Beneath the Desire to Be Shaped：Daisy Buchanan’s Duality.docVIP

Beneath the Desire to Be Shaped：Daisy Buchanan’s Duality 　　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 th