The not so lovebirds thus far: Okay, we know Daisy's feelings towards Tom and her marriage from Chapter 1. She is not satisfied; she has a husband who cheats on her and a sense that maybe her grandiose life isn't all it's cracked up to be. ("Sophisticated--God, I'm sophisticated!") Tom, on the other hand, is a little harder to understand. He is also unsatisfied with his marriage, at least enough to cheat on Daisy, but that's not all of how he feels. There's a part of him that wants to keep Daisy around, as it is presumably Tom who lies and says that Daisy is a Catholic as a reason not to divorce her. Arguably, Tom only wants to keep Daisy around like Gatsby wants books in his house: for show only. Still, we know that Tom has no problems doing what is socially unacceptable if he wants to do it, like dragging his mistress around to East Egg's fancy restaurants. Jordan Baker's story almost gives the impression that Tom married Daisy because she was pretty, and lets us know that he was cheating from the very beginning.
In Chapter 6, there's more proof that Tom likes having Daisy around (for whatever reason). Maybe he picks up on Gatsby's unease, but he dislikes something about Gatsby, and likes even less that Daisy knows him, referring to Gatsby as a "crazy fish" indirectly. He's looking out or Daisy, one small sign that he may in fact care about her. Tom also finds an interest in Gatsby, probably because Gatsby's connection to Daisy worries him. (Ironic...?) He tries to persuade her that Gatsby and his parties really aren't that cool. ("You didn't look so interested.")Failing, he just turns to Nick and tries to make fun of Daisy. (What a good relationship...)
There's something to Daisy that keeps Tom coming back to her, either her value as a mantelpiece or maybe some actual love. One thing is for sure. You are not good enough to even say Daisy's name, and if you try it, he'll Tom will punch you in the nose.
First off, the last sentence was hilarious. Anyways, I agree with this post. I believe that Tom is using Daisy as show, but at the same time, Daisy is the same way for she only wanted him for his money. Their relationship depicts the upper class society because for both of them, everything is for show. Daisy is also a perpetrator in using people as objects. For example, besides Tom, she does not marry Gatsby because of lack of money. Then, with her child, Daisy treats her baby girl as a showpiece, like a piece of art that she looks at and shows off, but doesn't touch. So, basically, I think Daisy and Tom's relationship is more about the rich in general and depicting how that social class almost loses feeling- or at least hides it- to be seen as the best, the happiest, the funnest, etc.
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