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When the curtain falls on the eponymous hero’s “long secret extravaganza”（Fitzgerald 141;Ch.VIII）near the end of The Great Gatsby，he recalls his pivotal encounter and separation with Daisy Buchanan.In Nick Carraway’s retelling，Gatsby imagines Daisy’s life and choice of marriage during his absence：
...And all the time something within her was crying for a decision.She wanted her life shaped now，immediately - and the decision must be made by some force - of love，of money，of unquestionable practicality - that was close at hand.（144;Ch.VIII）
This may be viewed as another obvious evidence of Daisy’s “vicious emptiness”（qtd.in Person 250），but we must be aware that this Daisy is whom Nick and Gatsby assume her to be，whose heart Nick has acknowledged that he “had no sight into” and whose behavior he has been “confused” by（24;Ch.I）.Leland S.Person Jr.and Sarah Beebe Fryer have made a convincing case in establishing Daisy as a character of “her own story”，“her own dream”，and “an acute sense of responsibility towards herself”（Person 251;Fryer 153-54）.In her desire to be “shaped” by some force，Daisy also reveals her internal conflicts，and her struggle reflects a pervading anxiety over fluidity，excess，aging and female awakening in the text and of the time.
The world of The Great Gatsby is permeated with motifs of “drifting” and “restless”，of which W.J.Harvey has given a detailed analysis.Characters’ movements are “either jerky and impulsive”，essentially “drifting” on the novel’s underlying trope of ships and the sea（79-80）.Everything，from people to objects，refuses to stay still and engages in some kinds of actions.Yet distinguished from characters’ restlessness，that is，energetic without clear aims set，objects are often acting with more menacing vitality and determination.In Chapter I，the lawn in front of the Buchanans’ mansion runs and jumps like an athlete，directing towards the front door.Compared with the “morbid” cry from Daisy “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon，and the day after that，and the next thirty years？”（113;Ch.VII），the lawn seems much more motivated.Objects in this novel are always depicted as human or eerily animate entities.The road connecting West Egg and New York is able to hastily join，run beside and shrink away（26;Ch.II）.Automobiles crouch（27;Ch.II），groan（79;Ch.V），turn expectantly，drive sulkily away（108;Ch.VII），and feel its way along the dark（138;Ch.VII）.It seems that the vigor and excitement of the human world exceed its capacity and are overflowing into the natural world，infecting and endowing inanimate objects with energy and personalities.Yet when it comes to the valley of ashes，where ashes “grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”，finally form “ash-grey men”（26;Ch.II），the vitality reveals an unsettling，even appalling vision.There is a tremendous，even transcendent drive in these ashes to grow into meaningful shapes that reverberates dimly with Daisy’s desire to be “shaped”—in a world of lurking shadows，uncanny objects and rootless people，Daisy would inevitably like to be transformed by solid force to be something more stable and secure. The human world under intrusion from animate objects seems wobbly precarious.Indeed，suggestion of fragility and adumbration of catastrophe emanate from the text.Daisy and Jordan’s entrance into the novel is on a couch which is “the only completely stationary object” in a room “fragilely bound into the house”（13;Ch.I）.Nick’s first impression of Jordan is that “as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall”（14;Ch.I）.The owl-eyed man mutters that Gatsby’s library is “liable to collapse” if one brick is removed（47;Ch.III）.The trope of something trembling “on the verge/edge”（20;Ch.I;109;Ch.VII;113;Ch.VII）runs through the novel，corresponding to the verbal recurrence of “drifting” and the description of Gatsby’s enchanting parties deteriorating to an assemblage of insobriety，sickness and dissoluteness.Together they create a world stumbling on the thin border between existence and destruction，of which ironically，Tom Buchanan articulates most literally—“pretty soon the earth’s going to fall into the sun”（112;Ch.VII）.
Daisy’s choice of Tom over Gatsby appears thus more reasonable against this background，because Tom is a much more tangible character than Gatsby.His existence is physical，“sturdy” and of “a great pack of muscle”（12;Ch.I），and his “thick body” can block out the door（111;Ch.VII）.More importantly，Tom’s body is “capable of enormous leverage”（12;Ch.I），capable of compelling Nick to walk as “moving a checker to another square”（16;Ch.I）.Tom has the power to control and shape other beings，even without regard to his enormous fortune and family background.
Gatsby’s existence，however，“or rather the presumption of Gatsby’s existence，is never resolved into the form of a character in the usual novelistic sense”（Rawson 95）.Gatsby is a riddle to be resolved，a myth to be unfolded，a series of gestures and an incarnation of his guests’ “secret imaginings about their world”（Langman 41-2）.His manner is also of a ghostly quality.Mysteriously intimate with darkness，he is able to “emerge from the shadow” and suddenly “vanish”（25;Ch.I）.In the reunion scene of Chapter V，after the initial shock and embarrassment，Nick observes that “a certain physical decency” establishes itself while Gatsby gets himself “into a shadow”（84），as if when presented with the highbred in a close distance，he must turn to the shadow for help in order to hide his insufficiency in origin，or fundamentally，in existence.Until Chapter VI，readers get to know that Jay Gatsby was born of “his Platonic conception”（95）.James Gatz is of flesh and blood and a “brown hardening body”（95），but Jay Gatsby springs from an idea，which materializes with its exposure to Dan Cody and is finally shaped and incarnated by Daisy and the transcendent kiss.This substantiation may be assumed to be destined，but it is doubtlessly craved for to some extent.In this sense，Gatsby is linked with the ashes desperate to take shape and Daisy’s desire to be “shaped”. Daisy has been argued to be Gatsby’s “female double”（Person 251），and they certainly share the same craving for a stable “shape”.If Gatsby is troubled by his own incorporeality，conversely，Daisy has to handle her romantic excess，which manifests most distinctly in her voice.Person argues that Daisy’s voice “seems full of unrealized possibility”（254）.Moreover，her voice partakes of a motivated force in its efforts of “moulding” the senseless heat “into forms”（113;Ch.VII）.It is not only “a deathless song” that “couldn’t be over-dreamed” but also of power to get a group of people to their feet and “out to the blazing gravel drive” on a sultry afternoon（114;Ch.VII）.This kind of magic in Daisy’s voice rivals the colossal vitality in Gatsby’s illusion.In fact，her voice plays a significant part in shaping Gatsby’s imagination of the upper-class life and aspiration towards it.Daisy with her voice is the midwife of the glamorous Jay Gatsby.
An individual with voice of such vitality，just like Gatsby with his frighteningly imaginative ambition，inevitably needs her own correlative.Gatsby finds out Daisy to embody his dream，though of which she tumbles short（92;Ch.V）.In Daisy’s case，after her burst of infatuation，she must instinctively apprehend Gatsby’s insufficiency，particularly after his physical absence：a person whose existence needs to be determined by her kiss is impossible to help tame her own excess in existence.There is not enough of Gatsby for Daisy，the same situation with George and Myrtle Wilson（151;Ch.VIII）.When a man who belongs to the same romantic realm with her fails her hope，logically Daisy turns to another type，a man of solid physical presence，and expects his force “of love，of money，of unquestionable practicality”（144;Ch.VIII）to shape her tumultuous life.
As Nick asserts that Gatsby’s dream goes beyond Daisy，“beyond everything”（92;Ch.V），we may not be surprised that Daisy’s infinite voice cannot be disciplined by Tom.Worse still，her need for stability has not been fulfilled.To start with，Tom is not exempt from the widespread plague of restlessness，drifting “here and there” in search of some “dramatic turbulence”（11-12;Ch.I）.Yet for Daisy，the most devastating of her marriage is Tom’s continual infidelity.Those extramarital affairs render his physical presence scarcely available for her，the feature that distinguishes Tom from Gatsby when she has misunderstanding about Gatsby’s true origin thus understandably yearned for by Daisy，let alone menace her domestic status.Jordan’s memory in Chapter IV proves Daisy’s physical fixation with Tom.It seems that Daisy has had enough waiting for an absent lover and pours now her need for something tangible and “close at hand” into her “rubbing” fingers over her newlywed husband’s eyes.But the same husband is “God knows where” when she gives birth（22;Ch.I）.She is deprived of what she to a great extent marries for.Consequently，she has to resume her ceaseless fight with conflicting drives for exciting possibilities and disciplined tranquility.Due to Nick’s limited point of view，Daisy’s efforts are mostly implied in the text.Nick mentions that when the Buchanans come East，Daisy assures him that this is “a permanent move”（11;Ch.I）.She is tired of drifting worldwide restlessly and wishes for a more stable life.Another intriguing indicator of her mentality is her fascination with “absolute”.She calls Nick “an absolute rose”（19;Ch.I），wears “an absolute smirk”（22;Ch.I），refers to her daughter by “you absolute little dream”（112;Ch.VII），and asks Nick when she first visit him “is this absolutely where you live？”（82;Ch.V）.When she gives Nick “a little heart to heart talk”（24;Ch.I），she exclaims with a sense of all-encompassing（22;Ch.I）.Although comically affected，this monologue reveals some deep anxiety of hers—a thirst for a world in uniform，where everything and everybody everywhere are simultaneously terrible.Bitterly tore by her twofold desire，she strains to reconcile her ever churning hope to an absolute hellish world，as if in it she would finally be able to abandon all her romantic excess and be content with a “p-paralysed”（14;Ch.I）life. Obviously，Daisy fails in mastering her romantic longings，or she would not reunite，though temporarily，with Gatsby.In Nick’s perspective，Daisy essentially belongs to the same realm with Gatsby，where anyone except each other is merely stranger to them and the indigenous look “remotely” back at the outsider（93;Ch.V）.Even when they are condemned to be “ghosts”，they are still insulated from “our pity”（129;Ch.VII）.Unfortunately，if the absent man could not satisfy her five years ago，Gatsby today is even remoter from her ideal.He is possessed of returning to the past and fixing what has gone wrong.He is pursuing the grail，but Daisy has apparently no interest in becoming a holy cup.She needs someone to love，to kiss，for which she pulls Gatsby’s face down when Tom leaves the room（111;Ch.VII）.But Gatsby has a different opinion when he dismisses their dance as “unimportant”（105;Ch.VI）and refers to Daisy’s emotions as “just personal”（145;Ch.VIII）.The incorporeal Gatsby is after an abstraction of dream in the form of Daisy，the fact to some extent elevating his pursuit to universality.Yet what Daisy cries and agonized for is essentially personal，and this fact does not equal with triviality.On the contrary，her duality resonates with Gatsby，Nick and the era.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald，F.Scott.The Great Gatsby.1926.Great Britain：Penguin Books，1950. Print.
Fryer，Sarah Beebe.“Beneath the Mask：The Plight of Daisy Buchanan.” Critical Essays on F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Ed.Scott Donaldson.Boston： G.K.Hall & Co.，1984.153-66.Print.
Langman，F.H.“Style and Shape in The Great Gatsby.” Critical Essays on F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Ed.Scott Donaldson.Boston：G.K.Hall & Co.， 1984.31-53.Print.
Person，Leland S.，Jr.“ ‘Herstory’ and Daisy Buchanan.” American Literature 50.2 （1978）：250-57.JSTOR.Web.17 Oct.2015.
Rawson，Eric.“The Telephonic Logic of The Great Gatsby.” The F.Scott Fitzgerald Review 8（2010）：92-103.JSTOR.Web.10 Oct.2015.
...And all the time something within her was crying for a decision.She wanted her life shaped now，immediately - and the decision must be made by some force - of love，of money，of unquestionable practicality - that was close at hand.（144;Ch.VIII）
This may be viewed as another obvious evidence of Daisy’s “vicious emptiness”（qtd.in Person 250），but we must be aware that this Daisy is whom Nick and Gatsby assume her to be，whose heart Nick has acknowledged that he “had no sight into” and whose behavior he has been “confused” by（24;Ch.I）.Leland S.Person Jr.and Sarah Beebe Fryer have made a convincing case in establishing Daisy as a character of “her own story”，“her own dream”，and “an acute sense of responsibility towards herself”（Person 251;Fryer 153-54）.In her desire to be “shaped” by some force，Daisy also reveals her internal conflicts，and her struggle reflects a pervading anxiety over fluidity，excess，aging and female awakening in the text and of the time.
The world of The Great Gatsby is permeated with motifs of “drifting” and “restless”，of which W.J.Harvey has given a detailed analysis.Characters’ movements are “either jerky and impulsive”，essentially “drifting” on the novel’s underlying trope of ships and the sea（79-80）.Everything，from people to objects，refuses to stay still and engages in some kinds of actions.Yet distinguished from characters’ restlessness，that is，energetic without clear aims set，objects are often acting with more menacing vitality and determination.In Chapter I，the lawn in front of the Buchanans’ mansion runs and jumps like an athlete，directing towards the front door.Compared with the “morbid” cry from Daisy “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon，and the day after that，and the next thirty years？”（113;Ch.VII），the lawn seems much more motivated.Objects in this novel are always depicted as human or eerily animate entities.The road connecting West Egg and New York is able to hastily join，run beside and shrink away（26;Ch.II）.Automobiles crouch（27;Ch.II），groan（79;Ch.V），turn expectantly，drive sulkily away（108;Ch.VII），and feel its way along the dark（138;Ch.VII）.It seems that the vigor and excitement of the human world exceed its capacity and are overflowing into the natural world，infecting and endowing inanimate objects with energy and personalities.Yet when it comes to the valley of ashes，where ashes “grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens”，finally form “ash-grey men”（26;Ch.II），the vitality reveals an unsettling，even appalling vision.There is a tremendous，even transcendent drive in these ashes to grow into meaningful shapes that reverberates dimly with Daisy’s desire to be “shaped”—in a world of lurking shadows，uncanny objects and rootless people，Daisy would inevitably like to be transformed by solid force to be something more stable and secure. The human world under intrusion from animate objects seems wobbly precarious.Indeed，suggestion of fragility and adumbration of catastrophe emanate from the text.Daisy and Jordan’s entrance into the novel is on a couch which is “the only completely stationary object” in a room “fragilely bound into the house”（13;Ch.I）.Nick’s first impression of Jordan is that “as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall”（14;Ch.I）.The owl-eyed man mutters that Gatsby’s library is “liable to collapse” if one brick is removed（47;Ch.III）.The trope of something trembling “on the verge/edge”（20;Ch.I;109;Ch.VII;113;Ch.VII）runs through the novel，corresponding to the verbal recurrence of “drifting” and the description of Gatsby’s enchanting parties deteriorating to an assemblage of insobriety，sickness and dissoluteness.Together they create a world stumbling on the thin border between existence and destruction，of which ironically，Tom Buchanan articulates most literally—“pretty soon the earth’s going to fall into the sun”（112;Ch.VII）.
Daisy’s choice of Tom over Gatsby appears thus more reasonable against this background，because Tom is a much more tangible character than Gatsby.His existence is physical，“sturdy” and of “a great pack of muscle”（12;Ch.I），and his “thick body” can block out the door（111;Ch.VII）.More importantly，Tom’s body is “capable of enormous leverage”（12;Ch.I），capable of compelling Nick to walk as “moving a checker to another square”（16;Ch.I）.Tom has the power to control and shape other beings，even without regard to his enormous fortune and family background.
Gatsby’s existence，however，“or rather the presumption of Gatsby’s existence，is never resolved into the form of a character in the usual novelistic sense”（Rawson 95）.Gatsby is a riddle to be resolved，a myth to be unfolded，a series of gestures and an incarnation of his guests’ “secret imaginings about their world”（Langman 41-2）.His manner is also of a ghostly quality.Mysteriously intimate with darkness，he is able to “emerge from the shadow” and suddenly “vanish”（25;Ch.I）.In the reunion scene of Chapter V，after the initial shock and embarrassment，Nick observes that “a certain physical decency” establishes itself while Gatsby gets himself “into a shadow”（84），as if when presented with the highbred in a close distance，he must turn to the shadow for help in order to hide his insufficiency in origin，or fundamentally，in existence.Until Chapter VI，readers get to know that Jay Gatsby was born of “his Platonic conception”（95）.James Gatz is of flesh and blood and a “brown hardening body”（95），but Jay Gatsby springs from an idea，which materializes with its exposure to Dan Cody and is finally shaped and incarnated by Daisy and the transcendent kiss.This substantiation may be assumed to be destined，but it is doubtlessly craved for to some extent.In this sense，Gatsby is linked with the ashes desperate to take shape and Daisy’s desire to be “shaped”. Daisy has been argued to be Gatsby’s “female double”（Person 251），and they certainly share the same craving for a stable “shape”.If Gatsby is troubled by his own incorporeality，conversely，Daisy has to handle her romantic excess，which manifests most distinctly in her voice.Person argues that Daisy’s voice “seems full of unrealized possibility”（254）.Moreover，her voice partakes of a motivated force in its efforts of “moulding” the senseless heat “into forms”（113;Ch.VII）.It is not only “a deathless song” that “couldn’t be over-dreamed” but also of power to get a group of people to their feet and “out to the blazing gravel drive” on a sultry afternoon（114;Ch.VII）.This kind of magic in Daisy’s voice rivals the colossal vitality in Gatsby’s illusion.In fact，her voice plays a significant part in shaping Gatsby’s imagination of the upper-class life and aspiration towards it.Daisy with her voice is the midwife of the glamorous Jay Gatsby.
An individual with voice of such vitality，just like Gatsby with his frighteningly imaginative ambition，inevitably needs her own correlative.Gatsby finds out Daisy to embody his dream，though of which she tumbles short（92;Ch.V）.In Daisy’s case，after her burst of infatuation，she must instinctively apprehend Gatsby’s insufficiency，particularly after his physical absence：a person whose existence needs to be determined by her kiss is impossible to help tame her own excess in existence.There is not enough of Gatsby for Daisy，the same situation with George and Myrtle Wilson（151;Ch.VIII）.When a man who belongs to the same romantic realm with her fails her hope，logically Daisy turns to another type，a man of solid physical presence，and expects his force “of love，of money，of unquestionable practicality”（144;Ch.VIII）to shape her tumultuous life.
As Nick asserts that Gatsby’s dream goes beyond Daisy，“beyond everything”（92;Ch.V），we may not be surprised that Daisy’s infinite voice cannot be disciplined by Tom.Worse still，her need for stability has not been fulfilled.To start with，Tom is not exempt from the widespread plague of restlessness，drifting “here and there” in search of some “dramatic turbulence”（11-12;Ch.I）.Yet for Daisy，the most devastating of her marriage is Tom’s continual infidelity.Those extramarital affairs render his physical presence scarcely available for her，the feature that distinguishes Tom from Gatsby when she has misunderstanding about Gatsby’s true origin thus understandably yearned for by Daisy，let alone menace her domestic status.Jordan’s memory in Chapter IV proves Daisy’s physical fixation with Tom.It seems that Daisy has had enough waiting for an absent lover and pours now her need for something tangible and “close at hand” into her “rubbing” fingers over her newlywed husband’s eyes.But the same husband is “God knows where” when she gives birth（22;Ch.I）.She is deprived of what she to a great extent marries for.Consequently，she has to resume her ceaseless fight with conflicting drives for exciting possibilities and disciplined tranquility.Due to Nick’s limited point of view，Daisy’s efforts are mostly implied in the text.Nick mentions that when the Buchanans come East，Daisy assures him that this is “a permanent move”（11;Ch.I）.She is tired of drifting worldwide restlessly and wishes for a more stable life.Another intriguing indicator of her mentality is her fascination with “absolute”.She calls Nick “an absolute rose”（19;Ch.I），wears “an absolute smirk”（22;Ch.I），refers to her daughter by “you absolute little dream”（112;Ch.VII），and asks Nick when she first visit him “is this absolutely where you live？”（82;Ch.V）.When she gives Nick “a little heart to heart talk”（24;Ch.I），she exclaims with a sense of all-encompassing（22;Ch.I）.Although comically affected，this monologue reveals some deep anxiety of hers—a thirst for a world in uniform，where everything and everybody everywhere are simultaneously terrible.Bitterly tore by her twofold desire，she strains to reconcile her ever churning hope to an absolute hellish world，as if in it she would finally be able to abandon all her romantic excess and be content with a “p-paralysed”（14;Ch.I）life. Obviously，Daisy fails in mastering her romantic longings，or she would not reunite，though temporarily，with Gatsby.In Nick’s perspective，Daisy essentially belongs to the same realm with Gatsby，where anyone except each other is merely stranger to them and the indigenous look “remotely” back at the outsider（93;Ch.V）.Even when they are condemned to be “ghosts”，they are still insulated from “our pity”（129;Ch.VII）.Unfortunately，if the absent man could not satisfy her five years ago，Gatsby today is even remoter from her ideal.He is possessed of returning to the past and fixing what has gone wrong.He is pursuing the grail，but Daisy has apparently no interest in becoming a holy cup.She needs someone to love，to kiss，for which she pulls Gatsby’s face down when Tom leaves the room（111;Ch.VII）.But Gatsby has a different opinion when he dismisses their dance as “unimportant”（105;Ch.VI）and refers to Daisy’s emotions as “just personal”（145;Ch.VIII）.The incorporeal Gatsby is after an abstraction of dream in the form of Daisy，the fact to some extent elevating his pursuit to universality.Yet what Daisy cries and agonized for is essentially personal，and this fact does not equal with triviality.On the contrary，her duality resonates with Gatsby，Nick and the era.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald，F.Scott.The Great Gatsby.1926.Great Britain：Penguin Books，1950. Print.
Fryer，Sarah Beebe.“Beneath the Mask：The Plight of Daisy Buchanan.” Critical Essays on F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Ed.Scott Donaldson.Boston： G.K.Hall & Co.，1984.153-66.Print.
Langman，F.H.“Style and Shape in The Great Gatsby.” Critical Essays on F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Ed.Scott Donaldson.Boston：G.K.Hall & Co.， 1984.31-53.Print.
Person，Leland S.，Jr.“ ‘Herstory’ and Daisy Buchanan.” American Literature 50.2 （1978）：250-57.JSTOR.Web.17 Oct.2015.
Rawson，Eric.“The Telephonic Logic of The Great Gatsby.” The F.Scott Fitzgerald Review 8（2010）：92-103.JSTOR.Web.10 Oct.2015.