Character Analysis of Daisy in The Great Gatsby

Gatsby's Presentation of Daisy

Gatsby presents Daisy as one character who on the narrow view is very apparent and shallow. Nevertheless, there is something in her that she fails to expose to anybody, herself included. This is because she hides her real character traits which made it even so difficult for the author to bring it to the audience clearly (Fitzgerald 6). However, Jay tries through his artistic work to bring at least some light on her characters.

Daisy's Flat and Round Personality

In the first place, Daisy as appears one with a flat personality. She comes from a rich background which signifies that she has money and will continue having money. Gatsby even goes ahead to say "her voice is full of money" (Fitzgerald 15). On the contrary to her appearance at first place, Daisy appears as one who cares and at the same times she does not care making her stand at the middle of being a flat and round character. One only depict a little of Daisy's true character when she comments after giving birth that "she said to me it was a girl child and thus I turned my head away then wept. All right, ... I am happy it is a girl. As well I believe she will be a fool, that is the only thing a female could be in this world, an attractive little fool" in chapter 1 of the novel (Fitzgerald 5). To some extent, this portrayed Daisy as a fool in the face of the readers while for critics, she is not because according to Shakespearean work, a fool is one with wisdom only if well scrutinized. This is because, from the viewpoint of the reader, she is a fool, but according to her and other women in that era, they needed to look like fools to survive in a man's dominated world.

Daisy's Unhappiness and Reluctance

Daisy represents the picture of a woman who is unhappy about her marriage and regrets having made such decision but at the same time very reluctant to quit such marriage. In the first place after marrying Tom, we see daisy so happy in the marriage and even began to forget Gatsby who was the first to propose to her. However, according to Fitzgerald, her happiness could not go past their honeymoon in the south sea when Tom started having affairs with other women outside marriage (46). Her reluctance to quit the union comes clear in chapter seven where Gatsby pressures her to tell Tom she no longer loves him but she still fails to gather the courage. She ends up crying telling Gatsby that, "Oh you need too much! I adore you now, is that not enough? I cannot assist what is past, I did adore him one time, but I love you too" (Fitzgerald 64).

Daisy's Love for Being Followed

Daisy possesses the love for being followed, and this can be the reason as to why someone can argue that she is an image of the American Dream. She has the ability to either accept or deny a follower (pursuer). She is hard to understand since when a pursuer makes thing perfect and ready to take her, she rejects. This is evident as she visits Gatsby during their reunion and then sees his collection of shirts and realizes that he has made money just like her. She says, "it makes me unhappy since I have never seen such gorgeous shirts before" as written by Fitzgerald (92). To mean she has never seen Gatsby wearing such expensive clothes but at the same time she fears being used for money, and that's why she sticks to Tom who does not understand who she is. Daisy, therefore, takes the central character role due to her intelligence in playing cat and mouse game which makes her maintain her status.

Daisy's Unique Personality

In conclusion, Daisy is portrayed as a unique character who keeps fluctuating her personality only to survive in a male-dominated world. She does this perfectly through her personality which cannot be categorized as either round or flat in the novel. In the face of Tom, Daisy behaves like a fool and Tom cannot realize who exactly Daisy is while to Gatsby, Daisy is a reflection of wealth and social status. Therefore, without Daisy's complicated personality she could not have made to be a central character in the novel.

Work cited

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. “The Great Gatsby (1925).” na, 2013.