In the 20th century classic, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many characters who play a significant role in the interpretation of the novel’s many themes. One character in particular, Daisy Buchanan, is a fickle and superficial young woman who at one point finds herself smitten with someone, only to settle down with another man. She is accustomed to a certain type of lifestyle along with certain types of people. Her wealth and class are only surpassed by the shallowness with which she chooses to go about life. Daisy serves not only as an example of the quintessential 1920s female, but also acts as an even deeper symbol of the real, yet unattainable American dream.
Daisy's obsession with the stability of old money is what influences her character throughout the novel. After experiencing the West Egg she is “appalled by its raw vigor” and “saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand.” Daisy craves consistency and is uncomfortable with anything unfamiliar. She finds herself challenged by Gatsby to step outside of her comfort zone and take a chance on new money, only to eventually wander back to the stability that she's grown so accustomed to. Her character represents the aristocratic East Egg group that is driven by materialism and threatened by the likelihood of a decline in social class.
Like the great American dream, Daisy is seemingly flawless in every aspect of the word. She exudes beauty and charm with a voice that “the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again." Fitzgerald presents her with the utmost perfection, but as the novel progresses she falls short of any and all preconceived notions. Daisy uses her outward appearance as a façade to draw in anyone who will listen. Even so much as the sound of her voice latches the attention of the men in her life, rendering them helpless to her.
Daisy is undeniably shallow, but her pure and wholesome outward appearance is what allows her to come off as everything that she's not. When flirting with Gatsby she says, “'[I’d] like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around.'” Her word choice makes the reader feel as though they are listening to a child instead of a grown woman. She is often said to be dressed in white, a color that represents innocence and purity. The clean and wholesome persona that Daisy gives off is magnified by the almost childlike images that she presents to the people around her.
At the beginning of the novel, she comes off as sweet and innocent, but towards the end, the reader can see just how important wealth and position are to her. As Daisy is speaking to Nick about her newborn child, she mentions that she “'hope[s] she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'” Ignorance is bliss when it comes to Daisy, and she wants her daughter to live a life similar to the one that she has. If her daughter is a fool, then she will be blind to the infidelity, blind as to whether or not there's true love in her life and more likely to marry out of mere convenience. Her character is like a flower; she's soft and white on the outside, yet yellow and lacking in substance on the inside.
One quality that Daisy, and a few of the novel's other characters, share is their corruption in moral values. Almost every character is cheating on their partner, and if not, then they've witnessed someone else cheat. When she's asked not to bring Tom with her to Nick's house, she coyly responds “'Who is Tom?'” and eventually goes on to say that “'[she] never loved him.'” The willingness to forget about her own husband so quickly is telling of her incapability to really love. She ultimately takes back the last statement and proves that she's willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants out of certain people.
Not only is Daisy debased in her actions, but she is just a downright selfish person. After the deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby and Wilson, she and Tom “retreat back into their money or their vast carelessness... and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
Dangerous and reckless, she doesn't shed a tear over any of the lost lives and once Gatsby and his money are gone, so is she. She worries only about herself and is the cause of most of the conflict in the novel. The materialism that Daisy has known her whole life motivates her, but at the same time proves to be her greatest downfall, thus killing her American dream.
In the end, Daisy’s most defining quality is that she’s a real person. She isn’t the fictitious dream girl that Gatsby wants her to be, but an actual living, breathing woman who’s ultimately flawed as a person. There are several moments “when Daisy tumble[s] short of his dreams -- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion." Gatsby has indeed made her out to be this mystical, angelic person and like his wealth, he feels that he can acquire her over time. Ultimately, Daisy is Gatsby’s American dream, but because of his incredibly unrealistic idea of her, she is forever unattainable to him.
The unachievable dream of one day growing successful and attaining happiness through tireless years of hard work is illustrated by the role of Daisy. Although shallow and greedy on the inside, her exterior is adorned with the pureness of an angel. Her idealistic appearance is false, and her dreamlike, elusive quality is what draws people in. Daisy's shallowness and dependence upon money impacts everyone close to her and eventually contributes to her own inner sadness. The realness of her character parallels that of the American dream in that both ultimately prove disappointing and plainly about the selfish pursuit of pleasure.
