Introduction of Writer :
Fitzgerald is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, known for his vivid and poetic prose, his portrayal of the Jazz Age, and his commentary on the disillusionment and moral decay of American society during the 1920s.
Fitzgerald was the son of an unsuccessful businessman and grew up in a middle-class family. He attended Princeton University but dropped out to join the army during World War I. After the war, he moved to New York City and began his career as a writer, publishing short stories in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post.
Fitzgerald's work is known for its elegiac tone, its exploration of the themes of love, loss, and the American Dream, and its depiction of the decadence and excess of the Jazz Age. Despite his success as a writer, Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism and financial problems throughout his life. He died of a heart attack at the age of 44, but his legacy as a writer has endured and his work continues to be celebrated and studied today.
Introduction of the Novel
The novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic American novel that was first published in 1925. The story takes place in the 1920s, a period of economic prosperity and social upheaval known as the Jazz Age. The novel is set in the fictional town of West Egg on Long Island, where the wealthy and glamorous Jay Gatsby throws extravagant parties in the hopes of winning back his lost love, the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.
The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest who has moved to New York to work in the bond business. Through Nick's eyes, we see the opulence and excess of the wealthy elite, as well as the corruption and moral decay that lies beneath the surface. As Nick becomes drawn into Gatsby's world, he becomes witness to a tragic story of love, greed, and betrayal.
The novel explores themes of love, wealth, social class, and the American Dream. It is a poignant commentary on the emptiness of the pursuit of wealth and status, and the devastating consequences of the loss of moral values. "The Great Gatsby" is widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century and a masterpiece of American literature.
Characters of the novel 'The Great Gatsby'
"The Great Gatsby" features a range of memorable characters who represent different facets of the society and culture of the 1920s. Here are some of the main characters in the novel:
Jay Gatsby: The enigmatic and mysterious protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a wealthy young man who throws extravagant parties in the hopes of winning back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby is known for his wealth, his charm, and his obsession with the past.
Daisy Buchanan: The object of Gatsby's affection, Daisy is a beautiful and wealthy young woman who is married to Tom Buchanan. She is known for her flirtatiousness, her vulnerability, and her conflicted feelings for Gatsby.
Tom Buchanan: Daisy's husband, Tom is a wealthy and powerful man who represents the old money elite of the East Coast. He is known for his arrogance, his racism, and his philandering.
Nick Carraway: The narrator of the novel, Nick is a young man from the Midwest who moves to New York to work in the bond business. He becomes drawn into Gatsby's world and serves as a witness to the tragic events that unfold.
Jordan Baker: A professional golfer and friend of Daisy's, Jordan is known for her beauty, her cynicism, and her dishonesty.
Myrtle Wilson: The mistress of Tom Buchanan, Myrtle is a lower-class woman who dreams of a better life. She is known for her coarseness and her desire for social status.
George Wilson: Myrtle's husband, George is a garage owner who is unaware of his wife's affair. He is known for his meekness and his naivete.
These characters and their relationships with one another drive the plot of the novel and provide insight into the society and culture of the 1920s
Daisy Buchanan
Partially based on Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, Daisy is a beautiful young woman from Louisville, Kentucky. She is Nick’s cousin and the object of Gatsby’s love. As a young debutante in Louisville, Daisy was extremely popular among the military officers stationed near her home, including Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lied about his background to Daisy, claiming to be from a wealthy family in order to convince her that he was worthy of her. Eventually, Gatsby won Daisy’s heart, and they made love before Gatsby left to fight in the war. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby, but in 1919 she chose instead to marry Tom Buchanan, a young man from a solid, aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle and who had the support of her parents.
DAISY'S VOICE:
"[She had] the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again. . . . There was an excitement in
her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion,a whispered "Listen," a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour" (Chapter 1)Connections have been made between Daisy's voice and the sirens in Homer's Odyssey.Sirens are creatures who allure and entrap sailors with their attractive voices. When the sailors come close to the shores they sink their ships. Daisy's voice is representative of both her charmand of the captivity of commitment. Though Daisy comes across as fragile and indifferent,her voice, though delicate, holds immense power and enchants various characters throughout the novel. Arguably, the focus on the way Daisy's voice says things as opposed to what she says can be attributed to the patriarchal gaze of Nick.
The idea that her voice is celebrated for its aesthetic value as opposed to the messages it carries is further symbolism of Daisy's own silencing. Her voice can be mistaken for a powerful optimism - her voice has a "singing compulsion" and is "glowing and singing" (Chapter 1) - and it is through how she says things and not what she says (for sheis often cynical and petulant), that She is able to lure other characters.
References to Daisy's voice:
Daisy's voice is additionally significant because it represents her interactions with people and the world. She uses her charming voice, often interspersed with smirks and giggles to maskher true emotions. When she follows up cynical comments with a laugh, her own struggle
becomes ambiguous. In some ways, her voice serves as a coping mechanism for the things she has no will to change in her world.
It is a charming acceptance of her position that enables
her to continue inhabiting the social class and systems she prefers.
"The exhilarating ripple of her voice was a wild tonic in the rain" (Chapter 5)
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl.
Nick, for his part, faults both Daisy and Tom, as rich people who smash things up and leave the mess for others to clean up (9.146). However, Nick comes to admire and revere Gatsby after his death and doesn't dwell on Gatsby's role in Myrtle's death.
Artificial:
The fact that she seems to stutter frequently appears playful but also suggests her to be a constant performer as she acts out her responses.
"I’m p-paralyzed with happiness" (Chapter 1)
"Then from the living-room I heard a sort of choking murmur and part of a laugh, followed by Daisy's voice on a clear artificial note: 'I certainly am awfully glad to see you
again.'" (Chapter 5)
Nick catches onto Daisy’s artificiality here; she appears to be in performance mode all the time when around other people. Later, he repeats the words: "Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids". Daisy’s prioritization of beauty means she buries her head in the sand to the grim reality of life - which is made clearest by the Valley of Ashes - and this makes her artificial.fairylike connotations, associating her with romantic supernaturalism, rising above the reality
And I hope she'll be a fool — that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
She describes herself as "sophisticated" and says the best thing a girl can be is a "beautiful little fool," which makes it unsurprising that she lacks conviction and sincerity, and values material things over all else. Yet Daisy isn't just a shallow gold digger. She's more tragic: a loving woman who has been corrupted by greed. She chooses the comfort and security of money over real love, but she does so knowingly. Daisy's tragedy conveys the alarming extent to which the lust for money captivated Americans during the Roaring Twenties.
Conclusion: That's how, Daisy was made up by her choices,it was the wealth which made her highly Hypocritical and dependent economically.Though she was different than the other woman as she was knowingly choosing her priorities whether money or the social status over the Love and knowledge of the Reality.
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