How Is Daisy Guilty In The Great Gatsby

Daisy to some may seem like just a victim, but she is guilty not only morally, but also legally. She was a deceiving, lovely figure as well as a “hit-and-run killer” (324). In the article Oxymoron in “The Great Gatsby” the author says, “Some...think Tom and Myrtle’s affair is cheap and disgusting, Jay’s and Daisy’s romantic, but both are the same morally and legally...” (324). Daisy cheated on her husband and she also killed a person. The reason she married Tom was for his money, but once she realized Gatsby had gotten rich she played him to see what he could provide for her. After openly cheating on Gatsby and being caught by Tom, she chose Tom over Gatsby because he could provide her the material goods she wanted. Even though Daisy knew she could not drive safely, she got behind the wheel of Gatsby’s car. She then sped through the Valley of Ashes and ran over Myrtle Wilson. She never admitted her wrongdoing and got away with it. Instead, she put her guilt upon Gatsby, who gladly took the blame and …show more content…
Peter L. Hays says in his article, “Nick feels himself morally superior to Tom’s infidelities, Jordan’s lies, to Wolfsheim’s and Gatsby’s criminal act, yet he’s an accessory” (324). Nick shows he is not innocent when “Katherine lies at her sister’s inquest, a loyal act of perjury that Nick praises as showing a ‘surprising amount of character” (324). He helped cover up a murder and an affair. Nick helped Gatsby (almost) get away with a murder, by helping conceal the evidence and not telling the police the truth. He also let Daisy get away with murder, by not telling anyone what actually happened. An accomplice in Tom’s affair, Nick never told Daisy, even though she was his cousin. Standing by and not doing anything to stop something that is morally or legally wrong is a wrongdoing in