The Wealthy and Careless

 

Daisy is one of the most interesting characters in The Great Gatsby, in my opinion. She is extremely wealthy and used to being wealthy, which can be shown through her voice. Gatsby says, “Her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 120). This could mean that her voice sounds affluent, and that he is attracted to her wealth. She sounds like she has never had to worry about money, always being well provided for. Being wealthy also accounts for the fact that she can say and do whatever she pleases, not minding the consequences at all. She has had so much money for all her life that she can hide behind her mountain of wealth. Nick says, “She’s got an indiscreet voice” (Fitzgerald 120). He means that though her voice is very revealing, she can still easily hide behind it. Nick mentions his hope that his daughter is “born a fool” which reminded me of Daisy. She is not very smart, or simply does not need to show it because everyone listens to what she has to say anyway. She is also one of the most careless characters. This can be shown when Daisy runs Myrtle over, which instantly kills her. She never has to take the blame for this, however, since Gatsby is so in love with her and would do anything for her that he assures her he will take full responsibility. Instead of being held accountable for murdering a person, Daisy gets to easily avoid the consequences because of the attractiveness of her wealth. In many instances in this book, the wealthy make careless mistakes without taking any time to think about the repercussions.