Saturday, July 20, 2013

In The Great Gatsby, what does Daisy say and do that indicates to the reader that she is a "class above" in society?

The text of the novel establishes that Daisy Buchanan is a
member of the upper class in American society. She grew up in her father's fine house,
married an enormously wealthy man, and pursued a privileged lifestyle among other
members of her upper class. On two particular occasions, Daisy's own words and actions
clearly reflect her social position. In Chapter I, when Nick comes to dinner, she
expresses at one point the idle boredom of the rich. When Jordan Baker suggests that
some social activity should be planned, Daisy responds, "What do people plan?" She asks
this in a helpless voice. Daisy has no work to do and no interests to pursue; her only
role in life is to be rich.


Later in the novel, Daisy
attends one of Gatsby's wild parties attended by the kind of people with whom she has no
social contact, particularly "show business" people. She finds their uninhibited
behavior quite bizarre; she is "offended" by them. She observes without participating,
much as one might observe a foreign species. Commenting upon Gatsby's guests, Daisy
makes this assessment:


readability="6">

Lots of people come who haven't been invited . .
. They simply force their way in and he's too polite to
object.



Daisy feels contempt
for these people, indicating the superior attitude of her social class. Nick says this
about Daisy's upper-class sensibilities:


readability="7">

She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented
"place" that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village--appalled by its
raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms . . .
.



Daisy is quite
uncomfortable outside her own privileged world and contemptuous of those "beneath" her
social position.

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