Can we talk about Daisy’s daughter, Lily? I completely forgot that she was a character, and I want to delve into the meaning behind her insignificance.
2 thoughts on “Lily, the daughter”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
American Dreamers – Spring 2017
English 1038 – Professor Aaron Kitch
I agree. While Daisy’s daughter whose name is actually Pammy, is only mentioned maybe 2 to 3 times, I feel as though this cannot be taken for granted especially when dealing with Fitzgerald. Daisy only seems to mention her daughter when it is most relevant to her- when she wants to show her beauty off- flashback to the quote about the beautiful little fool where Daisy describes her birth and the absence of Tom. Look to page 117 where its Gatsby, Daisy and Pammy, I think that interaction can be further evaluated. For one, the little girl asks where’s daddy? Tom is absence yet again but what does it say that Gatsby is there?
As a reader, having her only present very briefly in the novel, I imagined Daisy not being a mother figure. With their wealth, her child was raised by nannies. I hate to comment on Daisy as a mother without commenting on her father, Tom. People reading the book point out, “Why isn’t Daisy displayed as a mother?” It’s equally important to question why Tom is not characterized as father-like. Unlike O’Pioneers, families are not very present in The Great Gatsby. I get a sense that characters in the novel are individualist. Communities are not developed, which is a product of characters in the novel being self-centered.