The Great Gatsby Chapters 1 and 2

In Chapter 1, Nick and Daisy are excused from the rest of the party as they sit in the "deep gloom" (Fitzgerald 21) of the front porch. They begin to discuss Daisy's relationship with her husband, and her daughter. Daisy tells Nick, "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'" (21).

This passage illuminates the fact that society creates untrue perceptions of its members; while the reader is led to believe that Daisy is strong, because of her wealth and social status, she truly lives in misery. Her "bright eyes and bright passionate mouth" (13-14) are merely a facade to cover her suffering. Her husband has a mistress in New York and Daisy does not love him, instead viewing him as a cruel man and talking to him with a cold tone. Her frustration and annoyance with society is shown when she tells Nick, "Sophisticated - God, I'm so sophisticated!" (22). Daisy laughs to Nick "with thrilling scorn" (22); she is exasperated with society and only wishes to leave. Though she is "sophisticated", following the proper etiquette dictated by society's expectations, her sophistication does not make her happy, and living in society solely makes her miserable. Daisy is a fool to her husband and a fool for thinking that she could ever be happy in such a fake world; her happiness is fake, her marriage is fake, and she has no other option but to continue to pretend that she is content with her life.

We also see a false perception of Mr. Gatsby; similar to Daisy, the reader is led to believe that because of his enormous wealth, Gatsby must be content with his life. Nick comments, "On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before" (43). Gatsby's life is seemingly perfect, full of parties and extravagant affairs and carefree nights spend in the city. However, when he is alone, Gatsby "stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as [Nick] was from him [he] could have sworn [Gatsby] was trembling" (25-26). Although we have yet to meet Gatsby, at this point he is comparable to Daisy: he only puts forth a facade to cover his misery and suffering. He trembles, which shows his weakness, and stands alone in the moonlight instead of being surrounded by society and the people he usually associates himself with. Like Daisy, Gatsby is only capable of showing his suffering when he is alone, for the fear of being perceived as weak in the public eye. Also similar to Daisy, Gatsby is a fool for thinking that being immersed in society can take away any pain and struggle; he too lives in a fake world and must pretend to be content in the eye of society.