Daisy Buchanan

Daisy Buchanan is the second major main character encountered in the novel. She is Nick Carraway's cousin. Daisy is in many ways the pinnacle of the main theme in this novel; she is the personification of the new American dream. She, in all her glory, represents the wealth and materialism that disillusioned Americans strive for. Jay Gatsby holds Daisy as his ultimate dream or goal, but what he holds is an illusion of perfection. Daisy in relation to Gatsby also represents the level of corruption that the American Dream has developed in terms of the mutation from freedom and opportunity to power, materialism, and wealth as a means to achieve happiness. The fabrication of "happiness" and the instilling of perfection and greatness that Gatsby associates with Daisy is what motivates him to gather so much wealth. We learn throughout the novel that Daisy is shallow, voiceless and selfish; her husband Tom is involved in extramarital affairs and he beats her yet she is always loyal to him simply for the fact that as long as she is married to Tom Buchanan she belongs to upper class East Egg society and enjoys excess in wealth, status, and power. When Daisy introduces us to her young daughter, Pammy, Daisy delivers to us a tragically beautiful statement; "I hope she'll be a fool, that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.". This horrible truth applied to women in the 20's in America and still applies to many societies around the world today. In many ways Daisy is also the embodiment of this statement; she acts as a beautiful fool to maintain her place in society. Daisy has been well spoiled as a child and therefore her moral and ethical standards dip far below those of Nick who was brought up in a modest and respectful family. We witness her murder Myrtle Wilson by running her over in Gatsby's automobile, without a second thought. Daisy is very cold hearted when it comes to morality. She remembers her true love with Gatsby but ends up refusing that love for wealth and power instead.