A few days ago
I need some Great Gatsby help! In Chapter 1, why does Daisy describe her youth as a “white girlhood?”
Hi! I am looking for an answer, but I don’t want people to feel that I am trying to get everyone to do my homework. Here is what is says in the book…
Nick- “Is she from New York?” I asked quickly.
Daisy- “From Louisville. Our white girlhood was passed together there. Our beautiful white ———-”
I really need a good answer for this question. Here is my take on it, I just want you to please tell me if it is right or wrong.
The only thing that seems correct to me is the literal meaning, that she is white. Earlier in the book, Daisy’s husband was talking about how the white race is the dominant race and Daisy always tries to act “sophisticated” to “fit in” with her husband and their lifestyle. Saying that she had a white girlhood makes her childhood sound more prestigious than a person with another skin tone.
Is that correct? Thanks in advance!
Top 4 Answers
A few days ago
Favorite Answer
yes, i think you’re right–it has to do with her being white, but perhaps more importantly what it MEANS to be white–or, rather, what it meant to be white in that time period…and especially a white person of a high class.
1
5 years ago
Tom was just blathering on about the Nordic race’s superiority, so it may be a slightly veiled dig at his boorish lecture on Goddard’s book. Definitely referred to the pastoral quality of their (Jordan and Daisy) childhood in Kentucky. It would have been more innocent and simple than in New York. Plus, if you look at clothing from the period, kids usually wore white
0
7 years ago
There’s actually a lot of color symbolism throughout The Great Gatsby. The color white is predominantly used to express purity and innocence. Daisy is referring to the innocence of her childhood which implies that it has now been lost.
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5 years ago
Daisy’s beautiful, mysterious, flirtatious, intriguing, delightful, thrilling, sensuous, famously “full of money” voice is one of the central images in this novel; characters from Nick to Jordan to Gatsby all comment upon the magic of this remarkable instrument. I have linked her timeline below from Shmoop.
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