CJ Reid

Mrs. McArthur
American Studies B7
19 Nov 2018
Turning Point Essay (Daisy Meeting Gatsby)/
Interior Monologue (Daisy)

“Is this absolutely where you live, my dearest one?”

He stared at me strangely for a moment before coming to help me from my car.
“Are you in love with me”, I asked. “Or why did I have to come alone?”
“That’s the secret of Castle Rackrent. Tell your chauffeur to go far away and
spend an hour.”
“No, that’s quite alright, he can stay here can’t he?”
“I suppose, if you insist.”
“Wait here, Ferdie. I’ll be back in an hour”
We walked inside and through his hallway until we reached the living room.
“Well, that’s funny!”, Nick muttered.
Just as I was about to ask what he meant, there was a knock at the door,
followed by inaudible whispers until a man stepped into the room. It took me a moment,
but his face was unmistakable. It was Jay Gatsby. I began to speak, but choked on my
words as memories of a better--no, a simpler-- time were instantly rehashed.
“It’s been so long!”, I said as he leaned against the mantelpiece.
“Five years, come this November.”
“What, might I ask, brought you here?”
He stopped for a moment, as to contemplate what to say next.
“You”, he said.
And by that word, it all made sense. The invitation for lunch, the contingency of
not bringing Tom, it was all Gatsby’s design, come to retake what he had lost so long
ago--me. And what a wonderful time it was, so long ago, with nothing but ourselves and
the future ahead of us. Unfortunately, that was no longer the case. Now, I had a
husband, a child, a life here. And by this, it was decided.
“No”, I said solemnly, as I walked past Gatsby and down the ever-lengthening
hallway to Nick’s front door, leaving the possibility of a new life behind. Opening the
door, I stopped in the doorway and closed my eyes. Letting the dreams of a life without
consequence leave my mind, I stepped outside. The rain had stopped, the air smelled
fresh. I returned to the car. “Take me home. Quickly, please. I must speak with Tom”, I
paused. “I must speak with him about everything.”
 During chapter 5, Daisy meets Gatsby. This is the starting point of their rekindled
relationship. Changing either Daisy or Gatsby’s choice here means that they never have
an affair, Tom never finds out, they never end up at the parlor, Myrtle is never killed,
and Gatsby is never Murdered. This was the first major decision within the book to free
Daisy of her abusive and toxic relationship with Tom. However, breaking the news to a
controlling, irritable, and violent man that you’re leaving him for your ex, isn’t exactly the
brightest idea. Nonetheless, Daisy ends up making the decision to have an affair with
Gatsby, beginning the chain of morally questionable, and ultimately dangerous
decisions throughout the book.

The encounter with Gatsby caused a realization within Daisy that she could not
simply be with him; they couldn’t run away and have a life free of consequence. She
had to live with the life she chose, and so she decided to make it better. Confronting
Tom about Myrtle, she demanded that she either be enough, or that Myrtle would have
to become his wife instead. Without the extra insult caused by the Gatsby debacle, Tom
didn’t view it as an attack, but rather as one of his halves (arguably, the one he cares
more about) asking for something she should have been granted long ago. He had
never seen that side of her, Daisy had always been just that, a Daisy. Tom realized the
repercussions that had come from his actions as his two worlds suddenly collided.

“I’ll be back”, he said, leaving Daisy standing there speechless. She hadn’t
experienced this amount of courage in a long time. He returned a few minutes later,
only with more contentment. “It’s over.” He had called myrtle. “I ended it.” Tom leaned in
to hold her hand, but she flinched instinctively. He looked at her, realizing the pain he
had caused. “I’m so sorry. I’m willing to try again if you are.”