The Great Gatsby: Chapter Five

Question: Select a passage that develops the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. Discuss how this passage contributes to your interpretations of the work as a whole, including literary strategies that contribute to this relationship and shape your own reaction to both Daisy and Gatsby.

Answer:

            During Chapter Five, the long awaited meet up between Daisy and Gatsby occurs. After some tea at Nick’s home, Gatsby brings them to his house and gives them a tour, which includes showing Daisy all of his shirts. Nick describes the scene and ends it with, “Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.

            “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such- such beautiful shirts before.””(Fitzgerald, 92).

             Daisy’s reaction is an extremely important point of progress in the development of her relationship with Gatsby. Throughout the novel, it’s obvious that Gatsby is head-over-heels in love with Daisy and we can find examples of that in almost everything he does. However, Daisy, who had married Tom instead of waiting for Gatsby, hasn’t shown any such signs of care for Gatsby. This scene with the shirts is the first example of how she does feel about him. Her words, “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such- such beautiful shirts before.” (Fitzgerald, 92) are a way for her to express her feelings about Gatsby. She’s not truly upset about not seeing the shirts, but more so upset that she hasn’t seen the shirts because she hasn’t seen Gatsby. This is the first real sign that she’s missed him and is sad or maybe regretful about their time apart and the way things played out between them.

            Personally, I’m not a fan of the romance between Gatsby and Daisy. I like Gatsby and his character very much and it’s undeniable that he has strong feelings towards Gatsby. This has been proven through his actions in the last few years that include buying a house just to be near her and throwing parties in the desperate hope that she might show up. I also like Gatsby as a person so far. He’s interesting and gentlemanly. He has a peculiar air about him, but that just makes him more unique. My favorite characteristic about him though would probably have to be how he works for what he wants. For example, when his wish is to see Daisy again, he goes to crazy lengths to make it happen. He’s very determined and knows how to focus on his goals, which are admirable traits.

However, I’m not as fond of Daisy. It seems that if she really loved Gatsby, she should have found a way to wait for him instead of just marrying Tom simply because he was wealthy and she wouldn’t have to wait for him. Nonetheless, I’m willing to excuse that since she was a woman in the 1920’s and I understand that things were different for women back then that I might not be fully aware of. Possibly there was a push for her to marry from her family or maybe she worried that if Gatsby were to die in the war that she’d have no way to support herself. Although I do still think that it says something about the lack of loyalty that Daisy possesses. That being said, this scene did change my mind a bit about her and their relationship. It’s the first real bit of emotion that we see from her over Gatsby and it allows me to forgive her for her decision to not wait for him during the war. It shows that she might still love him as well and that maybe the relationship, now that the feelings are shown to be mutual, might progress into what it was meant to be five years ago.