The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Journal 1

Quote: "I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

This quote, from chapter 1 is an important quote said by Daisy Buchanan, the second cousin of Nick Carraway, narrator of the "Great Gatsby". This quote is significant

towards the story because it reveals glimpses into Daisy's character. Daisy is not a fool herself, but due to the times and the extent of her exposure to the social environment, she has not valued intelligence in women. Because of her generation being very mature and old fashioned, she believes that the younger females just care about their wild life of simply partying in the day and partying in the night.

Being married to a man who's only known for his ostentation and gigantic ego, Daisy believes that the product of a foolish man will be foolish also. Daisy's remark is somewhat hostile because while she refers to the social values of her era, she does not seem to challenge them. Instead, she describes her own boredom with life and seems to imply that a girl can have more fun if she is beautiful and simplistic. Daisy feels angry at the way Tom wasn't there when the baby was born and just talking about her daughter is a burden to the added weight of her egoistic husband.

Since this book is being taken place in the "Roaring Twenties"/Jazz Age, most women are known for their wild behavior and actions. She believes her child will grow from an innocent, ludic child, to a chaotic, ebullient woman, just spending her time getting drunk or smoking at a club. Little did she know about the end of the twenties, and the beginning of the giant depression. Daisy did not want her daughter to grow up like her father and inherit his traits of cockiness