Significance Of Tom Buchanan In The Great Gatsby

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Tom Buchanan believes that it is alright for him to have mistresses and cause Daisy stress from his multiple affairs, but when it comes to Daisy and Gatsby, he thinks it isn’t okay. The first occurrence of Tom’s multiple affairs is described by Jordan in chapter four. “ A week after I left Santa Barbara Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night and ripped a front wheel off his car. The girl who was with him got into the papers too because her arm was broken- she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel.” (Fitzgerald 82). After Tom and Daisy’s marriage, Tom was caught in a car crash with another woman. The reader can infer that he was cheating on his new wife with the chambermaid. After his affair with the chambermaid, the newlyweds moved to France, Chicago, and finally East Egg where it is noted that he is …show more content…

This is when Nick first learns about Tom’s affairs. ““Tom’s got some woman in New York.”” (Fitzgerald 19). Jordan informs Nick of Tom’s affair after Daisy shows signs of stress and leaves the dinner table to talk to Tom. The reader can infer that Daisy knows about Tom’s affairs and is very upset by them. Later in the story, while the characters are at a hotel in New York, Tom begins to question Gatsby about Daisy. ““I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out…”” (Fitzgerald 137). Tom makes a statement judging the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, while he completely overlooks the idea that Daisy most likely feels the same way about Tom’s affairs with other women. After this statement is made, Gatsby comments about Daisy’s love for only him. ““She never loved you, do you hear?” he cried. “She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me!””(Fitzgerald