Daisy Buchanan: Admirable or Despicable?

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Characters in The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald are often described differently than they actually act throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Daisy is told to be “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville”. She was said to have great beauty, and its even said that she holds her popularity spot because of it. She is also described as a “fool” which means she is beautiful, just like an angel. As we read on, we come to see that Daisy is actually very careless, selfish, and only focuses herself on wealth and power. She never looked at the consequences of her actions; and she let others clean up the messes she made. She wanted her daughter to grow up just like her, even though it’s a life nobody wanted to live. She even gave up her true love to be with somebody who had money and a good repetition. As perceived in the novel, Daisy is the most despicable character in the novel of The Great Gatsby. As you read on, Daisy’s true character is slowly revealed, and you come to achieve that she is a very careless person. She seems to never care about the consequences of her actions, and this is proven when she is driving home from the city, and hits Myrtle with Gatsby’s car. Unlike most other people, she didn’t even hesitate and just drove home, without a care in the world about what she had done. One of Nick Caraway’s final assessments of Daisy after the accident is that she is very careless. He even says; “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to 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”. (Fitzgerald 187) This quote is proof that people i... ... middle of paper ... ...ess and selfish girl who only cares about wealth and power, which makes her the most despicable character in the novel. Daisy proves this in many situations such as choosing Tom over Gatsby, when he truly loved her for her, and wanted to be with her. She also proves this when she lets Gatsby take the blame for hitting Myrtle with a car, which ultimately ends in Gatsby’s death. And to top it off, Daisy doesn’t even go to his funeral but instead she moves away, leaving no information at all. She is in love with money, power, and luxury, but definitely not affection. She pushes her daughter, Pammy out of her life, and wishes for her to grow up the same way she did. She even pushes away the love of her life to be with someone who has power and money. Daisy Buchanan is selfish, careless, and conceited and is the most despicable character in the novel of The Great Gatsby.

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