Symbolism of daisies:
- As we know, daises are little delicate flowers. Daisy is very delicate and sensitive. This can be proved as in chapter 1, she bruised her knuckle and she accuses Tom of hurting her. This shows that she gets hurt easily. But in real, Daisy was not sweet and delicate but hard and manipulative. At the beginning, their relationship has infidelities and they both are unsatisfied. Daisy insults Tom by calling him “a brute of a man and a hulking specimen”. She is self-centered and cares only for herself. She allows Gatsby to take the blame of Myrtle’s death whereas if she was an honest person she would’ve accepted it. At the end, they both conspire and escape leaving Gatsby to suffer. This shows that Daisy was very insecure and needed someone to support her.
- The flower daisy has white petals. This white color symbolizes innocence, purity and honor. Throughout the novel, Daisy is dressed up in white clothes. Whereas, in reality she is not at all innocent. Later on in the story, Daisy has an extramarital affair with Gatsby when she meets him at Nick’s house. They dance, kiss and she’s seen at Gatsby’s house often. In the end, she also tells Gatsby that she loves him, in front of her husband. This definitely shows that she is not ‘pure’ like how the flower is.
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The flower daisy has a yellow/gold centre → hard, greed, hunger for money. Money is what matter’s to Daisy the most, centre of her cove. It mattered to her more than her relationships which is why she chose to marry Tom over Gatsby since he was not rich at that time. Relationships bond people together, unlike the case of Daisy where money ties her to her relationships.
“Her voice was full of money” –
She only wanted money, wealth & to be rich.
- Materialistic- When she sees Gatsby’s house, shirts etc. she falls for them and she’s amazed. Corrupt. Very money minded. She dint really love anyone. Just wants the money and towards the end of novel we realized that her voice was full of money like G said. The way she spoke showed her hunger for money and materialism. In this context, she can be compared to a flower and gold symbolizes money and Daisy is her person who thinks only of money.
At a first glance daisies pretty, gorgeous etc. – ironical as they are weeds. Weeds are plants which should be pulled out as it chokes other plants. It’s like a trap. People fall for the outer person and then find out the real nature. Fall into the trap of such people and suffer.
Example- “It is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams”. This is a metaphor referring to Daisy and Tom. Gatsby had nothing to do with his end. Gatsby loved Daisy and would do anything to get her. That’s the reason he took the blame of Myrtle’s death but in this process he got caught in a trap. As Daisy and Tom left, Gatsby could not escape. This was very
Daisy was Gatsby’s only dream but Daisy and Tom are referred to as the “foul dust” which shattered Gatsby’s dreams and destroyed him. Shows the evil mind of Tom and Daisy. It was Tom who told Wilson that Gatsby owned the car and hence Wilson killed Gatsby.
All the above examples prove that Daisy might look like an innocent, gorgeous, kind-hearted person but in the inside she’s a hard, insatiable and money oriented.
Second character symbolized by a flower is Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Myrtle was very materialistic and capitalized her relationship with Tom since she was poor and could not afford luxuries. She craved for wealth and money. She also used Tom for granted. In chapter 2, when she met Tom at the train station, she bought magazines, cream and many other things. She also demanded for a puppy and bought that, all with Tom’s money. The plant Myrtle is originally a climbing plant which needs support to live. This symbolizes the character of Myrtle. She was unsatisfied with her husband & resorted to an affair with Tom. Hence, she was insecure and needed support from some way both financially and morally. If the climbing plant does not have support it will fall down, just like that if Myrtle dint have Tom she would have no stability in her life. The plant Myrtle is generally used as an emblem of love. This is ironic as Myrtle dint love Wilson or Tom purely. She showed fake love towards Tom only for his money and took advantage of him. The above examples show us how flower symbolism is used to portray Myrtle.
