The Golden girl……….
In the novel, Daisy Buchanan is considered the gold girl or the centre of attention. She is well above the rest. Daisy is wealthy and she lives the American Dream. Gatsby believes she is the most perfect girl he could ever ask for or the ‘golden girl’. The quote “Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor” lets us understand that this life of Daisy’s is golden and far from a struggle. Her wealth has built her up above the poor. This quote explores the differences between social classes. Daisy lives in a world where everything is done for her as she is wealthy and privilege. The hot struggles referees to the poor – valley of ashes, who do not live the golden girl life. They live in poverty and constantly struggle their way through life wishing they could be in the high class like the golden girl.
Explain how Daisy could be considered clever. Use at least one quote from the text to support your answer
Daisy Buchanan is a very intelligent woman. She has been very well educated and she understood the way women where considered more of an object than a person during this era. She knew that the best thing she could do in that time period was to basically play dumb. They only way a woman could have any sort of status is if she had a man by her side and was wealthy and pretty. This is exactly what Daisy has done. Playing the dumb blonde that people assume has no idea what is going on. Even though Daisy fully understood that her gender was a lower class she was never outspoken because that would be socially unacceptable for women then. She wished for her daughter to lead the same life she did, being a foul was the best thing for her. We know this because of this quote “the best thing a girl can be in this world is a fool.”
The notes above talk about how Gatsby views Daisy as a possession to be collected. Explain this further. Find a quote from the text to support your answer and explain how the quote supports your ideas.
Gatsby has spent the last five years of his life trying tirelessly to win Daisy back. They were once together but then Gatsby had to leave Daisy married Tom. Ever since then it has been Gatsby’s soul purpose to get her back. I think that he has spent his life wanting to be with Daisy that it isn’t even about her anymore. He just remembers what it was like 5 years ago and he wants to repeat the past. It also could link to the way women were treated in the 1920’s because maybe he saw her as like an object that is missing in his life. He needed a woman by his side to live his extraordinary life.
Describe what life was like in the 1920s for women. After you have done so, explain why you think Daisy wants her daughter to be a ‘fool’ in this world.
The 1920’s was a very different time period. Women were considered to be more of an object than a person. They were in a lower social class than men and speaking up about their opinions was not acceptable. It was also expected of them that they get married have kids and then be a house wife. One of the good things that happened in the 1920s was their right to vote and have their say in politics was now granted. Daisy wished for her daughter to be a fool. This is because Daisy understands the time period they are in and that women were not as socially accepted as men. This is sad for a woman to realise and if they try and do something about it their life will be even worst. Just like Daisy pretends to be dumb and never speaks her opinion she wants her daughter to live a happy life and never realise what kind of horrible world they live in.
Towards the end of the novel, Nick says that Daisy and Tom were “careless people…they smashed up things and creatures, and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”. Explain what Daisy ‘smashes up’ (figuratively speaking) in this story.
They are extremely wealthy people and their life is a never ending cycle of causing problems and expecting others to clean it up or fix their mess. Their wealth keeps them together because if they didn’t have money they would be nothing. Daisy is very classy and thinks she is above everyone. Throughout the book, she destroys things and hurts people carelessly. For example, she leads Gatsby on saying she loved him and then just gets up and leaves with Tom. She doesn’t even feel sorry for them. Daisy didn’t even care to come to his funeral.
Explain how Daisy could be considered ‘amoral’. Use at least two quotes from the text to support your answer.
Like said above Daisy is a careless person that damages peoples lives. She is very deceiving. This is because she lives the life of the American Dream and is seen as the ‘golden girl’ or that she is perfect when really underneath all of that cover she is a corrupt person. Daisy may know what is right and wrong in her life but yet she decides to ignore it. She had a affair with her husband, killed someone and didn’t even stop her car and lead Gatsby on that they were going to have a life together but then decided to just leave with Tom. Her wealth and class seem to cover up for the horrible things she did. This quote “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except for me” shows us that Daisy cares more about money than they person she actually loves which shows amorality.