ipl-logo

How Are Tom Buchanan And Jay Gatsby Alike

856 Words4 Pages

Daniel Stupar Mr. Guimaraes ENG 3 UI 06/2024 The Illusion of Difference: Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby" In F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan seem like they come from backgrounds: Gatsby, as a driven self-made millionaire, and Tom as the epitome of inherited wealth and privilege. While their initial appearances may suggest contrasts, a closer look at their histories, social statuses, motivations and values reveals that beneath the surface differences lie core characteristics and beliefs shared by both Gatsby and Tom. This highlights the novel's commentary on the American Dream. On the outside, Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan appear worlds apart. Gatsby's journey from a farm family in North Dakota to riches embodies the idea of a self-made …show more content…

His lifestyle, characterized by indulgence and opulence, starkly contrasts with Gatsby's pursuit of success. Despite their differences, both men harbor insecurities about their social status. Gatsby's new found riches fail to integrate him into the circles of East Egg dominated by old money. As Nick reflects on Gatsby's perpetual outsider status; "It is always disheartening to see things through your eyes after you've made your own adjustments''(Fitzgerald, Chapter 9). This highlights Gatsby's enduring position, as an outsider despite his efforts to belong. On the side, Tom's arrogance and evident racism stem from his need to establish dominance and safeguard his standing, exposing an underlying insecurity camouflaged by his inherited riches. While Gatsby and Tom's backgrounds and social ranks may seem distinct at glance, their motivations and ethical beliefs unveil similarities. Both men are propelled by an unyielding quest for validation and acceptance within the society of East Egg, albeit pursuing it through avenues. Gatsby's pursuit of the Dream symbolizes his aspiration to transcend his

Show More
Related

Similarities Between Tom Buchanan And The Great Gatsby

1344 Words | 6 Pages

Tom cares of being on top of the social pyramid and Gatsby cares about pleasing everyone. In the

Read More

Differences Between Tom Buchanan And Jay Gatsby

491 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, there are many differences between two of the main characters. These two main characters are known as Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Throughout the novel, there were multiple situations where they both put themselves in tremendous situation. Both of these main characters were very wealthy and educated. Tom was more of a man who lived a corrupted life revolving around the good ol’ money and power while Gatsby was more of a man who represented hope believe that humanity still has the chance of being stable despite the money and power as long as there is goodness in the heart.

Read More

Differences Between Tom Buchanan And Jay Gatsby

1328 Words | 6 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel The Great Gatsby to show how the wealthy community coexisted during the Roaring Twenties. The two important characters in this story that show the differences between classes are Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Both these characters contribute directly to the tragic ending. In the novel, Jay Gatsby believes that his new found wealth and power will help him acquire his long awaited dream and eventually his happiness. In order to obtain this dream, Gatsby has to renew his love affair with Daisy a young woman from Gatsby’s past whom he loved dearly but lost.

Read More

Similarities Between Gatsby And Tom Buchanan

752 Words | 4 Pages

The first thing one notices about Gatsby and Tom are their dissimilarities. Tom has grown up wealthy, while Gatsby was once poor and had to make his own fortune. Nevertheless, even though Gatsby hasn’t always lived in luxury, he acts more like one would expect a well-off man to than Tom. Tom is a rude, bully of a man that intimidates people to achieve what he wants. He isn’t the slightest bit interested in appearing courteous or polite, the only thing that matters to him is that everything goes his way.

Read More

Similarities Between Tom And Daisy In The Great Gatsby

560 Words | 3 Pages

People like Gatsby look up to him as as something they want to become, but they don’t realize that they can’t become that. On the other hand, Gatsby represents the ‘getting there’ part of the American dream, but not the end result. He did indeed start from nothing, and climb the ladder of success, except he’s never quite able to reach the top. He is still not a part of the elite West Egg-ers, he still isn’t completely accepted into Tom and Daisy's society, and in the end he dies still believing that the American dream is waiting for him, just out of reach. Tom and Gatsby represent the impossibility of the American dream, each man showing that you can have half of it, but not

Read More

Comparing The Great Gatsby And A Raisin In The Sun

506 Words | 3 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, despite his immense wealth and social standing, remains an outsider in the world of old money. This shows how deep

Read More

Similarities Between Daisy And Jay Gatsby

1221 Words | 5 Pages

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts a setting of American prosperity, examining the tendency for man to pursue that which he desires, often losing reason along the way. In an era where individuals were building enough wealth to rival the long-established, powerful families, new divisions were made among the upper class: the “old money” and the “new money.” In this book specifically, the East Egg and West Egg of Long Island physically separated the families, with those of new money living in the West Egg. This story follows Jay Gatsby, an upstart socialite who built himself a fortune, though could never truly attain that which he desired the most—Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loved. The narrator of this book, Nick Carraway, Daisy’s

Read More

The Great Gatsby Feminist Lens Essay

1169 Words | 5 Pages

The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald narrates the story of Jay Gatsby through the eyes of an outsider named Nick Carraway. It follows as it shows the efforts of Jay Gatsby's attempts to try to gain his love again, Dasiy Buchanan. Along with his story, we get to see the small parts of the lives of others within the high society of New Long Island. At the novel's climax, events play out between Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom, Daisy’s husband, in which a confrontation plays out within the story as both men try to argue over Daisy and their beliefs on who is right. The conflict between Gatsby and Tom appears to be very tense and frustrating for both men, however, looking through the feminist lens illustrates a deeper meaning.

Read More

Batman And The Joker In The Great Gatsby

553 Words | 3 Pages

Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are two very wealthy men fighting over the same women, yet these two enemies aren’t that much different from one another. Tom has come from a wealthy family and has not had to work hard in life to enjoy its luxuries. At Yale he was a very successful athlete and excelled in almost

Read More

How Does Religion Affect The Great Gatsby

2428 Words | 10 Pages

Gatsby is a character that embodies the idea of the American Dream, as he works hard to achieve wealth, success and love. Gatsby was born into a poor family and was determined to attain the same wealth and social status he saw around him in the East Egg. In his pursuit for the American Dream, Gatsby moves to the East Egg and begins to live the life of luxury, throwing lavish parties and buying expensive cars. Though the reader is initially sympathetic to Gatsby, they soon come to realize the corrupt nature of the American Dream, as Gatsby represents the idea that wealth can buy “happiness”. As Fitzgerald writes, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Flaws

1231 Words | 5 Pages

In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is a prominent character with “a supercilious manner” and an overwhelmingly contemptuous demeanor for those whom he qualifies over (Fitzgerald 7). Tom comes from an “enormously wealthy” family which shows how he grew up with generational prosperity and is a part of old money and not the working class (6). Fitzgerald’s articulation of

Read More

The Great Gatsby Research Paper

1480 Words | 6 Pages

The Great Gatsby Research Essay Step into F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, which represents a literary wonder that transcends its time and setting and provides profound insights into the human condition. While it may seem like just another novel that is read in high school, its importance goes far beyond just another book required to be read. In this book, Fitzgerald explores many ways of depicting a divide in social class, love, and idealism. As Gatsby stares across into East Egg from his West Egg estate, he desperately wants everything that makes up Daisy, but most of all wants her love. Also, social class includes immense divides between "old money," as represented by Tom and Daisy Buchanan, "new money," as represented by Gatsby, and the poor

Read More

The Great Gatsby Wealth Analysis

751 Words | 4 Pages

The author characterizes the wealthy by juxtaposing Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, the two affluent characters in the novel. Fitzgerald juxtaposes them by first revealing both as wealthy, introducing them closely, and highlighting their different natures through how they earned their wealth and through the plot to show how the wealthy class with old money is soulless. Although both Tom and Gatsby are prosperous, only Tom is depicted as heartless since he has old money and was in the wealthy class his entire life. Gatsby, however, has new money and since he earned it, he is not described as soulless because he wasn’t always in the wealthy class to where he is adapted their heartless nature. These differences correlate with their personality and with how Fitzgerald condemns the wealthy with old money as callous.

Read More

Gatsby Socioeconomic Class

747 Words | 3 Pages

Jay Gatsby’s struggle to be apart of the same world as Daisy Buchanan shows how one cannot change their socioeconomic class Gatsby attempts to follow the path of the American Dream throughout the novel by pursuing a better life. Initially, Gatsby follows “toward the American Dream...while poetically evoking a sense of goodness to [the] early dream” (Bewley 859). Bewley demonstrates that Gatsby was like many other people at this

Read More

Compare And Contrast Tom And Gatsby

763 Words | 4 Pages

JAY GATSBY AND TOM BUCHANAN The Great Gatsby is a novel writing about life in the 1920’s. The novel has Nick Caraway as its narrator, Jay Gatsby the main character in the novel and on the other hand, Tom Buchanan the antagonist opposing what Gatsby wants. Both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan’s love Daisy Buchanan in different ways but tend to be similar since they all want Daisy who is Tom’s wife. In the novel Tom and Gatsby share some similarities despite their differences.

Read More

More about How Are Tom Buchanan And Jay Gatsby Alike

Open Document