Question

How does Nick feel about Daisy's story after she tells it -- after she finishes speaking?

Answer 1

He sees the genuine pain Daisy has been going through, and he feels very sorry for her.

Answer 2

Answer:

As soon as Daisy finishes her story:

A) He (Nick) feels as if she has been manipulating him the whole time. Her voice has just been drawing him in.

Explanation:

Nick is the narrator in the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He and Daisy are cousins, but not very close to each other. In the first chapter, Nick is invited to Daisy and her husband Tom's mansion. During dinner, he finds out about Tom's affair. At a certain point, Daisy begins to tell him the story of the day her daughter was born. Tom, instead of being with her while she delivered the baby, was out cheating on her. Daisy said she wept when she learned she had given birth to a baby girl. She said she hoped her daughter would be a fool, because only a foolish girl can be happy in this world. She also talks of how sad she is. She calls herself sophisticated, but tries to convey skepticism and unhappiness at the same time. However, as soon as she is done talking, as soon as her marvelous voice ceases to hypnotize Nick, he realizes her feelings, her sadness, are not true. She is just playing a part, getting Nick to like her and to side with her, as her confidant and helper.

The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributory emotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face, as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.