The purpose of this chapter is to show what Tom Buchanan is like, and how he acts towards other people and his money. Also, the reader is prepared to meet Gatsby as the party scene continues to build an aura of mystery and excitement around Gatsby, who has yet to make a full appearance in the novel. Here, Gatsby emerges as a mysterious subject of gossip. He is extremely well known, but no one seems to have any verifiable information about him.…
For example when Daisy says “you always look so cool” to Gatsby he gets mad at Daisy and also hypocritical of her. The reason this shows his elitist mentality is he can cheat on Daisy all he wants but if she does it is not ok. Another example of Tom’s elitist mentality is when tom breaks Myrtles nose at the party and does not care about it. The reason he does not care about it and shows his elitist mentality is because he thinks of her as his lesser and not his equal. The characterization of Tom in the Great Gatsby shows that the men of that time thought it was okay to cheat on their wives but it was not acceptable if they cheated on…
Gatsby’s worth is demonstrated throughout the novel, Gatsby shows the ultimate selfless act at the end of the novel when he agrees to take the blame for the death of Myrtle which ultimately resulted in his own death. Nick asks, “Was Daisy driving?” to which Gatsby responds, “Yes... but of course I'll say I was.” Gatsby does not hesitate when taking the blame, it appears to the reader that he feels it is his duty rather than his decision, his love and dedication to Daisy are at the forefront of his mind throughout the novel. In addition his home and parties are described as “props to woo Daisy” in chapter 5 reinforcing that everything Gatsby has done and created throughout are in order to peruse Daisy and make her happy unlike Tom Buchanan who has no respect for Daisy which is highlighted to the reader by his affairs in particular his affair with Myrtle. Tom is shown by Nick to be an aggressive overpowering figure that is violent towards woman and has no respect for anyone of a lower class or social standing than himself. Tom is described in chapter 1 as having “arrogant eyes” and “leaning aggressively forward”, later in chapter 2 Nick tells us how Tom made a “short deft movement and broke [Myrtles] nose with his open hand” showing him as a violent man. Fitzgerald created the character of Tom as an image of corruption and inequality in 1920’s society; he is representative of the arrogance of the upper class. As readers we have more respect for Gatsby; a…
In ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald the author uses various techniques to set up contrasts and conflicts within the first chapter to show the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920’s when the book was set and also the corruption of the people during the roaring twenties. Examples of the techniques used to express these themes are characterization, dialogue, figurative language, diction choices , symbolism and foreshadowing. Throughout the book our narrator is Nick Carraway who comes from middle west America and in the first chapter he “went East to learn the bond business” and rents a house in West Egg, Long Island. One of the conflicting aspect in the first chapter done by Fitzgerald was through showing the broken marriage of the Buchanan’s. The author uses foreshadowing ,dialogue and diction choices. Nick goes over to the Buchanan’s home in East Egg for dinner with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and family friend, Jordan Baker. During dinner Daisy burnt herself and blamed Tom saying “...That’s what i get for marrying a brute of a man...hulking physical specimen of a-” - ‘ ...objected Tom crossly ‘ The words “brute” and ”physical specimen” are all animalistic adjectives and ‘specimen’ suggests that he isn’t even human this shows Tom’s violence and savageness which foreshadows Tom’s violence towards Myrtle further into the book. Also the fact that Daisy describes Tom as this vicious man and she still stays married with him anyway implies that she isn’t independent and can’t survive on her own almost as if she needed him. Additionally the way Tom cuts off her sentence “objected crossly” shows how he doesn’t respect Daisy and is the more assertive and dominant person in the relationship, the word “crossly” would show the reader how patronizing Tom is because to be cross with someone it would typically be between a parent and a child where the parent is more superior. Another thing the reader finds out…
By comparing and contrasting George Wilson and Tom Buchanan we discover several new insights due the juxtaposition. From the initial entrance of George Wilson in the book we can see that he is a weak man in the way his character is depicted. He is described as, "spiritless and anaemic...who mingled with the cement walls" (30). His presence is so insignificant in the beginning that he does not even stand out against the background of his own home. Tom, on the other hand, seems more aggressive the first time he is ever seen. Nick refers to Tom as having, "... a hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining, arrogant eyes... gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward" (12). The difference between the two men is visible. On one hand we have Tom who is a strong man while George seems as if he could be knocked over easily by the wind. However, Fitzgerald later demonstrates that these two men are not as different as we think. This is more noticeable later on when Tom is not as powerful as we think. For example, tells everyone they they are going to town, but noone moves(even when Tom is getting aggravated) until Daisy's voice gets everyone to their feet. Also, he once again makes himself seem foolish by trying to get science on his side to prove his point. After he has found out that Daisy is with Gatsby he says, "I have a--almost a second sight, sometimes, that tells me what to do. Maybe you don't believe that, but science" (128). It seems rather silly that he says a second sight about what is going on between Daisy and Gatsby since he already knows it so, he does not have to rely on feelings or suspicions to find that out. Also, he is barely even sure of the second sight that he speaks of, he seems to be more hesitant on it than secure. In addition to that, he tries to bring science into the matter however, he easily loses his train of thought in the heat of the moment. Then, George Wilson is portrayed as the more aggressive man when he takes…
If someone asked you to describe Tom Buchanan from “The Great Gatsby” in one word, what word would you use? Arrogant? Cocky? Well, the truth of the matter is that you would need a lot more than a word to describe him. He has physically and verbally abused other people and he thinks that he can get away with anything because he is Tom Buchanan. His immoral actions and a lack of character show how unethical and corrupt he is. Tom Buchanan is an unscrupulous and depraved character with a sense of entitlement, which is made clear in the novel through his abusiveness, both physically and verbally. Tom appears to show no remorse for his actions, and he assumes and truly believes that the rules do not apply to him.…
Tom Buchanan is undeniably an arrogant, hypocritical, and morally challenged character in The Great Gatsby. Although he had an affair with…
In The Great Gatsby, many characters were portrayed, all with their own little quirks and characteristics. However, one of the most interesting characters is Tom. That is because he is one of the most arrogant, self-serving characters in the book. He sometimes bursts out with white supremacist ideas, such as when he mentions that whites created civilization. He also has the habit of putting people down, such as when he has an affair with Myrtle, and makes fun of her husband. Lastly in an attempt to save himself, he sets a mourning George Wilson onto Gatsby.…
Innocent Mockingbirds WantedA harmless mockingbird is flying in the air while singing a tune. As the bird hums its lovely music it is shot. Why was the bird shot? Like characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird was viewed as dangerous. The only way people knew how to deal with problems was by “shooting them down.” The innocence of killing a mockingbird is shown by three characters in the book: Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley. Their traits and actions shown throughout To Kill a Mockingbird help symbolize the mockingbird. Even though they all resemble mockingbirds in the novel, they all symbolize the bird in their own unique way. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley all symbolize mockingbirds because of their traits,…
The Great Gatsby is a story that revolves a great deal on the exercise of power held by people within society. Tom Buchanan, one of the main antagonists in the novel, is the man who marries Daisy, Nick Carraway’s cousin. Having inherited money from his family, or “old money” Tom Buchanan resides with Daisy in East Egg, where all the other people with inherited wealth live. The narrator already knew him from before as they’d attended Yale together, but his immediate description of him in the book, depicted him as being a “sturdy” man, with a “hard mouth”, “arrogant eyes” and a body of “enormous power,” which hints at the impression Tom gives off of a smug overbearing man(Pg.9). Later Daisy describes him right…
Tom being the leading antagonist in the Great Gatsby is depicted as being abnocshusly arrogant. It is such a large character trait for him that Fitzgerald introduces Tom into the novel as having “two shining arrogant eyes (that) had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward”(Pg.7). If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck it’s probably a duck. With the mere description of Tom’s appearance the reader can understand that Tom radiates arrogance. However this is all do to the fact that he has past his prime back in his 20’s and is always searching for something since. His unconditional arrogance is also seen when he is mocking the husband of his mistress saying that “he’s so dumb he doesn’t know he is alive”(Pg.26). This is terribly offensive to the poor man that is getting cheated on. Tom truly believes that because of his status, wealth, and size he is a better man than Wilson. Breaking the sanctity of marriage is one of the worst things someone can do to their spouse or husband it is a total breach of trust and all the years that the couple has been faithful to each other. Tom’s arrogance gives him the mentality that the whole world revolves around him. This can be seen when he makes the “assumption ( ) that on Sunday afternoon (Nick) had nothing better to do”(Pg.24) than meet Tom’s mistress. Tom rushes Nick off the train they are taking without even asking if he is free for the afternoon. Tom is a real peace of work but arrogance and acting like the world revolves around you unfortunately make it happen to some extent. Tom has it all the money, hot wife, status, big house and mistress…
In chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, the author’s use of his highly skilled diction helps him develop the characters of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. Also the author of this novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, makes great use of the way that he phrases his words to develop the character of Tom and Myrtle. Fitzgerald implements various writing techniques in order to accomplish such a refine development of those two characters.…
In The Great Gatsby, the reader finds that Tom Buchanan made up of being manipulative, careless, and hypocritical and it ultimately lead to his demise. Tom is very controlling and demands to rule those around him. Mr. Buchanan is aware that what he is doing is wrong but he continues to do it anyways because of his reckless behavior. He doesn’t comprehend that what he did was just as bad as what Daisy did. The traits and composure a man such as Tom has is not a valued or treasured by anyone and is looked highly down…
Violence is a key theme present throughout The Great Gatsby. Violence is embodied by Tom Buchanan, George Wilson, and Daisy Buchanan. There are several occasions in which violence is present, making it a significant theme throughout the novel.…
1Gatsby is contrasted with Tom in several ways. Tom is overpowering while Gatsby is more reserved. Tom is described as having ‘shining, arrogant eyes” and a ‘supercilious manner’. The word ‘supercilious’ shows that he is rather presumptuous and condescending, as echoed by the description of his eyes being ‘arrogant’, proud. In contrast, Gatsby, on the other hand, is the opposite, being more shy and reserved. Despite Gatsby throwing many parties, many of his guests ‘had never met him’ but ‘came and went without having met Gatsby at all’, even though Gatsby was the host and had been present for most of his parties. This shows that Gatsby as a person is rather unnoticeable, in contrast with Tom whose presence is very striking and memorable. Nick even sat at the same table as Gatsby without even noticing until Gatsby introduced himself as Gatsby, ‘surpris(ing)’ Nick. For a guest to not have recognized or even notice the host goes to show that Gatsby did not have a commanding presence but one that is inconspicuous. However, Tom has a very imposing presence, one that is hard to forget, compared to Gatsby. He has a large figure, with even his clothes not being able to ‘hide the enormous power of (his) body’. Tom carried himself with confidence, almost arrogance. His large figure was very striking and daunting, giving others the impression that he was above them and to be taken seriously. The way he spoke with a ‘touch of paternal contempt’ also shows that he is patronizing, as if looking down on others. This is in contrast with Gatsby whose presence is not noticed despite the many parties that he throws.…