The Despicable Daisy Buchanan

“On Wednesdays we use pink”. Classic Mean Girls Regina George. Regina is the most gorgeous, popular lady in school. Everyone seems to listen to her. However, under all her makeup, you can see she is likewise the meanest and ugliest of them all. In Fitzgerald’s The Excellent Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan is Regina George. Daisy is by far the most contemptible character in the entire book. Regardless of her outer beauty, Daisy exemplifies true ugliness through her appearances and ditziness, selfishness and materialistic focuses, as well as her bad morals and lack of obligation.

Looking at Daisy, she appears beautiful inside and out. She has the “complete of money” voice that quickly draws people in like she is made up of excellent pledges. However genuinely it is the complete reverse. The only promise Daisy’s voice has is the promise of leading more people under her spell. “I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s whispering was only to make individuals lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less captivating” (9 ).

Daisy’s number one focus in life is by far Daisy. Nothing else registers in her head besides herself and, naturally, her money. Her materialistic mindset results in ruthless self-centeredness. Even at the young age of eighteen, materialism is the sole element in the marriage option of Tom. When Jay Gatsby, her poor puppy love, goes to war, Daisy promises to wait on him. Nevertheless, shortly after he is gone, Daisy meets Tom Buchanan. Tom is from a social family who might assure her the wealthy lifestyle she desires.

This is all Daisy needs to know. She selfishly marries Tom, completely leaving Gatsby behind all for her own personal wealth. Even Gatsby recognizes her obsession with money. “She only married you because I was poor” (130). Although Gatsby did not see that as selfishness since Daisy is “perfect” in his eyes, her choice is without a doubt cold hearted. Throughout the book Daisy strings along two men; her husband, Tom, and her old love, Jay Gatsby, all for more narcissistic attention. “I did love him once—but I loved you too” (132).

Often, Daisy’s selfish ways and love of the almighty dollar lead to her horrible morals and avoidance of responsibility. When times get tough and things go wrong, Daisy hides behind her money and goes somewhere new, leaving behind the situation. For example, at the hotel Daisy gets put in the situation of having to pick between her two men, Tom and Jay. Right away, her first thought is to run away from the responsibility. “I won’t stand this! Oh, please let’s get out” (133). On the way home from the hotel, Daisy is driving Gatsby’s car through the Valley of Ashes and hits Myrtle Wilson, instantly killing her. Daisy, being her usual self, weeps and drives away from the scene, allowing Gatsby to take blame.

“But of course I’ll say I was” (143). Daisy, killing another human being and not owning up to it is heartless on so many levels. For her to be able to wake up the next morning and feel fine is wrong, proving her terrible morals. George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, is extremely angry and out of control when he finds out the car that hit his wife belongs to Jay Gatsby. George, assuming he is to blame, shoots Gatsby and then himself, killing both. If Daisy would have stopped at the accident and owned up to the death of Myrtle, two more lives might have been saved. Even lower, Daisy does not attend the funeral of Jay Gatsby, a man who, in a sense, took a bullet for her. Daisy fled with Tom to a new location, leaving no address or anything behind.

Sometimes the people ugliest on the outside are the most beautiful on the inside, like Beauty and the Beast’s Beast. Although he is scary and hairy on the surface, he is sweet and kindhearted the deeper in you go. Other times, there are people like Daisy, the complete opposite. In the end Daisy reveals herself for what she really embodies. Despite how appealing and attractive she appears, her ugly side comes out the deeper the novel goes. She, as a person, is proven to use her looks all for the wrong reasons. She centers her life on money and selfish ways, has corrupt morals, and strongly lacks responsibility. Daisy Buchanan is by far the most contemptible and despicable character. Why wear pink on Wednesdays when it is the inside that really counts?