Compare And Contrast Gatsby And Tom Buchanan

Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby is one filled with an array of characters that come from different places with different values. However, these character’s share similarities, despite their differences. Examples of this are Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Tom comes from a well to do family while Gatsby is from a family of poor farmers in North Dakota. They, however do have one thing in common, and that is their desire to possess the “Most popular of all the young girls in Louisville”, (Fitzgerald 79) Daisy Buchanan. While Tom and Gatsby come from different backgrounds, they are alike in the fact they are both self-serving in their want of Daisy to fulfill a desire they had in mind for themselves.

The differences between Tom and Gatsby are

He had met Daisy at a party and “Had taken her under false pretenses” (156) as she believed he was of the same class and status she was. The only reason that Daisy attracted Gatsby, according to him, was the fact that “ many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes”(156). Daisy and Gatsby did not meet again until five years later and by that point, she was already married to Tom and had a child. They began an affair, but Gatsby wanted too much from Daisy as he wanted her to tell Tom that she “ Never loved him” (139). Gatsby wanted Daisy as she would help fulfill his dream, of becoming a member of the upper class, that he had in mind for himself and she would be a way to helping him achieve

One significance is that people can be caught up in this one mindset of the idea they have for a character, and Gatsby is no exception. With Tom, it is instantly known that he is not liked and treats Daisy horribly. For Gatsby, however, in the beginning the reader sees Nick portray Gatsby as this great man who is so generous and truly loves Daisy and will save her from the marriage that she is in. Nick even goes to say that Gatsby had “An extraordinary gift for hope” (6). People believe he is a good guy, for this fact that after the Great War, many people had little hope and Gatsby was different, he had hope and an optimism that everything would turn out alright. However, as people read further, they come to find that Gatsby, after five years of waiting for Daisy, does not really love her and only wants her because she will help him complete his idea that he has in mind for himself, his dream of reaching the upper class society. The truth is, Gatsby has always looked out only for himself as he was willing to give up his parents and identity of who he really was, James Gatz, so that he can better his life and himself. Although bettering oneself is a worthwhile goal, Gatsby loses a sense of who he was and where he came from, making him someone he was not. The reader has a picture they have in mind about Gatsby in the beginning and think he is a great guy, but in reality, Gatsby is