F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays the lives of wealthy Americans living in the success and grandeur of the Roaring Twenties. Within the novel, the epoch’s legacy of material want and the need for human connection clash in the form of Daisy Buchanan. Her inner conflict between the two desires are symbolized in Jay’s letter and Tom’s pearls. Jay’s letter to Daisy Buchanan proves the romance of their relationship, while Tom’s pearls ultimately represents Daisy’s decision to abandon that love for wealth.
The reader is first introduced to the letter and pearls in Jordan’s story about Daisy and Tom’s wedding night. Daisy is said to be drunk as she clutches them in her hands. This is an anomaly as it is said earlier in the novel that she, like Nick, does not drink. This only highlights
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The letter is a symbol of Jay’s promise to Daisy that he would come back for her. It consists of a different type of wealth, an emotional plea of love. Whereas pearls are replaceable and can be bought at any time, a letter and its sentiments cannot be duplicated. It represents how Jay’s desire for her is plain and simple, though also how fragile it can be. After they get Daisy in the tub, she seems to have a change of heart. She shoves the letter into the tub and destroys it. The scene foreshadows Gatsby’s death in his swimming pool and how love was his ultimate demise. The destruction of the letter and her secrecy in not telling anyone what it said gives the audience a visual representation of how Daisy drowns her emotions for the sake of having her life of wealth. She does not trust Gatsby to come back to her and chooses to be secure for the rest of her life, even if that means sacrificing love. After all, pearls are not as easily destroyed as letters. She does not speak, placing a mask of calm on her face and places the pearls back on her neck, signifying her final