does not care that she is cheating on Wilson with Tom. She does not take into account that Wilson and Daisy will end up hurt from her actions. Daisy is inconsiderate because she is just using Gatsby. She may truly love Gatsby, however, she is using him because she wants love, which she does not have with Tom. She will end up hurting Gatsby because she is giving him hope that she will leave Tom for Gatsby. Realistically, Daisy knows she will never leave Tom. Daisy Buchanan, like Myrtle Wilson, will also hurt her husband, Tom, when he finds out she is cheating on him, even though he is having an affair with Myrtle. Daisy ends up admitting she loves Gatsby in front of Tom, she says, “You always look so cool” (Fitzgerald 119). Tom is shocked and hurt by this because he thought he had his wife “under control.” Daisy and

Myrtle yearns to be with Tom and live in his wealth but is prevented from doing so by Tom and Daisy. For instance, when Daisy tries to leave Tom for Gatsby, Tom does not exactly dismiss Myrtle, “…but there is no question that she would eventually be discarded” (Donaldson). Myrtle is so infatuated with Tom, she forgot that he can just as well choose Daisy over her. He has the upper hand, as a rich man with control over women especially when it comes to his relationships. While to Tom, Myrtle’s gender has made her just one of his possessions, to Myrtle, Tom’s rich and high status as a man has made him her only path to a higher class. Due to her infatuation with Tom, she often becomes jealous and possessive when she finds a threat to their relationship. Myrtle is so overcome with desire for Tom that she cannot stand the thought of him with another women. Even when she sees Tom in the car with Jordan Baker, Myrtle’s, “… eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she too to be his wife” (Fitzgerald 125). Myrtle is so convinced that Tom is hers, when in reality, she is really Tom’s. Myrtle has almost forgotten the fact that as an inferior women, she has little control over the situation. The reality is that Tom was in control of the relationship and used Myrtle for his lustrous desires. Tom’s rejection of Myrtle causes her to become overrun with jealousy. In

She realizes that about herself, but continues to think of herself very highly. She knows what she is but she hides her insecurities with a mask that has to do with her self-image. This mask hides her insecurities from the desires she wants her life. Myrtle is a married woman to a man named George. Myrtle initially got with George in hopes of him having money. When Myrtle finds out he does not she wants to back out but it is too late. Myrtle only wants people to think she has money, we see her doing unimaginable things to get this image. One of the levels of wrong is treating her husband poorly, but her lowest action is cheating. She commits adultery with Tom Buchanan, who is also a married man. Tom is an extremely wanted and high rank man with extensive amounts of money. Myrtle thinks she would be good enough for Tom by giving him what she wants. Myrtle sees an opportunity to have the life she has dreamed of with Tom. You see Myrtles jealousy and desire for Daisy’s life when she chants “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" to Tom. (Fitzgerald 41). In reality Tom is just bored and has to real desire to be with Myrtle. Some people think Myrtle could be recognized as a “gold-digger”, but in actuality she has trained herself to think that her mask is actually her true self. Myrtle truly believes that her happiness comes from

Daisy leaving Gatsby is one of the greatest examples of the moral decay of people in this time period with the growth in wealth. Her and Gatsby had something special together when they were younger and all of that was taken away when she had realized that social status meant more to her than her true feelings. “At his lips’ touch, she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete.”(Fitzgerald, 117). This is how she had really felt, she had wanted to kiss him and had loved Gatsby. He had waited for this moment with this “golden girl” forever and finally there was kissing her. They were young and in love. "She's not leaving me!" Tom's words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby. "Certainly

Tom explains to Nick that, “And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in awhile I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time”. To Tom, cheating on Daisy is fine if he doesn’t leave her, but in reality, Tom does not love Daisy. When Tom finds out Daisy is having an affair with Gatsby, he argues that, “ Self-control!" repeated Tom incredulously.

You did it Tom,” she said accusingly. “I know you didn’t mean to, but you did do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man…” (Fitzgerald page 67-72). George was a lot different, he cared a lot about his wife Myrtle.

Myrtle desires wealth and luxuries, and as a result she has an affair with Tom, who gives her anything she yearns for. Myrtle despises her lifestyle with her husband, George Wilson, due to the lower-class living and dirty, physical labor. She explains how, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman … I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (Fitzgerald, 34). Myrtle planned to marry a rich man, so in the future he could support her children and herself, and they would be members of

Tom drained Daisy of all her independence the instant they tied the knot and agreed to conform to a typical marriage. He takes advantage of this situation and not only abuses his control over Daisy, but manipulates her to completely depend on him. Daisy has always been used to someone telling her what to do, and her relationship with Tom is no different. She is not a whole person without him to the point where even, “If he left the room for a minute she’d look around uneasily and say: ‘‘Where’s Tom gone?’ and wear the most abstract expression until she

One of Daisy’s biggest sins included misleading her husband by marrying him. Tom Buchanan remained deceived with the impression of Daisy loving him. After she cut her ties with Gatsby, she set off on a new adventure, transforming her normal life into riches. Daisy “wanted her life shaped now, immediately-and the decision must be made by some force- of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality” and soon “that force took the shape of Tom Buchanan”. Tom’s kindness attracted Daisy the first time they met. But as time progressed, she grew infatuated with his money more than his personality. The little glimpse of greed from her youth developed into a powerful force which took control of her emotions. To Daisy, the importance of money overpowered her will to achieve happiness. Daisy’s love rang once for Tom but Jay Gatsby answered her call. She cheated on her husband Tom because she desired Gatsby more. On the day of Myrtle’s death, Daisy confronted both Tom and Gatsby with her true emotions by confessing “even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom… It wouldn’t be true”. She loved Tom but since Daisy’s with Gatsby, she doesn’t love him anymore. Daisy broke the vows she made to Tom when they married each other. Breaking the promise of marriage gave her the thrill she always dreamed of in her youth.

On the other hand Tom and Daisy’s relationship was incredibly flawed, however they suited each other in terms of social class. They both had the same shallow views, as Nick states in the end, “they were careless people, Tom and Daisy, they smashed things up and creatures and retreated back into their money and vast carelessness.” The ending of the novel reinforces the idea that in such a morally corrupt society only relationships concerning those of the same social standing could work even in the slightest, and even so those relationships were doomed to a certain extent.