How Is Daisy Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

The 1920s was an age where there was a major change in the culture where America had a mass social and political shift. New cultures were forming and America was becoming lively again. People were becoming free-spirited and society’s image changed for the good. Men and women started to change and many would emphasize the importance of image and how others viewed them. Most importantly, the nation’s wealth started to increase immensely and being wealthy became very important to society as well. Fitzgerald writes his novel during this time period and it focuses a lot on the different types of wealth in society. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the author contrasts old and new money’s social statuses, conveys how materialistic ideas cannot result
Gatsby tries using all his money to try to impress Daisy and make her fall in love with him. Gatsby does everything to get Daisy’s approval, even [buying] a house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” and “throwing stunning parties for her” (85). Gatsby uses his house not as a home, but rather as a means to get to know Daisy and impress her with his large, beautiful home. As the novel advances, Fitzgerald makes the audience question Gatsby’s motives with Daisy. It is obvious that Gatsby loves Daisy, but Gatsby may love her also for her social status of “old money.” Throughout the novel, Gatsby makes a name of himself but also tries to be like the “old money” and uses Daisy to do this. While describing Daisy to Nick, he “was overwhelmly aware of the youth… and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor” (Fitzgerald 150). Gatsby wants to fit in, but the “old money” will not let him and he becomes more obsessed over the social status that comes with Daisy The audience questions Gatsby and if he wants the satisfaction of being with Daisy or being considered the “old money.” As Gatsby's motifs are uncertain, Daisy’s motifs are clear as “her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 128). Daisy always sounds like she is wealthy when she speaks and always acts like she is from wealth. Sometimes Daisy seems to love Gatsby for his money and “seemed shocked and surprised when she found out Gatsby has a pompadour and a yacht” (Fitzgerald 93). She seemed to be more attracted to Gatsby after she found this out and is obsessed over what a person has rather than the people themselves. Wealth leads to Gatsby’s downfall as he is rejected from the social status he desires to be