Theme Of Daisy Selfish In The Great Gatsby

In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, selfishness occurs throughout novel. It is seen by some characters as a way of escaping their problems and only take actions that are beneficial to themselves. Characters that are selfish will also stop at nothing to reach their goal, even if that means stepping over everyone. Tragedies that have been taking place in The Great Gatsby have been caused by self-centered people who will not take fault for their wrongdoings. Self-centered is an individual, who is concerned solely with one’s own interests. It applies to Tom, Daisy, and Jordan because of their ability to only take consideration of themselves.

Tom is self-centered because he only takes actions that allow him to have control

During her youth, Daisy fell in love with Gatsby, but ended the relationship with him after World War 1 because of Gatsby’s financial situation which he was poor. So instead she ended up marrying Tom, who was very wealthy and would be able to provide Daisy a luxurious lifestyle. But Gatsby truly believed in his heart that Daisy would leave Tom now that Gatsby is wealthy. When Gatsby implied, “ She never loved you, do you hear?… She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me.”(Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby knew that Daisy was self-centered and only cared about wealth, because if she truly loved him, she would wait for him to return back. Daisy believes that money resolves problems. This reflects on Tom’s and Daisy’s marriage. Even though, Tom treats Daisy poorly and betrays her, Daisy does not seem to care because of Tom’s wealth. When Daisy killed Myrtle with Gatsby’s car, instead of taking the blame for it, Gatsby did. Gatsby took the blame for it because of how much he loves Daisy and because of Daisy’s wrongdoing Gatsby ends up getting killed by Myrtle’s husband, Wilson. Nick best described Daisy’s selfishness when he said, “ They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money… and let other people clean up their mess.” (Fitzgerald

In the beginning of the novel, it is said that Jordan won a golf tournament and that her ability to play golf is amazing. But, her reputation has been blackened due to accusations that she kicked the ball to her advantage during the golf tournament. It shows how she does not respect the rules of golf and that will do anything to be able to be accepted by the wealthy and live a luxurious lifestyle. Jordan selfishness is also shown when she's driving, and Nick committed on how horrible her driving skills are. She replied with, “ I am careful… well other people are… They’ll keep out of my way … it takes two to make an accident.” (Fitzgerald 58) it shows how Jordan believes that her driving should only matter to her and it's no-one else’s business . Also, Jordan shows her self-centered attitude when Daisy killed Myrtle, it did not bother her and she continued on her with her daily life. Jordan being self-centered has caused her to become heartless and earn her fame and wealth