Monday, November 16, 2015

Describe the relationship between Tom and Daisy Buchanan from the novel The Great Gatsby.

Tom and Daisy Buchanan have a marriage of convenience.  Tom likes the idea of a beautiful and socially savvy wife; while Daisy enjoys having a wealthy and well-connected husband.  Their relationship is toxic and unhealthy, yet they seem to have no intention of working to make it better.

Tom is publicly unfaithful and has been so since their honeymoon.  He had a fling with a maid in a Santa Barbara hotel where he and Daisy were guests that ended up in the newspaper after the two had a car accident in which the maid broke her arm (a little foreshadowing, perhaps?).  Later, we find out that Tom even carouses publicly, not caring who knows about his promiscuity:



The fact that he had one [mistress] was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew.



Apparently, Tom is also abusive to Daisy:



We all looked – the knuckle was black and blue. 


"You did it, Tom," she said accusingly. "I know you didn't mean to, but you did do it."



But Daisy can not be counted completely innocent.  On the night before her wedding to Tom, she knew that she was in love with Gatsby, but she also knew that at the time, he had little money.  So in the bright light of the next morning, she got up, put on the string of pearls that Tom had bought her, and married him anyway.  Perhaps, then, Daisy is guilty at the least of emotional infidelity.


This couple is just a mess.  They trample on each other and on all those around them, and they find myriad excuses for their behavior.  Tom sums it up when he explains why his cheating is really meaningless:



"And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time."


No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, and Falling Action of "One Thousand Dollars"?

Exposition A "decidedly amused" Bobby Gillian leaves the offices of Tolman & Sharp where he is given an envelope containing $1...