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Similarities Between Tom And Jay Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of “The Great Gatsby”, portrays Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan in a comparative manner. Jay Gatsby is seen as a man who is humble and gracious, while Tom Buchanan is seen as a man who is haughty and self-centered. Furthermore, Jay Gatsby and Tom come from very contrasting backstories. Jay, as stated in the novel, Jay comes from “New money”, while Tom comes from “Old money”. A similarity is how they both have feelings for Daisy. Jay has stronger feelings than Tom towards Daisy. They have many similarities and differences, some being that they have different characteristics, different backstories, but similar feelings towards Daisy.

Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan have contrasting characteristics. Jay is a respectful and good-hearted man. For instance, “Anyhow he gives large parties”. (49) This quote demonstrates how Gatsby allows strangers to attend his parties which is a courteous act. Tom, on the other hand, is arrogant and thinks of himself as superior. For example, …show more content…

Jay Gatsby was born into a family of poor farmers. He learned about the upper-class manners but had no money to back himself up. He then enlisted into WWI. After the war, he attended Oxford University for a short while. Being in a terrible financial situation, Gatsby turns to illegal activity to make his rags to riches story turn true. For example, "Oh, I've been in several things," he corrected himself. "I was in the drug business and then I was in the oil business. But I'm not in either one now."(95) This quote shows his struggle to make money. He also changed his name from Jimmy Gatz to Jay Gatsby. He had a difficult upbringing compared to Tom Buchanan who came from “Old money” or inherited money. Tom was born into a very wealthy family. He also attended the University of Yale where he played football. Having so much money caused Tom to have a lot of freedom. Tom lives a life of luxury, while Jay struggled his way to the

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510 Words | 3 Pages

Jay Gatsby was obsessed with Tom’s wife Daisy. Before Jay went to war and Tom met Daisy Jay and Daisy dated and intended on getting married. Sadly Jay was out of the country longer than expected and Daisy met and married Tom Buchanan. If Tom loses all of his money he will be nothing. Tom may have gone to a good college but he has no workplace experience and his polo career isn't going to be going anywhere due to his body size and his skill.

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867 Words | 4 Pages

In Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, there are two characters by the names of Tom Buchanan and George Wilson. Throughout the book, these two particular characters seem to be very different from each other in nearly every way. However, it becomes clear as the story continues that they share some ideas and attitudes in common. Specifically, Tom and George were noteworthy in the way they felt about women, the methods by which they conveyed violence, and how they responded to their wives cheating on them.

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1336 Words | 6 Pages

As said by other critics, “Jay Gatsby's determination to establish a new identity for himself sets him apart from the other characters in the text” (Verderame). Gatsby grew up as a poor farmer boy. Born into poverty from the beginning, Gatsby cared little for his family and was determined to leave them behind for a new life. This tragic past encourages Gatsby to entirely start a new life by changing his identity and personality before the reader is even introduced to the character. “So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (98).Critics say, “In doing so, Gatsby has proven to himself that he can successfully change the story of his past” (Scisco).

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539 Words | 3 Pages

He acts as if he is a father and is entitled to tell others how they should act. Tom only thinks about himself and how his wealth allows him to feel superior to those around him. Gatsby is a mysterious man who is blindly in love with Daisy. The only thing he cares about is for Daisy to come to him. He spent the past 5 years making money to show that he worthy of her and that he can be a wealthy man as well.

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124 Words | 1 Pages

2. Gatsby comes from a poor family in North Dakota, but he lied about his past and said that he came from a wealthy family in San Francisco. Gatsby had also claimed that he inherited his wealth, but the truth is that he acquired his money from bootlegging. At the beginning of the novel he said he went to Oxford to make others think of him highly, but the truth was that he only studied at Oxford for 5 months. In other words, Jay Gatsby lied about his past to cover up that he came from a poor family.

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1320 Words | 6 Pages

The American Dream is what many set their goals in life to be based upon, money, family, peace, and love. Every character in The Great Gatsby is selfish, but the four main characters that present themselves as the most selfish are, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, the American Dream is present, but is overshadowed because of all the selfish people only wanting to become a higher class or show that they are of a higher class than everyone else around them. The Character that has the least amount significance to the story, but the most selfish is Jordan Baker. Jordan is described as an attractive, slender woman, small breasted and has a grey sun-strained eyes.

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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

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625 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Gatsby contains a story of two men who acted out in very different ways, all because of anger caused by unfaithfulness and murder. Tom is the kind of man who, when he feels like he’s being picked on unfairly, he attacks back immediately. “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. “Daisy! Daisy!

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1223 Words | 5 Pages

Gatsby later tries to reconnect with Daisy, much to the dismay of Tom. Fitzgerald utilizes the characters of Gatsby and Tom to create parallels and highlight certain characteristics in both men. Tom and Gatsby are similar in that they both are very wealthy and love Daisy, each in their own way. While they share this similarity, there are a myriad of differences between the two. Tom is a racist, is part of the old money society, and does not face judgement for his actions.

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988 Words | 4 Pages

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby main character, Jay Gatsby develops in many ways. Jay Gatsby’s mysteriousness, loving nature towards others, and boldness towards other changes at a wide span throughout the book. All of these lead to his death by gunshot. All of these areas that Gatsby changes in make Tom more suspicious of him. He then tells his former lover’s husband that Gatsby killed his wife because Tom is upset with Gatsby.

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The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that tells the story of love affairs, the american dream, and the battle between old money versus new money. The main problem of the novel is the fight for Daisy’s heart. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, and their love is fading away. Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, while later on Daisy is having an affair also with Jay Gatsby. The Buchanans come from old money, while Gatsby comes from new money.

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808 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby Appearance vs Reality The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about how a man by the name of Jay Gatsby tries to win the heart of Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loves. The entirety of The Great Gatsby is told through the narrator, Nick Carraway. At first, Nick views the lifestyle of Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan in awe, but soon discovers that these people are not who they appear. Fitzgerald uses his characters and literary devices in The Great Gatsby to demonstrate the theme of appearance versus reality.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Self-Reinvention in the Great Gatsby Self-Reinvention: The act of reinventing or changing oneself, this means, changing ones’ personality, social status, and past. One person who reinvented himself was none other than the Great Gatsby. Gatsby is an obvious example of self-reinvention, especially when he tells Nick about his real story. Another person who reinvented himself is the narrator Nick. Nick is the less obvious example of self-reinvention; however, he still undergoes a self-reinvention process.

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853 Words | 4 Pages

Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.

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723 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby represents the American Dream throughout the story, he works hard towards rewarding achievements but is let down, because others would rather have money, power, and society’s approval. Jay Gatsby grew up in a poor family from North Dakota. As a farm child he worked hard and followed the American dream. He wanted to escape the poor farm life and make a name for himself. He wanted to be someone that was looked up to by others.

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