The Chosen and the Beautiful

Jordan Baker and Daisy Fay, later Buchanan, have been friends since childhood. Although Daisy claims they “match,” Jordan knows this is not true, as Daisy is white and from an elite Southern family, while Jordan was “adopted from distant Tonkin” and has an appearance of ambiguous, non-white ethnicity (2).

Daisy hopes to make a match between Jordan and her cousin Nick Carraway from St. Paul, Minnesota. Jordan is attracted to Nick, and instantly identifies him as an observer-type like her. She remembers hearing a story about trouble between him and a girl, and wonders what a man who looks so innocent could have done. Jordan introduces the topic of Jay Gatsby, and Daisy reacts strongly, telling Jordan that she needs to speak to Nick alone after dinner. Meanwhile, at dinner, Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, goes on about race theory and how the white race will have to defend itself from being submerged by other races. Jordan is thinking of how to respond, when Tom is distracted by a phone call from his mistress.

After dinner, Jordan distracts Tom so that Daisy can speak to Nick alone. She reads him a story in the library from the Post.