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Compare And Contrast Gatsby And Tom Buchanan

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“Gatsby vs. Buchanan” In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, there are several main characters that share numerous similarities and differences. These characteristics are what separate every character from each other to give them all their own personalities and to give the story different moods throughout. Two characters from this novel that are extremely alike, but extraordinarily different at the same time are Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Three areas between these two main characters that can be easily compared and contrasted, and prove that Gatsby is a better person, are their wealth, their backgrounds, and their personalities. Jay and Tom both turned out to become exceptionally wealthy men. With their large amounts of money, both …show more content…

Throughout his early years, Tom was always one of the more popular people of his age. He did well enough with his grades, but more importantly to him, he was a football star throughout his high school and college years with his strong and athletic build (Fitzgerald 10). His football ability and parents’ money was able to help Tom attend New Haven University, where he was one of the greatest players to ever step on the field by this time. On the other hand, Jay came from a hard-working farming family in North Dakota (Fitzgerald 104). Even though his family lost sleep over every penny they earned, unfortunately, they were extremely unsuccessful. To earn his way to college, Gatsby had to put in a tremendous amount of work in order to be accepted, but ended up dropping out after only two weeks (Gatsby 105). Gatsby wasn’t brought up into money. Instead, he was able to catch a break when he ran into a man named Dan Cody. Dan had a yacht anchored down in Lake Superior, and Gatsby decided to alert him that bad weather was coming so that Dan could be safe on the water. By doing this, Gatsby was given his chance as Cody immediately offered him a job to pay him back for protecting him. While Gatsby was working with Cody, he became motivated to become successful himself in admiration of Dan Cody. After Cody’s death, Gatsby lets this drive him to gain riches of his own. However, he did this in a …show more content…

Both are wealthy, and although Jay isn’t perfect and didn’t arrive to the top the correct way, he is extremely unselfish with his money. The rough childhood Jay went through also created major difficulty for him to be successful, but he went out and did what he was forced to regardless. This shows the grit and determination that Jay possessed to be successful; unlike Tom, who grew up into riches and was always set up for glory. Jay may have committed numerous wrong choices in his life; however, his personality is what truly causes him to be a better person than Tom. Nice guys are said to always finish last, which is proven in The Great Gatsby as Jay’s personality is what wins him the love of his life, Daisy, who knew all along that Jay is a better person than

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Junior urbaez MS pallotta Ela 2 Mar 23, 2023 It is a book, some characters have the same similarity, especially between Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, they both only think for themselves first before the other people, they both fell in love with the same woman, they also have a good amount of money, they both lie to the people the they love, the also get whatever they want without caring the consequences they don't care if is legal or illegal they away get away within, they also are cheater. Jay gatsby met daisy when he was young but at the time he were poor and was afraid the daisy didn't love because she was from a very wealthy family and he was very poor, he left to the war and loss the communication with daisy for 5 years, daisy was tired for waiting for gatsby she decide to marry another man named tom buchanan. They have been married for a couple years and now Gatsby returned and brought a big mansion across the river in the exact place the daisy and tom have the house. They are in love with Daisy but Tom Buchanan has the advantage that she is married to him.

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689 Words | 3 Pages

There were many similarities and differences between characters in both the book The Great Gatsby and The Great Gatsby movies; however, the most distinct, evident comparison and contrast were between Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Jay Gatsby, or James Gatz, finished his life as a well-known, eccentric, and extremely wealthy man. Not much was known about Jay Gatsby to most, but everyone knew that he always hosted wild parties at his gothic, luxurious mansion. Tom Buchanan was also a very rich many, but his personality was drastically different than Gatsby’s. Tom was not very outgoing and was recognized as a brute and a bully by most people, so he really did not have a lot of close friends.

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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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In Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, there are two characters by the names of Tom Buchanan and George Wilson. Throughout the book, these two particular characters seem to be very different from each other in nearly every way. However, it becomes clear as the story continues that they share some ideas and attitudes in common. Specifically, Tom and George were noteworthy in the way they felt about women, the methods by which they conveyed violence, and how they responded to their wives cheating on them.

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539 Words | 3 Pages

Firstly, being selfless and accommodating to others needs and wants is not something that the society in this time period can be proud of. Daisy, Tom and Gatsby develop the trait of selfishness in many ways throughout the novel. Daisy Buchanan is a wealthy woman who lives in the East egg and is married to Tom Buchanan. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Jordan and Nick all go to town when Tom and Gatsby break into an argument because Tom finds out that Gatsby and Daisy are having an affair. Gatsby tells Tom the truth about Daisy and himself because Tom bombards him with questions when he says, “’She never loves you, do you hear?’

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“A legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars. He didn’t get it. He never understood the legal device that was used against him” (Fitzgerald 100). Considering the time period, this kind of money could have made him wealthy, or at least allow him to live comfortably, but instead his inheritance was denied to him, and from that point on he dedicated his life to acquiring wealth and luxury. Gatsby has shown himself to be an extremely determined individual, who finds a way to reach his goals.

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In “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchanan represents a man who is unfaithful, selfish, and arrogant. Throughout this essay, the character Tom Buchanan will be analyzed and will explain his purpose in this story as well as the many flaws he possesses which make him an unlikable person. Tom is considered to be the antagonist in this novel, but his main purpose in this story is to be the barrier between Daisy and Gatsby. Unbeknownst to Tom, Daisy eventually gets back with Gatsby but has a massive fit once he finds out they’re together.

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1223 Words | 5 Pages

“And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 138). These words, spoken by Tom Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, exemplify the personality traits that are omnipresent throughout the novel. Tom is Daisy Buchanan’s husband whom she marries after her first love, Jay Gatsby, leaves for the war.

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823 Words | 4 Pages

The first thing is that although they both have a lot of money, they didn’t get it the same way. Tom was born in a rich family, he inherrited al his money, he didn’t work for it. Gatsby was born in a poor family, all his money he earned by working for it, although it wasn’t in a legal way, he earned his money by bootlegging, wich is illegal. Another difference is that even though it seems both of them doesn’t care too much about others Gatsby is much carefuller than Tom.

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He had the opportunity of creating a big life for himself on his own, but he never took it. This is similar to Sean Parker in the Social Network because he had went to Harvard, but also did not finish. (Find example in movie scene). This shows that neither of the characters valued education, and were somehow brought up and ended up making a lot of money. Their american dream came to them at the time, and didn’t have to work much for until they realized it wasn’t enough and had to try for what they really wanted, which for Gatsby was to have Daisy, and for Parker to have a big website and to be known along with

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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.

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808 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby Appearance vs Reality The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about how a man by the name of Jay Gatsby tries to win the heart of Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loves. The entirety of The Great Gatsby is told through the narrator, Nick Carraway. At first, Nick views the lifestyle of Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan in awe, but soon discovers that these people are not who they appear. Fitzgerald uses his characters and literary devices in The Great Gatsby to demonstrate the theme of appearance versus reality.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Dan Cody taught him many things about being rich. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people…the truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself…so he invented the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent...” (Fitzgerald 104). What this quote is mainly talking about is that Gatsby didn’t come from the most well off family, nor did he think he was going to go anywhere as James Gatz so, he reinvented his whole being. He changed his image, his backstory, and even his name.

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The characters in the novel pretend that they have their lives all figured out, but through their successes their downfalls and emptiness can be seen, to prove that money cannot buy happiness. Jay Gatsby is the newest and upcoming star in New York during the 1920’s. Through his business and inheritance he is one of the richest men of his time. One may think that his abundance of wealth would lead him to be eternally happy, but he is the opposite. Gatsby longs for his love of Daisy, which is his personal American Dream.

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The novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published the 10th of may 1925, revolves around the main character Jay Gatsby as well as Nick Caraway. All of Nick’s supposed friends are very self-centered and greedy. I believe that the characters in the novel personify greed. The novel is told through narration from the character Nick Caraway.

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