How Is Daisy Portrayed In The Great Gatsby

In the book, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many characters are portrayed with complex characteristics and relationships. One character who I found fascinating throughout the book was Tom Buchanan, who from the start revealed his true colors. He is Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband who is powerfully built in society. He is displayed as unfaithful, aggressive, supercilious, and arrogant. His attitudes are laced with racist and sexist comments because of the thought of being superior to those below him. He believes “it’s up to [the whites], who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things” (13). This speaks to Tom’s insecurities because even if someone is born into money and privilege, there

For instance, Tom has no feeling of doubt or regret when he has his own affair with Myrtle, but becomes outraged and furious when he begins to suspect an affair between Daisy and Gatsby. Tom’s affair appears not to be a secret since Miss Baker “thought everybody knew” (15). He is not ashamed of having this affair with a woman who is also married. Instead, he encourages this relationship and insists on Nick meeting “[his] girl” (24) even after Tom is aware of the relationship Nick and Daisy share. He is not afraid of the consequences since there are no consequences for his actions. Daisy, fully aware of the her husbands constant infidelity, does not take action. Instead, she behaves superficially to hide away her pain for she is trying to portray a good front. On the other hand, when Tom starts suspecting the relationship Daisy and Gatsby share, he snaps at people faster, defends himself as well as his so called love with Daisy, and keeps Daisy as close to him as possible. When Daisy, however, moves away from him and walks closer to Gatsby, he immediately begins to question Gatsby in hope of finding something worth exposing him

When that it being taken away, he loses control over himself, saying “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr.Nobody from Nowhere make love to [my] wife” (130). He needs the redemption and he achieves this by attacking Gatsby, who he believes is unnecessary and is the only thing getting in the way of him and Daisy. On the same token, Gatsby feels the same exact way about Tom since he, without taking the time to think about his words, blurts out “Your wife doesn’t love you… She’s never loved you. She loves me… She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me… in her heart she never loved anyone except me” (130). Tom, refusing to believe such nonsense defends his pride by straight up calling it a “Goddamn lie” and saying “Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now… And what’s more I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (131). This claim to loving Daisy and treating her better comes off as a fake statement and was all for a show. Even when he was referring to his affair, he seems ingenuine and does not seem to think it is such a big deal, as long as he comes back to Daisy at the end of the day. When Daisy cannot deny the fact of her love for Tom, it feeds Tom’s ignorance, self-conceited mind. This confrontation highlights