The Great Gatsby-Compare/Contrast Gatsby and Tom and Explain Why Daisy Stayed with Tom
Name: Sherin Khawaja
Class and Section: 11SD
Q: Compare and contrast Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. How are they similar and how do they differ? Given that Tom is portrayed negatively, why does Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?
In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, two men, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, fight over Daisy, an upper-class woman from an old, wealthy family in the time after the first world war during the age known as the ‘booming’ or ‘roaring’ twenties. In this time period the war has just finished and the people are living in a time of prosperity and celebration. The novel takes place in New York City where the ‘old rich’ and ‘new rich’ live in two separate islands named ‘East Egg’ and ‘West Egg’.
Jay Gatsby, who was formerly James Gatz, was the child of “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” (The Great Gatsby book page 94) and who dreamed of something bigger in his life. He wanted to break free from his parents and become wealthy. This dream intensified after he met Daisy and fell in love with her wealth, class, and sophistication. It was then that he decided he would do whatever it took to woe Daisy and make her his wife. He returned from the war to find that she had not waited for him as she said she would, and had married the wealthy Tom Buchanan instead. His situation, unlike Tom Buchanan, was that of a poor man who could only work his way to the class of the ‘new rich’ and was therefore unable to reach Daisy’s sophisticated class.
Tom Buchanan, on the other hand, lived his life in luxury, enjoying the riches of his parents. He had an easy life, and was used to controlling everything around him and being the one in power. In the book he is often portrayed negatively and described as being cruel. To him, Daisy was someone up to his standards and in league with his higher class. He had no troubles in getting the woman he wanted, and this is probably the greatest difference
Class and Section: 11SD
Q: Compare and contrast Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. How are they similar and how do they differ? Given that Tom is portrayed negatively, why does Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?
In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, two men, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, fight over Daisy, an upper-class woman from an old, wealthy family in the time after the first world war during the age known as the ‘booming’ or ‘roaring’ twenties. In this time period the war has just finished and the people are living in a time of prosperity and celebration. The novel takes place in New York City where the ‘old rich’ and ‘new rich’ live in two separate islands named ‘East Egg’ and ‘West Egg’.
Jay Gatsby, who was formerly James Gatz, was the child of “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” (The Great Gatsby book page 94) and who dreamed of something bigger in his life. He wanted to break free from his parents and become wealthy. This dream intensified after he met Daisy and fell in love with her wealth, class, and sophistication. It was then that he decided he would do whatever it took to woe Daisy and make her his wife. He returned from the war to find that she had not waited for him as she said she would, and had married the wealthy Tom Buchanan instead. His situation, unlike Tom Buchanan, was that of a poor man who could only work his way to the class of the ‘new rich’ and was therefore unable to reach Daisy’s sophisticated class.
Tom Buchanan, on the other hand, lived his life in luxury, enjoying the riches of his parents. He had an easy life, and was used to controlling everything around him and being the one in power. In the book he is often portrayed negatively and described as being cruel. To him, Daisy was someone up to his standards and in league with his higher class. He had no troubles in getting the woman he wanted, and this is probably the greatest difference