The 1920s was a time of great economic prosperity and social change. From the 1920s emerged the evolution of jazz, the age of flappers, and technology that created a new mass culture. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the culture of the 1920s to weave a tale of love and tragedy that explores these changing conditions. The Great Gatsby is told from the perspective of a WW1 veteran and Yale graduate who goes by the name of Nick Carraway. Nick moves from the Midwest to New York where he ends up reconnecting with his cousin Daisy and becoming friends with his wealthy neighbor Gatsby. Soon after he moves to New York, Nick stops by to have dinner with Daisy. When Nick arrives at Daisy’s mansion, he is greeted by the sight of Daisy’s Husband, Tom. There he …show more content…
After Gatsby left to fight in the war, Daisy was a mess; but within the year she became tired of waiting for Gatsby to return and began to search for someone new. Fitzgerald suggests,”She wanted her life shaped now, the decision must be made by some force-of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality...That force took shape in the middle of spring with the arrival of Tom Buchanan. There was a wholesome bulkiness about his person and his position and Daisy was flattered.The letter reached Gatsby while he was still at Oxford.” (159) Before Gatsby left, Daisy and Gatsby were madly in love. So when he departed, Daisy was left without a purpose and nobody to give her the attention she craves. As a result, she went out to search for someone else to depend on. Fitzgerald states that Daisy wanted her life shaped, which implies that she enjoys being controlled and influenced and also that she needs someone to depend on. Daisy is influenced by love and money which is why she is attracted to Tom. She is attracted to the wholesome bulkiness of his position which refers to his wealth and his high ranking in society. Gatsby still believes that Daisy is waiting for him to come back from war but what he does not know is that as soon as Tom came along Daisy threw Gatsby aside for Tom and his wealth. She does not even bother waiting for Gatsby to return from his deployment. This shows both her callous nature and how little she really cared for Gatsby. All she liked was that he gave her all of his attention. Fast forward some years later, Daisy and Gatsby get back together but while she is still with Tom. This results in a conflict between Gatsby and Tom that Nick witnesses. Nick observes,” ‘She began to sob helplessly, ‘I did love him once-but I loved you too.’ ‘Even that’s a lie,’said Tom savagely... ‘I want to speak to Daisy alone,’ he insisted. ‘She’s all
Gatsby and Daisy had met years prior, but ended up going their separate ways. However, Gatsby remained in love with Daisy and longed for her affection. The two reconcile, and Daisy starts seeing Gatsby outside of her marriage with Tom. In this, Daisy is leading Gatsby on by making him believe he will attain his ultimate dream: a life with her. However, Daisy knows deep down she will not leave Tom for Gatsby. This is proven when a confrontation about the affair sparks between Tom and Gatsby, and Daisy attempts to defend Gatsby and stick up to Tom, but ultimately fails and retreats back to her husband. “Her frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had had, were definitely gone” (Fitzgerald 135). Daisy’s carelessness shines through in leading Gatsby to believe she would abandon Tom for him, but fails to follow through. She recklessly broke the heart of the man who had been in love with her for many
Gatsby’s claim to love Daisy is nothing more than wanting to complete his collection of the grand prize being a trophy wife. It became apparent to Nick that Gatsby wanted to repeat the past in order to win the award of a perfect woman. While reminiscing, Nick realizes Gatsby’s desire was that, “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken. One of them was that, after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house- just as if it were five years ago” (Fitzgerald 109). Gatsby’s relentless need to ‘get the girl’ blinds his ability to comprehend Daisy’s feelings of the situation. His want to shatter the Buchanan’s marriage
There was a recollection of the moments that Gatsby and Daisy had together and Daisy was the first “nice” girl that Gatsby had ever known. Gatsby cuddled with Daisy before he left for the Armistice, but after it instead of getting sent home he was sent to Oxford instead. Daisy wanted to shape her life and that decision had to be made by a force of love or money. The force that she was looking for was fulfilled in Tom. Gatsby had told Nick that he thought that Daisy had never loved Tom. Nick made it clear that he was no longer talking to Jordan after an abrupt conversation that they had on the phone with each
Since he has Daisy now, there is no need to use his parties as a way to lure her to him. Gatsby fires all of his servants and replaces his staff with a few people who will not spread rumors about his relations with Daisy. Nick and Gatsby go over to Daisy and Tom’s house for lunch on the hottest day of the year. Jordan Baker is also there, and the meal is incredibly awkward because Gatsby and Daisy’s feeling for each other are obvious to Tom. Daisy suggests that they go to town, and Tom agrees. They stop for gas at the Wilson’s garage on the way, and Tom finds out that Mr. Wilson is sending his wife off to the West because he has discovered she is having an affair. However, Mr. Wilson does not know who his wife is having an affair with. Nick thinks to himself that Mr. Wilson and Tom are very similar because they have both discovered that their wives are having affairs. Once in town, the group decides to get a hotel room to relax. Tom acts aggressively towards Gatsby, asking questions and eventually accusing him of having an affair with Daisy and of illegally selling alcohol. Gatsby responds by saying that Daisy has always loved him. Tom says that he has a history with Daisy that Gatsby will never understand. Daisy seems to draw into herself, so Tom sends Daisy and Gatsby home together, knowing that their affair is over. Nick suddenly realizes that it’s his thirtieth birthday! On their way home, Nick,
Daisy understands she is limited in society due to her gender, so she seeks out relationships in which the man is providing stability: “Jay Gatsby pursues Daisy knowing that her sense of happiness and the good life depends on money and property” (John Callahan). Daisy’s sentimentality is unimportant compared to the financial security she is able to obtain through a relationship, so Gatsby realizes he must obtain the money and social standing Daisy desires. Although Daisy is at a disadvantage, she uses her sexuality in order to find security for the future. She makes love to Gatsby because she believes he can provide her with a secure future, yet, as she learns, he is not as established as he portrays himself to be, so when Gatsby leaves for war, Daisy continues her search for stability.
“He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you’ ” (Fitzgerald Chapter 6). This is when it is very clear what Gatsby is trying to accomplish, his goal is to get Daisy to abolish all the experiences she’s had with Tom. Gatsby wants Daisy to follow his ideals and to try and spark their past together. Although Daisy is stuck between choosing Tom and Gatsby, she realizes that the past cannot be relieved, because she has experienced too much with Tom, and that Tom also has a major influence in her
He was so obsessed with having her, that he had articles and pictures of her in one of his rooms. When Daisy ultimately refuses Gatsby in chapter seven, he is unable to come to terms with her decision. There is no acceptance that she chose Tom over him, as he thought Daisy could only love himself. For this reason, Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy was diluted to lustful behavior. This lust was manifested through his newfound wealth, as he believed that anything could be his.
Gatsby throughout the book was chasing and trying to get Daisy back when in reality she wasn’t ever going to leave Tom. He wanted Daisy and himself to pick up where they left off when he left for the war. Gatsby
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
While Gatsby was a soldier, he fell in love with Daisy Fay. Before he left for war, Daisy promised Jay that she would wait for him, but she did not. After finding out, Gatsby made it his goal to get her back, and after many years, he still wanted her back. In chapter four, Nick says that it’s a coincidence that Gatsby and Daisy lived so close to each other, but Jordan informs him that it was not a coincidence, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” In chapter five, Gatsby shows Daisy a scrapbook he had made for her and she is overwhelmed, she begins crying tears of joy. As stated before, Gatsby was a huge romantic and always had hope that maybe one day, Daisy would come back to him.
Daisy is Nick’s cousin and is initially portrayed in a joyful and elegant light. Nick describes her as having a “thrilling voice” and a face that “was sad and lovely with bright things in it”. She is the epitome of the beauty and grace expected of those of her status in life. Throughout her entire life, Daisy has lived a life of luxury with support from her wealthy family and husband Tom. Daisy does her best to put on a face of sophistication and happiness, but this is often shadowed by the fact that she is, as she puts it “...pretty cynical about everything”.
Gatsby has been at work for Daisy ever since he met her, but in the end Daisy always chose her husband and not her lover. He would always try to win her over with expensive things. This quote describes perfectly what Gatsby was doing, “ his goal is galvanized for him early on when was a poor young army lieutenant he is prevented from pursuing a relationship with Daisy.” Gatsby still trying his best efforts sent a love letter to Daisy on her wedding night. Daisy opened the letter, she loved it but knew she had to marry Tom. When Gatsby is killed, Daisy forgets all about him and moves on with her life. This quote describes Daisy and Gatsby 's relationship. “ Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her.” When Daisy finally is won over by Jay Gatsby he dies and Daisy immediately runs back to Tom just as she always has done in the past.
After the war ended Daisy who was waiting for Gatsby married Tom and then Gatsby joined the mafia and started making money so Daisy could take him back one day. Women in the Great Gatsby were like objects, ““Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous couch, like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans.” (Fitzgerald 19) They were seen as trophies something they had to achieve that is why Tom really wanted Daisy. Tom had a lot of
On Daisy’s wedding day she shows how she still loves Gatsby even with Tom by her side. In chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby Daisy shows her love for Gatsby. “She wouldn’t let go of the letter , she took it into the tub with her and squeezed it into a wet ball and only let me leave it in the soap dish when she saw it was coming to pieces.” (Fitzgerald 76) The letter that Daisy had received was from Gatsby . Daisy crying in the tub clutching onto a letter that Gatsby had sent to shows how she is still in love with Gatsby and that Tom does now satisfy her need for gatsby’s love. Gatsby has stopped Daisy from living a blissful life with Tom by intervening the way that he did. “ Gatsby’s inability to appreciate that in the intervening years Daisy could have had an emotional life.”(Parkinson) Daisy couldn't resist the love from Gatsby even though she could have had a better and happier life.
He felt their presence all about the house, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions” (149). Gatsby felt that Daisy’s glamour and wealth must have made her attractive to other men, “it increased her value in his eyes” and held more appeal than her love for him. However, at the same time, Daisy 's desires are also driven by wealth, but she is not attracted to the new money that Gatsby has. Tom’s old money is much more appealing to Daisy. The two men fight over Daisy and in the end she chooses Tom because of his historic wealth.