Nature and Daisy

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses much nature imagery to describe the setting and many of the characters, especially Daisy. Besides the fact that her name is that of a flower, Daisy is also described as being “flower-like” and her house is described as “blooming with light.” While we do not learn a lot about Daisy in the first chapter, there is a sense of tension between her and her husband, Tom Buchanan, who Nick learns has “some woman” New York and holds many racial prejudices. Through reading books such as the “Rise of the Colored Empires,” Tom believes that Nordics are the only group of people who contribute to society and that other races are inferior in every way. This view represents much of the Anti-immigrant sentiment present during the Twenties, which was also known as the Age of Intolerance. It seems that this view of racial supremacy is not shared by Daisy and is also a source of tension. Later, Nick finds that Daisy felt abandoned by Tom, who was not present at the birth of his daughter. We find that Daisy seems to feel that women are inferior and that they can only grow up to be “beautiful little fools.” This seems to show some of Daisy’s cynicism on the view towards women during the Twenties, where being a “flapper” was the cultural norm. Besides this tension and anger directed at her husband, who she at one point referred to as “hulking,” Daisy is mainly portrayed in a positive manner and often by references to nature. Daisy is often said to be “glowing” with the light of the sun. Nature and the outside world are welcomed into her house as “breezes blew through the room” and the grass seemed to “grow a little into the house.” At the very end of the chapter, Nick sees Gatsby for the first time standing on his lawn and looking up at the stars and serenely enjoying the “bright night” and the “organ sound of the frogs.” It is interesting that Gatsby also seems to have a close connection with nature.