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hello everyone. my friend and i were discussing this story one day because we were assigned to read it for english class. we came to the question of why daisy began to cry when she saw gatsby's shirts in the...third chapter i think. what do u think about this because we really just could not figure it out. i look forward to your insight on this and thank you very much :)
Ostensibly she starts crying because she "never saw such beautiful shirts" (I am paraphrasing, it has been a few years since I read the book). The thing to remember about Daisy is that she isn't a bad person, but she is shallow and materialistic.
Think how you might feel in her place. Here is a man that you haven't seen in many years, a poor man and one with whom you were infatuated. You are reunited with this man and treated to one display after another of his wealth. How many people would be able to afford so many beautiful shirts? Or a mansion? Only the very wealthy.
Now, suddenly he is everything you ever wanted...wouldn't that be a bit emotional? Wouldn't you, if you were Daisy weep at such a thing?
*edit*
Oh, I thnk it is in chapter five by the way...I should dig out my copy of this and re-read it.
Daisy cries because she is extremely happy that Gatsby has finally "made" it. Years ago they had a fling, however Daisy left Gatsby because he did not have enough wealth to sustain her. The shirts symbolize Gatsby's newfound success and this is why Daisy rejoices over them.
This is just the short version of why she cries, but we just did a unit on this novel in my American Lit class so it's fresh in my mind.
Daisy breaks down crying because she sees how far Gatsby has gotten in life, and she wonders whether or not she made the right choice with marrying Tom. She is obviously unhappy with Tom, being with him only for his money.
There is no question that Daisy is ambivalent about her marriage to Tom. She is a materialist elitist who only values money and material possession. She's the original Material Girl! She likely cries because she is awed by the beauty of the shirts though the full reason is not amplified in the narrative [she says, "it makes me sad" but we are not told why and we can only speculate as to what made her sad and to cry]. I thought this was a shortfall in the novel. Does she really care for Jay? Is she really happy that he has finally made it financially and socially? Or is she "sad" and crying because she now regrets not marrying the now wealthy Jay? This took place in Chapter 5 and IIRC it was not established that Jay had a criminal past until Ch 7. Thus, she may have thought at this time that his wealth was earned which in her mind casts a great reflection upon him. Plus she has not yet seen any bad side of him unlike her experiences with Tom.