Gatsby
To what extent is Daisy a symbol of America in the jazz age?In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby we are told the story of the lives of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan and their relationship through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway. Gatsby was once in love with Daisy, but after they became separated Daisy meets and marries Tom, a wealthy stockbroker from West Egg who is placed highly in society. Gatsby spends the next five years forever dreaming of the day when he would once again meet up with Daisy and rekindle his relationship with her. However, his dream is not to play out the way he intends it to, with Daisy finally choosing Tom over him, and leading to Gatsby's death.In my coursework I am going to talk about to what extent Daisy is a symbol of America in the jazz age. The Jazz age (a phrase originally coined by Fitzgerald) began as an ideal of non-conformity of attitudes and ideals, Americans who were tired and not concerned to the materialism of the post-war era wanted a way to enjoy the present and express themselves at the same time. People of this period were unique because they abandoned previous traditional standards of living and searched for a new form of self-expression and rebell
However, it can be seen unsympathetically, where her lack of motivation and direction can only be blamed on herself, with her undereducated and spoilt childhood, her over indulgent lifestyle, and her idle attitude causing her to be directionless by her own decision. While underneath her "white dress" lays a corrupted inner self. In my opinion Daisy is arguably the most controversial character in the book and her character can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Nick also memorably says that Daisy has 'a voice full of money'. This theme is displayed in almost every character. I believe that this is shown in the book the way that they lead their hedonistic life styles Especially in daisy's character because this uncomplicated background has caused her to grow up to become the selfish and shallow character she is. Daisy Buchanan is the lovely wife of Tom and is extremely wealthy and powerful. I think in some extent this is true, because The Great Gatsby would not have been that interesting without Daisy or Myrtle (toms mistress). Similarly, Daisy had refused to marry Gatsby as she had said'Rich girls don't marry poor boys'. Without her, the story would lack certain elements that are crucial to the theme. The narrator, Nick, notes the exciting musicality of Daisy's voice, saying that it is,'the kind of voice the ear follows up and down, as if the speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played', 'I had followed the sound of it for a moment, up and down with my ear alone, before any words came through'. The Jazz age ended with of the great Wall Street crash of 1929, which left America as an impoverished nation. He then says to Daisy,'I'm going to take better care of you from now on', showing that he knows he has mistreated her in the past. Daisy shows this especially when she says, " What'll we do with our selves this afternoon?" cried Daisy, " and the day after that and the next thirty years".
Common topics in this essay:
Fitzgerald Americans,
American Dream,
Daisy Buchanan,
Scott Fitzgerald,
Leslie Fiedler,
Fitzgerald Daisy's,
Daniel Burke,
West Egg,
Tom Gatsby,
Tom Buchanan's,
jazz age,
american dream,
scott fitzgerald,
daisy buchanan,
daisy symbol america,
life daisy,
marry gatsby,
leaves gatsby,
sweet innocent,
daisy's character,
symbol america jazz,
leslie fiedler,
america jazz age,
form self-expression rebellion,
searched form self-expression,
|
Acceptance Essays
