Golden girl definition: Daisy is referred to as the ‘Golden girl’ as she is used to always getting her way and everything that she wants. Many of the characters in the book think she is innocent and kind when in reality Daisy is actually quite smart. She is very good at manipulating people so things work out for her and she gets her way. Gatsby also mentions that Daisy’s voice is “full of money”. This is because even the way Daisy speaks sounds rich and spoilt. An example of a ‘golden girl’ nowadays would be people such as the Kardashians.
Explain how Daisy could be considered clever. Use at least one quote from the text to support your answer.
Daisy is very good at manipulating people and getting her way. She is able to manipulate many of the men around her. Daisy leads Gatsby on but always goes back to Tom as she knows he will protect her. At the hotel when Gatsby and Tom begin to argue who Daisy loves, Daisy is reluctant to choose whose side she’s on as she knows that if she does she will lose one of them. “I did love him once–but I loved you too.”
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.
Many men in the story seem to see Daisy as a possession or an object for them to collect and show off. “Your wife doesn’t love you,” said Gatsby. “She’s never loved you. She loves me.” When the characters are in the hotel Gatsby and Tom talk about Daisy as if she is not there. She is seen as more of an object rather than a person throughout the story and Gatsby believes because many men desire Daisy that it increases her value.
Describe what life was like in the 1920’s for women. After you have done so, explain why you think Daisy wants her daughter to be a ‘fool’ in this world.
During the 1920s men had much more power than women did. Most of the women would spend their time at home looking after children and cooking while the men went to work. In the book, Tom made a comment on how Jordan’s family “oughtn’t to let her run around the country this way.”. He believes that she shouldn’t be out competing and playing sport as not many women did during this time. Daisy says that she hopes her daughter Pammy will be a fool “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”. She says this because of the way society was during this time. She doesn’t want Pammy to have to face the harsh reality of life because Daisy knows there are limited options for what a woman can do.
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.
Daisy smashes up and ruins many people’s lives during the story. Her reckless driving ended up killing Myrtle which later also resulted in the death of Gatsby and Myrtle’s husband Wilson. Gatsby covered for Daisy and tried to protect her by taking the blame for Myrtle’s death. Wilson then killed Gatsby and then himself as he was so overwhelmed by grief. She also ruins Nick’s life as he ends up in a mental asylum due to all the drama and stress he faced from Daisy and the other character’s actions.
Explain how Daisy could be considered ‘amoral’. Use at least two quotes from the text to support your answer.
Daisy could be considered ‘amoral’ by some people for a few reasons. An example of this would be when she hits Myrtle in Gatsby’s car and kills her but instead of stopping the car, she flees the scene “…she thought it would steady her to drive—and this woman rushed out at us just as we were passing a car coming the other way” She then allows Gatsby to take the blame. This shows just how reckless and careless Daisy can be towards other people. Daisy also has a daughter called Pammy who she pays very little attention to. She has a full-time nurse and we only saw her interact with Pammy once throughout the entire book when Daisy wanted to show her to all her friends. “That’s because your mother wanted to show you off.”. She seems to see Pammy as more of a thing to show people rather than a child. Their interaction is very brief and appears to be lacking in love.
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