what would you say is the principal reason for daisy's appeal to gatsby?

Question

The Great Gatsby 

chapter 8

Answer 1

Daisy, like her name suggests, is both a sign of youth and regeneration, and of frailty. Like a flower, she is a muse-like figure with her beauty; also like a flower, she is subject to decay. Daisy is often viewed as a naive, childish figure, innocent but also captivating. It's interesting to view her character, with her ephemeral spirit, in contrast with Gatsby's more concrete, materialistic reality.

Answer 2

In short, Daisy is representative of Gatsby's past and of his hopes for the future. Throughout the novel, Gatsby's ultimate goal is to attain what he once had. Gatsby can be both criticized and admired for his idealistic tendencies, since some believe that Gatsby is flawed for wanting what is unattainable. At the same time, he can be viewed as the only genuinely hopeful character in the piece. Gatsby chases after the American Dream, and Daisy (whose voice is described as sounding like money) fits into the romantic vision that Gatsby has constructed for himself. 

 

John Green provides a rather helpful interpretation of the major thematic elements within The Great Gatsby (I used this when I first considered the novel during my junior year of high school): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88&noredirect=1

Answer 3

Aside from Daisy being attractive I would say that Gatsby is in love with the idea of Daisy rather than Daisy herself. Daisy represents a fantasy girl that is not real. Gatsby is rather immature that way because what he wants does not exist. Daisy is part of the crowd that Gatsby aspired to. The rest of how Gatsby sees Daisy is an illusion.

 

original source: http://www.gradesaver.com/the-great-gatsby/q-and-a/in-chapter-8--what-would-you-say-is-the-principal-reason-for-daisys-appeal-to-gatsby-90857

__________________________________________________________

I think that Gatsby liked what Daisy represented probably a bit more than what she actually was. Daisy represented "the best" in Gatsby's mind. She was of old money with her marriage to Tom, had discernible taste which was of the best, and presented herself in a manner where she represented the upper echelon of social advancement and fashion. In the end, this is what appealed to Gatsby because it was so opposite of his own life as Jay Gatz. She was not middle class, not banal (from Gatsby's own perception), and not ordinary. Being in love with this vision of Daisy supplanted what she really was and proved to be the hollow foundation of his quest, proving futile in the end.

 

original source: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-would-you-say-prinicipal-reason-daisys-appeal-147399

_______________________________________________________
I am wondering if he is attracted to her also as a part of the chase. She is what he can't have. Sometimes when we are told we can't have something we want it all the more.

When they were teens and had those magical moments together and then had to separate, he had received a taste for something he liked, he really liked. Being told no because of status meant there was potential because status is something that can change. He spied that hope and took advantage of it.

She was a challenge, she was hard to get. Gatsby liked that.

 

original source: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-would-you-say-prinicipal-reason-daisys-appeal-147399