Examples Of Manipulation In The Great Gatsby

Manipulation in relationships is a situation all too common in this past century. We see an example of this type of unhealthy relationship in the book The Great Gatsby, where we are introduced to Tom Buchanan in the first chapter. This character is prevalent throughout the novel due to his close ties to the protagonist, Nick Carraway, and we dive deeper into who he is as a person. The first impression we get of Tom Buchanan is somewhat negative, with his description of, “arrogant eyes” (7) it is apparent he is more of a harsh person. Tom's relationship with his wife, Daisy Buchanan, is noticeably off too. He is revealed to have another woman with a suspicious phone call during Nick's visit to the home. This behaviour is repeated throughout

Tom’s affair with another woman is something already pre-established. After Tom gets the phone call from his mistress, Baker seems to know exactly what is going on. She tells Nick, “Tom’s got some woman in New York.” (15) This early situation gives us a closer telling of who Tom is as a person. He is revealed to be unloyal to Daisy and able to betray the trust of his wife. In the next chapter of The Great Gatsby, we are introduced to the mistress, Myrtle Wilson. We are given a dive into how this affair affects her life, which is at a very minimum. Myrtle's husband is revealed to be oblivious. Tom covers up his visits to the home with a car sale, revealed when Wilsons asks, “When are you going to sell me that car?” (25) Tom's apathy toward Wilson is similar to the apathy he has toward his

In this chapter of the novel, Gatsby had helped Nick plan a meet-up with Daisy through Baker. Gatsby and Daisy had a past together that Gatsby wanted to reunite. This reuniting leads to an affair between the two, which is revealed to Tom in chapter seven. Tom’s reaction is one of shock, “She had told him he loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded. His mouth opened a little, and he looked back at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he just recognized her as someone he knew a long time ago.” (119) Tom's feelings about Gatsby were established before this affair. He has had previous insecurities revolving around Gatsby and his wife, way back when the first two knew each other. The two similarities showed as a threat to Tom, especially their similarity in wealth. Tom seems to rebut this by insulting Gatsby's lack of background, which is a tactic to ruin his image in Daisy's eyes. Tom repeats the behaviour to ruin Daisy's relationship with