How Does Daisy Mature In The Great Gatsby

In book, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts how the American was corrupted through wealth. Fitzgerald provides many examples. The most common example shown was Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s idea that to achieve his American Dream must be to acquire wealth. In order to show this, Fitzgerald uses various literary elements. Two of those being imagery and foreshadowing, these played a critical role in describing the theme, and specific moods to show what was to come and as well as describe the story as a whole. These play a vital role in representing Gatsby’s life and journey to acquiring Daisy, his version of the American Dream.

In the great Gatsby, many characters are either dissatisfied or disillusioned with their lives in someway. Even though many have considerable amounts of wealth, they are somewhat unhappy with their lives. The characters unhappiness is demonstrated by their attitudes, their carelessness, and their somewhat solitude. Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Nick Carraway all show dissolution and unhappiness with their lives.

In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald wrote, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—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 made…” (179) The relationship between Tom and Daisy was quite unstable. They were "careless people" because they were insensitive and thoughtless to others. If something goes wrong, they walk away, leaving the mess behind for others, like Nick, to deal with. Tom and Daisy always acted in a radical demeanor without ever thinking through the consequences of their actions. Early in the novel, Tom’s abuse of his relationship with Myrtle causes her to believe that they would have been married if it were not for Daisy. Daisy’s inattention led to the death of

Gatsby believed wholeheartedly that his happiness lay in the chance of reuniting with Daisy, but she was unfortunately unable to live up to his obsessive and arguably overwhelming dream. In fact, Gatsby himself becomes so engrossed in his “American Dream”, that when Daisy’s rejection comes, his life seems to lose all its purpose in the absence of his obsession. Perhaps even his former warm view of the world was lost as he lay in the pool, waiting for Daisy’s phone call, and “looked up at an unfamiliar sky.” This shows us how obsession can take over one’s life, wielding a complete unhealthy control over our emotions and actions. On the critical side, it is also showing us that the American Dream, which was once a genuine, pure aspiration for advancement, has, for many people, turned into a greedy desire and obsession for wealth and material goods. As well as the unrealistic notion of equal opportunity for all, Fitzgerald is suggesting that what was once “a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable”- as coined by U.S writer James Truslow Adams- has evolved into a dense objective of achieving personal material comfort. Although Gatsby claims that he did everything for Daisy, there is the underlying question; was his bootlegging really all for Daisy’s love, or was it for his own ideal life that he dreamed of- a life of luxury, aesthetic appeal and a beautiful woman? Fitzgerald is criticising the corruption of what was idealised to be a world of freedom, equality and opportunity. Instead of striving for an improved, richer and fuller life for the country as a whole, society has turned into a battle between individuals to get to the top and appear the most

Daisy’s decision towards the end of the book was unpredictable; however, it did unravel her character more, and she became a little realistic in how the plot turned out. For example, in the novel, it states “It was all very care-less and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back…to let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Page 179). This shows that in Nick’s perspective those two characters just blossomed their negative attributes, and I do agree with Nick’s predicament because I saw little hints of their behavior throughout the book. For example, in the literature, it also states “She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw” (Page 119). This demonstrates

Jay Gatsby, grew up poor, but he had a plan to be successful. Everyday he followed a strict schedule and lived by certain rules that included “No more smoking or chewing, bath every other day, read one improving book or magazine per week, save $5.00 [crossed out] $3.00 per week, be better to parents” (Fitzgerald 194). He aspired to be among the wealthy and made it a priority to learn manners. At Gatsby’s funeral, his father told Nick, “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that. He told me I eat like a hog once, and I beat him for it” (Fitzgerald 108). Gatsby believed in the American Dream; he believed that a poor boy like him could become successful. This aspiration to be accepted into the upper class is why he fell in love with Daisy. She represented everything he wanted: money, success, and love. Nick even described her voice as “full of money” (Fitzgerald 99). That is why he was so determined to get her. “What constrains Gatsby is his extreme romanticism, his belief in the American myth that one, through hard work, can achieve anything, whether reliving the past or marrying Daisy in proper social splendor in Louisville so as to confirm his rise in American society” (Hays). What Gatsby did not know is that the American dream is just that, a dream.

People have a general conception that having more wealth creates more happiness within a person's life. This theory is disproved through F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Daisy’s melancholy personality and regret after leaving Gatsby and marrying Tom for money demonstrates that wealth does not buy love nor fulfillment in life proving that some people value financial security over love.

In the great American novel The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald it is clear that Jay Gatsby’s past with Daisy shaped his life and revealed how resistance to moving on will lead to the downfall of man. Jay Gatsby dedicated his life to rekindling the love he shared with Daisy during his training in the army. When he moved to New York he joined Meyer Wolfsheim to become wealthy and threw extravagant parties to attract Daisy. Acquiring Daisy as his lover would complete his ultimate goal of rising to a higher social status and having a perfect life. Though, the perfect life he attained for a short period of time previously could not be repeated because too many complications arose from Daisy’s present life.

The color green is also used to represent the American Dream, the ideal way for Americans to live that promises prosperity and a place among those in the upper class, living the upper class lifestyle, but a lifestyle that is often thought of as unreachable due to the status, money, and often race that one must have in order to achieve it. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald often uses Nick’s judgmental voice to scrutinize the characters who appear throughout the novel. In particular, a person of interest to Nick was Myrtle, Tom’s mistress. Nick was sure to note that she is not very wealthy although she acts as though she is well above her actual societal level. In essence, Myrtle acts as though she had married properly and achieved the American Dream, what seems to be her goal in life, when in actuality, she has not done anything like this. Myrtle married poor and continues to live a fake life, having an affair with Tom, Daisy’s husband, to pretend as though she is above where she actually is in society. After Daisy accidentally hits and kills Myrtle by running her over with a car and Myrtle’s husband speaks with the police, Nick remarks that “The “death car” as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop… he [Wilson] told the first policeman that it [the car] was light green.” By writing that it was not only Daisy that killed Myrtle, but Daisy in a green car, Fitzgerald invokes a sense of irony to exemplify the concept of green symbolizing an unattainable American Dream. He does this

“But I didn’t call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone- he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way... I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of the dock” (25-26). In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator, offers his first observation about Jay Gatsby. Although Carraway did not know him well at the time, his first Gatsby moment truly revealed Gatsby’s purpose-to repeat the past and find his old love, Daisy who loved across the bay near the green light. Despite the geographical differences of East egg and West egg, the roaring twenties made Gatsby shine in a light of his own that others tried to reach for.

In The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald feels that money can’t buy happiness or relationships. Daisy only married Tom because he provided her with stability and was rich, Gatsby was away at war and broke. “Take em down - stairs and give me back to whoever they belong to” (Fitzgerald 76). When Daisy got the letter from Gatsby a day before her wedding she broke down and almost didn’t marry Tom because Gatsby was the one she loved. Gatsby spent years getting rich just to get Daisy back.

In the Great Gatsby, the reader sees that not every person’s dream is guaranteed to come true. This paper focuses on the American Dream, Gatsby’s downfall, and how Daisy plays a big role. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan seems like an innocent woman, but her carelessness and recklessness proves her guilt in Gatsby’s downfall.

Gatsby's Life Journey Gatsby, a gentleman who worked hard to get where he wanted in life, failed to achieve what was most important to him, love. Love was everything to Gatsby, that is after he met this beautiful young lady named Daisy, of course. He wanted her love so bad that he based most of his life on her. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s dreams got crushed so quick and he never truly became the man he always wanted to be.

There was an immense hype about a novel, I was curious what the novel was about. I kept the book a mystery before reading it to remain excited about the book. The novel was The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, it is considered a great American novel, he addresses topics such as wealth, status, and the American dream. After reading it, it became apparent of the view that had the American dream. Through his novel he was able to express his opinion on two different types of women through Daisy and Myrtle. He personally knew and acknowledged events and misconception that they went through, but conveyed it in a more negative manner than.

When a person’s greatest hope does not come true, it can not only leave them stuck and unsure what to do with their lives, but cause emotional damage as well. Putting all the eggs in one basket means that if the person loses the basket, he or she loses everything they essentially live for as well. Obviously, this leaves him or her in the lowest depths of despair. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald once again uses the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, this time to demonstrate how much hurt a broken dream can cause. Within the first hours of being reunited with his former love, Gatsby begins to suspect that the situation will not fall perfectly into place the way he imagined. Nick, after attending this awkward reunion, reflects, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything... No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (103). Although Daisy still appears as beautiful and charming as ever, Gatsby’s false image of her after several lonely years expands so much larger than life that the real Daisy plainly disappoints Gatsby. Fitzgerald strongly warns against the pitfalls of hope - once a person fixates on an idea, such as Gatsby did, reality cannot compete with the power the idea has over the person, leading to a delusional and unsatisfactory life in actuality.