Examples Of Sympathy For Tom Buchanan

Liliana Roloff
Mrs. Tollett
American Literature
3 May 2023
Any Sympathy For Tom Buchanan? Customarily, sympathy is a feeling that arises naturally, especially when another is forced to undergo a difficult situation. Unfortunately, due to his entitled and amoral persona, there is little empathy a person is able to extend towards F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character Tom Buchanan. Even when placed under complicated circumstances, Buchanan chooses to do what he wants with no care to how anyone else could possibly be affected. Instead choosing to “let other people clean up the mess” that he leaves behind (Voegeli 3). This callous nature that Tom often expresses in The Great Gatsby shows the corruption and entitlement that tends to manifest itself in

These feelings of arrogance extend to the treatment of his wife, where Tom expects her to be “endlessly forbearing when he humiliates her by barely bothering to conceal his affairs” (Voegeli 3). Any sympathy for Tom ends shortly after he is introduced when it is brought to our attention that not only has Tom been cheating on Daisy since “shortly after his honeymoon,” but he has also never tried to conceal his affairs from anyone (Lehan 88). Evidence of Tom’s lack of discretion is displayed when Tom chooses to invite Nick to a party hosted by him and his mistress Myrtle. Nick and Tom are not close friends, so him inviting Nick to this party indicates Tom’s lack of subtlety when it comes to his affairs. Another public way that Tom flaunts his affair with Myrtle for anyone to see is when he “[takes] his mistress to popular restaurants to show her off” (Donaldson 102). Tom’s feeling of self-importance has been formed from years of getting away with his wrongdoings. While

Buchanan’s sense of superiority leads him to disregard everyone else's feelings and emotions in favor of his own. This narrow-minded way of thinking is apparent when Tom goes on a tangent to Nick, Daisy, and Jordan about how “it is up to [them], who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things” (Fitzgerald 13). Buchanan seems not only to see himself as better than others due to his wealth; but also believes that his skin color makes him superior to others and pushes others to feel the same. Tom’s primacy leads him to have a small social sphere, which causes him to be “unable to relate directly to others outside his class and race” (Lehan 85). He chooses to keep his mind closed off to others’ opinions, canceling “all other cultures in the name of Nordic superiority” (Lehan 88). This small social sphere and close minded way of thinking leads Tom to believe that no one is to his standards or deserving of his