Daisy IS a beautiful little fool.
The Great Gatsby is by far in my top ten favorite books. I remember reading it for the first time in High School and thinking this book is magnificent. Not only did I enjoy the characters, but it took me to another time. I enjoy reading books about the 1920s because it was a time full of excitement and downfalls.
The thing about this book is that it has so many meanings and hidden messages. I know every time I read this book, I find something new or a hidden message. My favorite quote from the book is when Daisy talks about her daughter. Daisy says:
"It'll show you how I've gotten to feel about – things. Well, she was
less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the
ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the nurse right away
if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my
head away and wept. 'All right,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I
hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this
world, a beautiful little fool.' "(1.118)
So, why is this my favorite? Because it is horribly true. In this generation of the 1920s, women's roles in society was small. They cooked, cleaned, raised the children, had no jobs, were beaten by their husbands, and frowned upon by what they wore. Women were purely there to be a housewife. Women were frowned upon. They were judged by what they wore and looked like. Women had to dress up and be on their best behavior during all times of the day. Life as a woman was extremely difficult. Some had it easy and others like Myrtle did not.
Daisy is a beautiful little fool. Is she intelligent? I would say she is semi-smart. She mostly appears to be the fool she claims to be. She grew up where if you were pretty, you would find a rich husband. However, love did not always make it into the marriage. Daisy loves the rich lifestyle. She thinks that is the only way to live.
She hopes her daughter to be a beautiful little fool just like her. I think Daisy is smart, but she ignores the simplicity of things. I think she would rather act like a fool and be beautiful rather than be book smart. Life back then was different.
I am certainly glad I did not have to be a beautiful little fool. Back then, sure, Now? I work on cars and get dirty. I dress up for dates. But, on most days, I stay in home in my Doctor Who pajamas writing blog posts for my yoga website.
You do not have to be a beautiful little fool in this generation, but Daisy did. For that, I say she is strong too.
In some point of our lives, we have acted like a beautiful little fool to get our way.
Are you a beautiful little fool in disguise?
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteThanks in part to this class, The Great Gatsby is now one of my favorite books too. It is a great depiction of the materialism and greed so prevalent in America following WWI and remaining until the stock market crash of 1929.
I think that Daisy being a "little fool" was advantageous on her part. She was smart in the sense that she knew if she played the part she would get what she wanted. Most women in the 1920s where like "little fools," only allowed to participate in menial activities while their husbands controlled the rest of their lives. I think that women like Daisy suffered through these inconveniences because the lifestyle and the rewards were sometimes worth the pain. Unfortunately, many women did not have that luxury as Daisy did. The reason women are on a greater equal footing today with men is not because of women like Daisy, but because of women who challenged the social order, the stereotype. These are women like Kate Chopin and Charlotte Gilman. People like Daisy however just decided to go with the flow; but in her case, why would she not?
Keep up the good work as the semester is almost over!
Oh I definitely agree that Daisy had an advantage on being a little fool. She played it well I think.
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