The Great Gatsby

       The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a classic book that tells the story of a young man named Jay Gatsby, and the complicated love and tragedy that he experiences. Set in the 1920s, also known as the Jazz Age, Gatsby (so far) is a romantic, complicated story of wealth, love, heartbreak, lies, and much more! F. Scott Fitzgerald has created such complex, intense characters already by chapter five. Daisy Buchanan is one of these characters. She is a beautiful, charming young woman, yet so incredibly lonely and living in a pretend bubble at the same time. 
       Daisy is a really interesting character. When Nick Carraway (the storyteller, also Daisy's cousin), first comes to have dinner at her house, he walks in to find her laughing and all bubbly with her good friend. She seems happy; as though she doesn't have a care in the world. But as this scene progresses, readers see just how fake this is. Daisy is all about appearance-- she hides her feelings and covers them up with fake smiles and laughs. 
       Daisy seems like she has made mistakes in her life-- ones that have stuck with her. In this scene where Nick is attending dinner at her and her husband Tom's house, she tells him about the day her daughter was born. She says, "She [the nurse] told me it was a girl, and I turned my head away and wept. 'Alright', I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." (pg. 17). I think Daisy is saying something about her own life when she says this; that she hopes her daughter just has fun as a fool instead of getting stuck in something she doesn't want to be in (like marriage perhaps) like Daisy did. I also think she is saying she hopes her daughter is careless, and doesn't get hung up on a man in a way that will stick with her the rest of her life. 
       I think Daisy is afraid of her feelings. I think something in her past caused her to be forever hurt by it, and that feeling is what scares her. Daisy had been hurt, and as I read more and more, it's starting to become clear that something happened between her and Gatsby in the past. At some point, Nick mentions Gatsby's name, and the author writes Daisy's reaction: "'Gatsby?' demanded Daisy. 'What Gatsby?'". This detail is subtle, but clearly there is something more to that line than just Daisy asking a simple question. 
       Overall, Daisy is an incredibly complex character. I feel so bad for her, yet I also think she is stupid for getting herself into something she isn't happy with. Gatsby clearly wants her-- he wants Nick to set up a time for them to reunite. I think Daisy needs to get away from the life she is stuck in, and stop pretending. People in this world are fools; they are always faking. I think it's important for us to not hide our feelings, and not cover them up just because that may be the "easy" way out. Doing that is like lying to yourself and to others around you. Daisy, and people who live in that pretend bubble she lives in, need to face their emotions, even if that is what scares them.