Examples Of Daisy Selfish In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows that Daisy is self-centered and careless at heart; she is a dreamer who fails to face reality. Continuing an affair with Gatsby with no real intentions of leaving her husband eventually leads to the death of Gatsby. In return she shows little to no concerns over the death of her “love” Gatsby and returns into the arms of her corrupt husband. Tom, who is also unfaithful in their relationship has a mistress of his own who is killed in a car accident while Daisy was driving. Tom as well shows no remorse in her death and moves on like nothing ever happened. Daisy and Tom are the prime example of corruption in both material success and with what wealth can bring; “They instinctively seek out each other because each recognizes the other’s strength in the corrupt

Within F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, there are two infamous characters named Tom and Daisy, an extremely wealthy couple who reside in a luxurious mansion in East Egg. Although their lives may seem picture perfect from the outside, it is far the opposite on the inside. The narrator of the novel, Nick, describes Tom and Daisy as “careless people…they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald 187-188). Nick makes this statement in response to all of the scandals they created and people they hurt throughout the novel. Tom and Daisy both prove their carelessness through

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.

In many instances, Gatsby showed signs of selflessness. But, if the reader were to dig deeper into the roots of the story, they will be able to see that under the kind acts and good deeds, Gatsby’s intentions were always selfish. After the car scene, Tom, Jordan, Daisy and Nick returned to Daisy and Tom’s house. As Gatsby waits outside of the home, Nick, unknowingly, asks Gatsby whether or not Daisy was driving. Gatsby replies saying, “Yes, but of course I’ll say I was” (Fitzgerald 143). When Gatsby took Daisy’s place in the murder of Myrtle, although seeming kind-hearted, his only reason for this was to earn Daisy’s love and to impress her. Gatsby has somewhat put up an image of himself to be the pure and almighty man that deserves Daisy more. Meyer Wolfshiem, Gatsby’s business partner, mentions to Nick of Gatsby’s chivalrous actions towards women saying, “Yeah, Gatsby’s very careful about women. He would never so much look at a friend’s wife” (Fitzgerald 72). Although Meyer Wolfshiem’s comment on Gatsby about him being a gentleman, and how he would never look at another man’s wife, Gatsby proceeds to exceed all expectations and have an affair with Tom’s wife, Daisy Buchanan. Yes, some might say his only reason for doing so was out of true love and destiny but, in either case, it was morally wrong. In every action that Gatsby commits for Daisy, his selfishness secretly hides beneath it, shading itself from light so no one will approach the real man that lurks behind the curtains of self pride.

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.

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.

Although Daisy may seem sweet, it is difficult not to over think her actions throughout the book. If Daisy was always in love with Gatsby as she proclaimed she had been, then how did she move on so quickly? It is tempting to jump to the conclusion that she had only married Tom for his money. Additionally, it is evident that Daisy is aware of Tom having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Knowing this, was Daisy truly in love with Gatsby after he returned, or was she only acting this way in retaliation to Tom’s affair? If both of these theories are true, that qualifies Daisy as the most selfish person in the novel. These actions cause us to question Daisy’s character throughout the novel; however, there is one incident that is unmistakably an act of selfishness. While Daisy was driving Gatsby and herself home, she ran over Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Some believed it was an accident, but Daisy never stopped driving. “The ‘death car,’ as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment and then disappeared around the next bend.”(Fitzgerald 144) Because she was in Gatsby’s car, he inadvertently took the blame and eventually got himself killed. The author merely discloses that Daisy and Tom had gone away never to return. Was Gatsby’s death a result of Daisy’s selfishness? Daisy’s selfish desires destroyed relationships and

​In The Great Gatsby the character Daisy Buchanan was one of the characters that due to her decisions in the past her present is not what she wanted. This affects the story from the beginning to the end. Daisy was from Louisville, Kentucky before the war, many military officers chased her. In those many officers Gatsby included he lies to her about his past and tells her that he is wealthy, soon after she falls in love with Gatsby and promises that she will wait for him. But during the war she marries a man named Tom Buchanan, who promised her a wealthy lifestyle. Later, Nick her cousin helps her and Gatsby reunite after so many years, they have at first an awkward meeting, but after Nick leaves them alone and comes back they seem to be happy.

Despite Daisy being a dislikeable character, there are some instances in which the reader feels sympathetic towards her. A big factor is the affair that Tom has with Myrtle. Daisy knows that what her husband is doing, but she still stays with him for the fact that they have a daughter together and for financial support. When Nick first sees Daisy's daughter, she says, "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." By this she means that if her daughter is in the same position she is in her marriage, she won't know of the affair that her husband might have. The reader feels bad for Daisy because she is not being treated the way a wife is supposed to be treated. That is why she is yearning for love, and Gatsby was there to give it to her. Another time is at the hotel suite scene. She doesn't know who to choose from-Tom or Gatsby. She's torn between two lovers, and both of them have their own reasons for loving her, and why she should choose them. Gatsby has a lot to offer her, and loves her for who she is. He succeeded in life just to be with her. Although Tom is having an affair, he questions her about their love, and that Gatsby cannot take his place.

There are many themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby in which many people can relate to today. Fitzgerald demonstrates a lot of themes that have to humanity and its many flaws. One of the major themes in Fitzgerald’s book is the theme of selfishness and its negative effects on the characters and the people around them. According to the Oxford Dictionary, selfishness is “lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.” In more simple terms, it is when a person puts his or her own needs in before others. There are many characters in this book that depict this characteristic through the story.

Jealousy can inflict both physical and emotional pain upon others. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, expresses how a poor man, Nick Carraway, rekindles his friendship with Tom and his wife, Daisy, who happens to be Nick’s cousin. While reviving his relationships, Nick discovers that Tom has been having an affair. As the end of the text progresses, Myrtle, Tom’s lover, suffers fatal wounds from a car accident in which she does not survive. It is revealed later in the text that the driver of the car was Daisy. Daisy is excessively envious as evidenced by when she demands attention, has bitterness toward Mr. Gatsby’s objects, and murders Tom’s mistress.

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

Daisy’s greed Gatsby can arguable be called the hero of the story, he too is afflicted with greed, perhaps the most of any of the characters. Fitzgerald, at first, manages to hide this trait of Gatsby beneath a romantic image of a young, wealthy, love struck man who gives grand parties and is well-liked. However, Jay Gatsby’s image changes as we learn more of the

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.

If she had the sense to think through her choices, however tempting they may be when providing her with luxury, she could have prevented the death of two of the three most honorable people in the novel. The fact that her act of being self-centered lead to the death of a few good people demonstrates just how in the 1920’s, moral choices were crippling the society. The best example for what creates a selfish person, how they live, and the effects of their choices, would be the character Daisy. Even her name suggests that she is a delicate and pampered flower, while her choices reflect that she could care less about anyone expect herself, and what she was taught to value. The affair she has with Gatsby, another wealthy upper-class citizen, does not worry her although she is already married. She only doesn’t make the "fling" public because it would harm her social standings if she was with a "new-money" man. She even goes as far as to have Gatsby introduced to her daughter, whom she barely ever mentions. She views her child almost as a plant, occasionally admiring it, but not deeply concerned with it’s purpose on the windowsill. Her lack of care, and hope that her daughter will mimic her and be a "beautiful fool", demonstrates how she enjoys being naïve, and that she is potentially aware that she is sheltered from the world and self-centered. When Gatsby is killed, Daisy doesn’t attend his funeral, and isn’t even