Essay On Daisy In The Great Gatsby

In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, while many of the main characters are not women, there are many supporting characters as well as background characters that are women. The portrayal of each of these women varies as each of these women have different relationships and personalities. For the most part the women or “girls” at Gatsby’s parties are greatly objectified by the male counterparts at the events with direct actions of misogyny as well as more subtle remarks in the language they use while speaking about or to women. That being said, Daisy Buchanan is an example of a woman who defies the objectification from her husband and other men. She does so by claiming the rights to her own life, often despite what her husband,

Tom Buchanan, would like.
Firstly, the language used to describe women in The Great Gatsby is something worth noting. The subtlety of poor language and wording is a way for the characters in the novel as well as the narrator to express the condescending view that this society has on women while not conveying it directly all the time. There are many examples of this poor language throughout the novel, mostly used to describe the “girls” at Gatsby’s parties such as when “old men [are] pushing young girls backwards in eternal graceless circles” (pg.49, line 14-15). This is a fitting place to start since the word “girls” is mentioned plenty throughout the book and that in itself has a condescending undertone to it. Calling the women at the events “girls” shows that they are not considered as much of a human being as the “men”. As it is said that “girls” are not adults and do not take responsibility for themselves. This word should be reserved for children who identify as girls, not for the women that attend Gatsby’s parties. Another example of the poor language used to describe women is said by a character that does not seem to be sexist and that is the narrator; Nick Carraway. Right at the beginning he refers to Tom and Daisy Buchanan as the “Tom Buchanans” (pg.6, line 12). This shows that the male in the relationship is considered to be the dominant partner and therefore the woman’s name has no need to be mentioned. For this instance, it is safe to say that this is not Nick being blatantly sexist by any means, but more so shows how the society at the time as well as currently has groomed us into believing that a woman is inferior to their male counterpart. This is evident throughout the novel with Daisy and Tom, Tom and Myrtle as well as in our current society with the gender wage gap that shows that women often earn less for the same work. That being said, the descriptions of women differ throughout. First, the narrator describes Daisy using mostly positive words such as “bright” and “passionate” (pg.10, line 12) then later on he describes Miss Baker in a much more sexual way by saying she is “slender” and “small-breasted” (pg. 12, line 4-5). This demonstrates that depending on the woman Nick describes them differently. One in a generally polite way, but another describing the features of her body and objectifying her. Overall the language is a major obstacle that women have to deal with during the roaring 20s and well as now in 2018.
Now, moving onto the roles of Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan as symbols for two parts of their society.

Daisy can be seen as a symbol for the prosperous future for women while Tom is a symbol for what is keeping women grounded. Daisy is known to be more independent than other women in the novel. She speaks her mind and does not care about the consequences as long as she is doing what is right. Daisy takes her life into her own hands by proclaiming her love to Gatsby; “She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded” (pg.125). Without prior knowledge of Daisy and Tom as characters, some may believe that Daisy is being rude and unapologetic towards Tom, her husband, but as the reader knows, this is not true. Since Tom has been abusing Daisy throughout their entire relationship, it is admirable that Daisy feels confident enough in herself to express her true feelings no matter how it will affect Tom. Daisy does not do what is expected of her. For example, after she proclaims her love for Gatsby, it is expected that she would choose him over Tom, but that is not what she does. Instead she chooses to be with Tom. Although, this is a questionable decision, it is still impressive that she takes her own matters into her own hands and does not let the men around her determine her future. Tom, on the other hand, has proven to be a sort of villain in the novel as he is unfaithful, aggressive and abusive to Daisy as well as to his mistress, Myrtle. The fact that Tom is unfaithful is introduced when Jordan Baker says “Tom’s got some woman in New York” (pg.16, line 17-18). Tom is, also, very controlling over Daisy, for example while Daisy starts going around more often with Gatsby he says “By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me.” This is a prime example of male arrogance. He makes it seem as if women, or specifically Daisy, only go around doing things to please men when this is utterly false.

Daisy and each individual woman in the world have the right to go around and do as they please. What they do, how they dress or who they talk to has nothing to do with ‘impressing’ or ‘please’ the men in their lives.
Finally, in the novel, the portrayal of women is, for the most part, demeaning and objectifying. But, this is an accurate depiction of what society was like back when the story was set as well as how society is now. Women are still being treated as lesser and equality still has not been reached. It is important to remember to use respectful, dignifying language towards women as well as having more strong, independent women like Daisy Buchanan and less abusive, controlling men like Tom Buchanan.