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Arrogance Of Tom Buchanan In The Great Gatsby

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Tom Buchanan is a man of many negative characteristics. From his greed to his arrogance it will be very difficult to find many, if any, likeable qualities about him. With that in mind, it could be said that Tom Buchanan is a deplorable person by way of said arrogance, and greed, as well hypocrisy.
Tom Buchanan is a very hypocritical man. He expects Daisy to stop her affair on the merit of his “love” for her. This expectation is hypocritical as he himself has taken part in multiple affairs during his marriage, yet expects Daisy to adhere to traditional family values. For instance in chapter 7 he says, “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white." though this statement is outdated in today’s …show more content…

He lives under the assumption that he is simply better than most people. His arrogance is revealed though his interactions with characters, the attitudes he demonstrates, his statements regarding supremacy, and his controlling persona. These attitudes are underlined with racial remarks and feelings. This is particularly apparent in his thoughts on the topic of white supremacy. In the beginning of the story he says, "If we don't look out the white race will be-will be utterly submerged…”. Though he took this view from a book, the fact that he would openly agree with it shows that he is arrogant enough to even consider himself above these other races, (though the general consensus of that time period followed the same line of thought).
To conclude, Tom Buchanan was an arrogant, greedy, hypocritical man. He lived under the false assumption that he was better than most. This is why he was able to spout his hypocrisy on others. And since he is an arrogant man, and was rich since birth, he likely has established a feeling of entitlement that feeds into his greed. Overall, Tom Buchanan is not an admirable

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“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, exposes the American Society during the 1920’s. The author displays many heroes and villain throughout the book. The characters in the novel are mostly mixtures of good and evil. Although the book does not clearly delineate the villains or heroes, there is one character who tends to stand out as a villain known as Tom Buchanan. Tom Buchanan is a major character in the book.

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First of all, Tom Buchanan and George Wilson largely shared their attitudes toward women. For example, it is clear that Tom is concerned that Daisy, his wife, would go off on her own and do things by herself. One instance of him acknowledging this concern is when he says "I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy. By God, I may be old−fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me” (Fitzgerald 111). Tom says this after finding out that Gatsby had met his wife, implying that Daisy was “running around too much” simply by going anywhere at all without his prior knowledge.

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Tom Buchanan is an arrogant, controlling man, who does what he wants not considering about how his actions influence those around him. Tom is also the earliest person to use physical violence in the book, striking Myrtle in a fit of rage when she would not stop shouting Daisy 's name. "Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy 's name. "Daisy! Daisy!

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Fitzgerald in the novel, uses careless individuals who would destroy everything and everyone and yet still manage to retreat back to their money. Daisy Buchanan, the ‘golden girl’ is rather dishonest and deceitful throughout the novel. As she starts having her affair with Gatsby, she creates unrealistic expectations in Gatsby head about their future together. As Gatsby is having drinks at the Buchanan’s, Tom leaves the room and Daisy kisses Gatsby and declares, ‘I don’t care!’ At this point, the audience realizes that Daisy is and always was in love with Gatsby and that she was prepared to leave Tom.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald has a way of applying indirect characterization into his novels in order to enhance how he would like a character to be interpreted, especially in his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. Take for example, two major characters in the story, Nick Carraway of Minnesota who moved to New York in order to get into the bond business and Tom Buchanan a wealthy man living in East Egg with his wife Daisy. It is evident that Fitzgerald would want readers to look at Nick as an honest man and a bystander or observer of the world going on around him. On the other hand, Fitzgerald wants readers to see Tom as an arrogant, hypocritical brute with no morals whatsoever.

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When Nick describes Tom, it is showing a sign of cruelty. Nick describes Tom by saying, “Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (9). Here Nick is describing how Tom Buchanan changed from when they both attended college together. In college, Tom was very friendly and was wonderful to be around. Nick realized, when they met again, that Tom had changed from friendly to cruel in the years after Tom and Nick graduated from Yale.

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If his mind is not occupied by his mistress Myrtle, he is drowning in thoughts of Gatsby’s suspected crime-filled life. “Indeed, Tom Buchanan's sources appear most reliable in his characterization of Gatsby's drug store chain as ‘just small change’ compared to his stolen bonds” (Pauly 116). Buchanan is a hypocrite towards Gatsby. He denounces Gatsby’s life actions as being morally evil but Tom’s actions are no different than Gatsby’s in the sense that both men are unfaithful to themselves and their nearest relationships. Tom is competing with Gatsby through deception and treachery, and their dangerous habits wound them

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