Jealousy In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

America’s “Roaring Twenties” was a timespan enjoyed by everyone. High society members gravitated to Jazz music, fast dancing and drinking. Thus, making it difficult for anyone to decide what was then socially acceptable. These activities influenced behavioral changes in the wealthy as they often became pretentious, rude and felt there was no regard for their actions. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character Tom Buchanan reveals his true nature through acts of deceit, jealousy, and his high-and-might attitude. In particular, Tom adds excitement to the novel because he is evasive, envious, and arrogant. First, Tom exhibits evasiveness by having a Morningside Heights apartment which he keeps solely for his affairs.

Tom’s envy spikes when he realizes that Daisy is still in love with Gatsby. While arguing over Daisy at dinner one night, Tom says to Gatsby, “Who are you, anyhow? You’re one of that bunch that hangs around with Meyer Wolfsheim—that much I happen to know. I’ve made a little investigation into your affairs—and I’ll carry it further tomorrow” (Fitzgerald 123). Tom becomes mad with jealousy at the thought of Daisy having an affair with Gatsby and for this reason feels he needs to find out more about him and his past with her. Justin D’Arms writes, “Envy is pain at the good fortune of others” (D’Arms 1). As envy is a major component in The Great Gatsby, Tom’s envious behavior was inevitably the result of Myrtle and Gatsby’s death. It has been proven that aggression and arrogance function as defenses along with envy. Gwen Seidman explains the cause of envy when she says, “All of these factors that relate to jealousy are about the insecurities of the jealous people, not about the love they have for their partner” (Seidman). If not controlled, envy can quickly spiral out of control and turn into anger, hate, or violence. One of the seven deadly sins in the Catholic Church is envy. Envy, at its best, remains full of resentment and ingratitude, it secretly applauds the sorrow and downfall of others. We should remember that the only way to overcome such feelings for

Tom never misses a chance to show his superiority. For instance, when Tom is speaking to Daisy he says, “The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged” (Fitzgerald 16). The passion portrayed in this statement stems from Tom’s fear of these dreamers will ruin the Buchanan lifestyle. Tom firmly believes that his wealth entitles him to look down on others, thus justifying his racial comments. However, Tom’s arrogance is a major barrier to discovering and embracing the truth, the truth that his is no better than anyone else. Alberto Lena writes, “physical features denote superior mental and spiritual qualities, and that material success and political dominance are in themselves evidence of racial superiority” (Bloom 54). Tom revels in boasting, being powerful both politically and personally, and making himself superior to others. However, his arrogance though exciting at times, is considered essentially a negative