Question

Gatsby spends five years dreaming about Daisy and being reunited with her. Describe Daisy the “colossal” illusion. How does his relationship with Daisy change during the story? Consider her actions at the end. As the driver of the death car, Daisy is complicit and a murderer, having struck and killed Myrtle Wilson. What allows her to retreat back into her world, unscathed by the events?

Answer 1

Daisy was in a relationship with Gatsby at an early age. He has been gone for 10 years and she had thought he died in WW1. Gatsby was Daisy's first love and she had put him and their relationship on a pedestal. At first their is disbelief that Gatsby is in fact not dead but alive. She is madly in love with him and does not understand how he is still alive and is enraptured by the enigma and mysterious circumstances his appearance has brought into her life. After the death of Myrtle Wilson, Daisy is able to return back to her normal life. The ease in which she is able to actually do this is testament to the societal views towards women at the time. Women were viewed as helpless and Daisy was probably thought incapable of a vicious murder so the police did not pursue an indictment. Her husband was also a powerful businessman and must have certainly had clout in the political sphere.