The Great Gatsby Daisy's Downfall

Gatsby fought for the love of Daisy Buchanan, but his downfall made Daisy’s decision between a life in West Egg or East Egg much simpler. Daisy lived a ‘perfect’ life in East Egg with her husband Tom Buchanan, but everything was not as it seemed. On the day of Daisy’s rehearsal dinner, she was found drunk, crying, and grasping a letter. Daisy would not let go of the letter and “she took it into the tub with her and squeezed it up into a wet ball, and only let me[Jordan] leave it in the soap-dish when she saw that it was coming to pieces like snow”(76). It can only be assumed that the letter was from her first love and as the letter fell apart her feelings for the author of the letter began to fade like snow under the sun. Daisy would begin her life with Tom, but a piece of her heart still belonged to another man,
with perceptible reluctance”(132). Daisy admitted this reluctantly because she had created an illusion of the perfect life with Tom, but it was just a lie. With time she had convinced herself that this lie was the truth. That was until Gatsby came into the picture and temporarily altered the way that she viewed her life with Tom. Daisy was faced with the choice of being with Tom or Gatsby. Daisy’s decision between the two men became much clearer once she realized that Gatsby would be killed in the process of covering up her crime. Nick said, “I called up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them”(164). Daisy knew that she had committed a serious crime and Gatsby would take the fall since he was wrapped around her finger. Daisy did what she did best and retreated back to her money and reckless lifestyle, ultimately choosing Tom. Daisy’s future is set in stone when she chooses to return to Tom and his