In addition, Daisy was the heroine of The Great Gatsby, and she played a very important role in the work, although she was not created equal to the protagonist in the novel. On the one hand, Daisy was an extremely important symbol of the American dream of Gatsby so that she played a special role in the formation of the character of Gatsby. On the other hand, Daisy was a typical one among the Lost Generation. To understand exactly who Daisy was is of great significance to understand the fate and character of Gatsby and to perceive the social outlook of the Jazz Age and its influence on the people of that time.

Based on the analysis above, following questions should be answered.

1.2 Research Questions

In order to correctly understand the character of Daisy, the most fundamental method is to analyze the description on Daisy. In view of the particularity of the narration structure of the novel that the minor character Nick acted as the narrator providing readers with the story about Gatsby according to his own observation and showed readers the part of Daisy in his view, two questions must been answered. One is that what Daisy looked like according the narration of Nick; the other is that what Daisy really looked like. The latter is the part of the character of Daisy which was not directly presented to readers owing to the limited vision of Nick.

Nick was the narrator of the novel, but his narration was limited by both his third person narration perspective and his position as a character. Therefore, following questions should be answered.

1. Is the narration of Nick restrictive and of unreliability?

(If it is, there comes the second question.)

2. Which part of his narration about Daisy was irrational and unreliable? And why?

3. What was the real personality of Daisy?

2. The Function of Nick and The Unreliability of His Narration

2.1 The Roles of Nick

2.1.1 Nick as a Character

Nick came from a rich family in Midwest America and went to New York to learn bond business. In the after-war twenties, America made staggering profits and its industry and stock market were in phenomenon boom so that a great deal of speculators acquired a huge fortune overnight. Influenced by the air of pursuing wealth, the original purpose of Nick actually was money.

However, at the same time, Nick remained somewhat self-contained which could be found in his reading inclination. On one hand, he “bought a dozen volumes on banking and credit and investment securities” (Fitzgerald, 2012:3) because they contained “the shining secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew” (Fitzgerald, 2012:3); on the other hand, he “had the high intention of reading many other books besides” (Fitzgerald, 2012:3) for his ideality as a “well-rounded man” (Fitzgerald, 2012:3)