ipl-logo

Character Analysis Of Tom Buchanan In 'The Great Gatsby'

981 Words4 Pages

Danielle Gamelin December 20, 2022 W3 Who Tom Buchanan is. In the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the theme of wealth comes up a numerous amount of times throughout the story. Wealth is not just brought up in the story about the wealthy. The story shows aspects of the people who are born into wealth and the people reaching for it. Throughout the book different perspectives have been shown on how wealth reveals humans true colors. Different characters in the book have their different perspectives on what money means to them. Specifically, Tom Buchanan, who inherited every penny he had, uses money as a way to elevate himself from others which is shown in his personality, actions, and appearance throughout the story. Tom was the …show more content…

“He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong”. (133) In this moment, Tom had just revealed a secret to Daisy, whom both men are in love with, that Gastby has never told her to ruin Daisy’s trust for him. Tom had felt threatened by Gastby’s relationship with Daisy. Gastby was just as wealthy as Tom, but the only thing that was different was their upbringing. Gastby’s past life was a lot harder and even embarrassing for him so he covered it up with lies. Tom felt that if he were to spill Gastby’s past life to Daisy, she would be disgusted with it and no longer have feelings for Gastby, it somewhat …show more content…

He had enough of this woman acting as she would disobey him, the authority. So he did what he knew would control her which was violence. Myrtle continued her affair with Tom after this because of her need to reach the level of “East Egg” wealth. This shows how Tom’s wealth gives him privileges that others who are not in his social class. In chapter 6 another example of Tom’s authority over women is shown: “‘By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me. They meet all kinds of crazy fish’” (103). Tom is speaking to Nick, wondering how Daisy knew of Gatsby. Tom is implying that it isn’t okay for Daisy or any other females to socialize with other people which shows the theme of the position of woman as well as how hypocritical Tom is since he is in a relationship with Myrtle at this

Show More
Related
553 Words | 3 Pages

Normal people’s houses will not be 'glittered,' and will not have a lake in front of it, demonstrating how wealthy he truly is. Because Tom Buchanan inherited a wealthy estate, extravagance, and ostentation doomed the final fall. Although hereditary wealth is appealing and millionaires are wealthy, they should recognize that wealth is not easily obtained and should live a simple and modest life. Tom Buchanan clearly belongs to the second one; he has long forgotten that wealth comes from his family, not him has long been addicted to hypocrisy,

Read More
1236 Words | 5 Pages

With the unfolding of chapter two through four, it is evident that Myrtle is already contributing to the negative effects of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Any relationship is in shambles when one begins to lie, which is exactly what happens when Tom says to Myrtle, “I want to see you, says Tom intently. Get on the next train”(p. 26). The significance of this quote is to show that Myrtle's presence and willingness to proceed with this affair is affecting the relationship of Tom and Daisy, precious time is being wasted on an affair when both cheaters could be with their loved ones. Not only has Myrtle's decisions affected her relationship with Tom but also her relationship with her husband!

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

Read More
451 Words | 2 Pages

He is deeply invested in maintaining the social hierarchy of the society in which he lives, believing that his wealth and status entitle him to certain privileges. Tom is also possessive and jealous, particularly when it comes to his wife, Daisy. He becomes threatened by Gatsby's attempts to win Daisy's love, and his jealousy ultimately leads to tragedy. Tom's motivations are ultimately revealed to be selfish and self-serving, as he seeks to maintain his own power and control at the expense of

Read More
1667 Words | 7 Pages

When Gatsby’s name is brought up Daisy becomes uncharacteristically outspoken, “‘Gatsby?’ demanded Daisy. ‘What Gatsby?’”(page 14) this is foreshadowing of a preexisting relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. Furthermore, When the four sit down to dinner their conversation shows how prejudice and hypocritical Tom is. First, get a phone call that he answers from his mistress.

Read More
1255 Words | 6 Pages

No longer is he the calm, collected Gatsby from the beginning, or the restless, nervous Gatsby shown when he sees Daisy again. Tom, however, rips that away from him by exposing how Gatsby accumulated all his wealth- he was a bootlegger. By doing this, Daisy no longer wants to be with Gatsby for the sake of her reputation, and she asks Tom to take her home, not Gatsby. This moment crushes Gatsby’s dream and puts him into a broken and depressed state of mind.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

Tom is so engrossed in his world and affair with Myrtle that he does not realize that he can also be cheated on. After finding out that Daisy has been seeing Gatsby, he gets defensive and possessive over his wife even though he has been seeing another woman, he gets uptight and states “...I love Daisy too. Once in awhile i go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back” (131), even as he says this Tom never admits to Daisy that he is having one of those “sprees” during that same time. He says that he will always come back to her but it does not mean that he will stop having affairs with other women in the future. Tom becomes depraved because of his greed and insecurities leading him to lose two people

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

The novel shows Tom showing his wealth and how it inversely changes his interactions in the world when Tom buys Myrtle expensive items. Fitzgerald writes, “At the news-stand she bought a copy of ‘Town Tattle’ and a moving-picture magazine and, in the station drug store, some cold cream and a small flask of perfume. Upstairs, in the solemn echoing drive she let four taxi cabs drive away before she selected a new one,” 10. In this scene Tom is buying Daisy expensive things to bring their relationship closer or to form a relationship with Daisy. Fitzgerald shows with his choice of works that wealthy people will use their money to buy relationships or buy happiness.

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

Tom becomes livid when discovering his wife’s affair, acknowledging the fact that the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby is far deeper than Daisy “making a fool of herself”. However, Daisy returns back to Tom, regardless of the fact that Gatsby treated her like a queen. While Gatsby was determined to recreate history, Tom was concerned with the present, which is what influenced Daisy to stay with him. The novel’s narrator depicts their relationship to have an“unmistakable air of natural intimacy...and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together.”, implying that their devious personas are what keeps their marriage

Read More
1988 Words | 8 Pages

Albert Einstein, a renowned physicist, once said, “Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts its owners irresistibly to abuse it." He conveys that money acts like a drug, drawing in those who selfishly desire it into an endless pit of desire. Once one has delved into that pit, the need to abuse what is offered consumes the person as whole, leaving them to be nothing but a hollow shell of their greed. This idea once again presents itself in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, through numerous characters. Primarily, there are Daisy and Tom Buchanan, a wealthy couple from East Egg, Long Island who abuse their status and wealth in order to benefit themselves.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

He treats Myrtle as a possession and often physically abuses her. When Myrtle talks back to him during one of their arguments, Tom “[breaks] her nose with his open hand” (37). This violent act highlights Tom’s sense of entitlement and his belief in his inherent superiority due to his social status. He does not consider that he is committing this act in front of his family member Nick, as it is an acceptable action for a person of his character. Furthermore, when Myrtle dies in a car accident, Tom does not even attend her funeral.

Read More
751 Words | 4 Pages

Fitzgerald first introduces Tom to be affluent and insensitive, which follows the work’s message. Shortly after, the author introduces Gatsby to also be wealthy but this time more respected and

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

Wealth and greed can easily change a person’s lives. One of the major changes is that you can destroy your life in a way that can affect your decisions in the future. Just like how Tom and Daisy are, in The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, that follows Jay Gatsby, a man who orders his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby's quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death.

Read More
1168 Words | 5 Pages

The Purpose of the Church and What it Means to be a “good Christian” During the Renaissance Throughout most of the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church was a powerful institution that rivaled kings in the amount of its power and wealth. However, the Reformation and the Renaissance eras challenged The Roman Catholic Church. They argued against the Church on many principles, including salvation, repentance, and the definition of a "good Christian." This paper will discuss what the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformation, and the Renaissance's humanists thought of what it meant to be a good Christian and compare them to the scriptures.

Read More
841 Words | 4 Pages

“Then wear that gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you” (title page). Throughout the novel, the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents Tom Buchanan as a very controlling person who believes he is entitled to many things because of his wealth. Similar to the quote, Tom’s constant need for wealth and power leads to a need and want for everything in sight. If a reader were to read this book through the Marxist lens, they would see an obvious struggle between the powerful and powerless and how that directly coincides with how much money the person with power has. The main character with power and wealth in the novel is Tom Buchanan, and he uses his control to gain power over others.

Read More

More about Character Analysis Of Tom Buchanan In 'The Great Gatsby'

Related Topics

Open Document