In Which I Defend Daisy But Not Well

Disclaimer: This review is more about Daisy's character in the book 'The Great Gatsby' rather than just the book itself, hence the title. All of this is just my opinion of course. This is all just for fun and hopefully it's interesting. I apologize in advance, I suck at grammar.

I really haven't delved deep into the research aspect of this but, from what I've seen briefly everyone seems to agree that the characters in the Great Gatsby are misguided or problematic. Although Gatsby is usually (from the brief that I've been able to tell by) seen more as misguided while Daisy seems to be demonized. It's a mistake I made the first time I read it. The reason being I read thinking in Nick Caraway's perspective at first without seeing the flaws in it.

To quickly go over some of the main character guys so I can make a point later:

Nick Caraway isn't quite the reliable and impartial narrator he claims to be. It's heavily influenced from his perspective whether he realizes the extent of it or not. He idolizes Gatsby in all his glorified drive, mystique, and intense personal idealism. There is a very quick bias in Gatsby's favour and while perhaps his loyalty is admirable, he proves himself unable to be the unsuspecting victim or observer he might believe himself to be. He's as swept up in the lawless Jazz Age as the rest of them.

Jay Gatsby is obsessed with wealth and status and has a serious case of tunnel vision. He's really a control freak when it comes to it. He's constantly trying to go back to the plan he had for his life. He has a very rigid larger-than-life view that he thinks is exactly how things are. He's stuck on an idea and he's a tragic explosion of glitz and glamour and sad emptiness. And he has enough angst to pay for every elaborate party he's ever thrown.

Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband, is immensely wealthy far more than even Gatsby. He's what he considers a true old money American. He's an arrogant, hypocritical, generally brutish man and has a complete disregard for pretty much everyone. He's always having affairs but in the book they're is only the current lady named Mrytle that you know anything about.

That said for all of their faults they're all tragically sympathetic at one point or another in their own ways. They're all very human and real in a unpleasantly honest way when you think about it and I think that's something I didn't appreciate enough. You're not going into this book to find the immediate moral of the story. It's more this tragic story of what happened that summer in the 20s and then any points or morals come out all on their own.

Now that's out of the way, onto Daisy

When I say I'm defending her I don't mean I'm pretending she's perfect or better than anyone else in this book. She's far from it, but context is key.

To start with, based on how Daisy is and my barely functioning knowledge of the 20s or the era prior (or any era for that matter), she wasn't raised to be independent being a woman.  She was of the rich class of people and that on it's own had it's own culture, rules and expectations. It was a flawed system not just for woman but for people in general. In general it favoured a certain kind of  the elite and haughtily self-conceited. She would have been the darling or the doll girl and that's pretty much exactly what she was. Alluring, pretty, somewhat childish, angelic, charming, people-pleaser etc.

It was a status she was happy with. It afforded her everything she could want. She was raised to be a pretty face who knew her own abilities and she knew what was expected. She had an easy magnetism and everyone loved her. Riches were an easy promise of everything she knew and enjoyed. It was a shallowness she'd come by honestly. It's just how it was for them.

There was also a difference between old money and new money in their eyes. While both might be rich only the old money was considered truly respectable. That difference being marked in the book of how in this area of New York was divided between West Egg and East Egg. West Egg being the less fashionable home of the newly rich and East Egg home of the old money rich.

When Gatsby walked into this world he was a poor soldier who had grand dreams of living in this world. He met Daisy with her voice full of money and was completely and irrevocably smitten. She became the face of the world he wanted. She loved him too, but...

It just wasn't done. She ended up marrying Tom with all his wealth. We find out later in the book that she also loved Tom at least when she'd married him. Jordan Baker (a friend of Daisy's and short lived girlfriend? of Nick's) described that it was touching and she'd never seen someone so in love with their husband.

Which is interesting simply because Gatsby wants Daisy at one point to tell Tom that she never loved him when she decides to leave Tom. Gatsby wasn't content with just her deciding to leave he seemed shocked when she couldn't bring herself to say it. She was begging Gatsby, asking him isn't it enough she loves him now. But Gatsby being entitled and married to his life plan sort of breaks in that moment. Because it was always supposed to be him, this wasn't his plan. Honestly nobody was the 'right' choice, that wasn't the point of it at all. They're all messed up, problematic and selfish, Daisy included. It's probably why Daisy has such terrible choices in the men she loves. I don't think any of them really understand themselves.

That inherent selfishness shows itself again when the car accident happens and Daisy has to decide in a seconds notice whether she's going to run over Myrtle who runs into the road last second and the other oncoming car. And in that moment Daisy chose to save herself and run over Myrtle. Personally reading it, I don't think it being Myrtle being who she was affected Daisy's decision at all. It could have been anyone and in the end Daisy still would have decided to save herself. Daisy given the option would have never wanted to make that choice but she had to. But how many would have chosen the same in that moment? It was wrong, yes, but it was also so selfishly human. Which is sort of a big point in the book. Their all selfishly human. No one was a 'good' character and it's something I enjoyed about it.

When Daisy and Tom left after Gatsby got shot I feel like it was a similar decision to the one on the road. In the end Daisy is selfish, but she never said she wasn't. They've all proved who they are multiple times in the book. Daisy was no better and no worse than anyone else which is why I feel like she doesn't deserve to be demonized while someone like Gatsby is pitied. They should all be pitied and loathed. They were human and it was done in a way I rarely see. Which is why I feel like this is a book that doesn't have a specific moral, it's cautionary, but not in this 'is the moral' way. It's partially what I liked about it. The other reason being is it's a gorgeously written book.