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Social norms on everyday life
Social norms on everyday life
Social norms on everyday life
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“The Devil and Tom Walker” written by Washington Irving, is a story that takes place in New England in the 1720’s. A major part of the story is satire as it is displayed all throughout the work. Satire is writing that ridicules or criticizes. Religion, marriage, and the white establishment are three different elements of society that are criticized throughout the story with satire. Religion and religious types are criticized through satire by Irving in the story.
(Fitzgerald 141). This shows the audience the importance of the relationship between Tom and Myrtle in Tom’s life, and how his
There was a touch of parental contempt in it, even toward people he liked and there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts.” ch.1 Analysis: Nick is describing Tom, since he’s the narrator. Nick describes tom through his voice but yet you can get see all his personality through it. It also gives a small detail about nick like how close he pays attention to those around him and describes them in detail descriptions. 7.
Tom Buchanan is an arrogant, controlling man, who does what he wants not considering about how his actions influence those around him. Tom is also the earliest person to use physical violence in the book, striking Myrtle in a fit of rage when she would not stop shouting Daisy 's name. "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!
This quote emphasizes the extreme lengths that Tom is willing to go to manipulate Myrtle and her feelings to have her believing that he loves her and wants to be with her but can’t because his wife is religious, which is a total lie. In addition Tom also manipulates Myrtle physically. “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 32). Tom punches Myrtle when she doesn’t stop saying his wife’s name. This shows that level of self-control that Tom does not have and that he thinks that taking his anger out on a person is ok.
One of the most prominent social biases, both in the 1920’s specifically and throughout American history, is race. In the period after WWI, race tensions were heightening. Tom clearly does not approve of the idea that black people could rise socially and “infiltrate” his world. Even though Tom himself has a mistress, he says, “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white. ”(Fitzgerald p130)
Tom is seen to be a very racist person, and that is just from what he said about one book. Tom does not care about women either, he is a sexist person who only cares about himself. He broke Myrtle’s nose just because she kept saying Daisy’s name even though he told her to stop. More proof of Tom’s sexism comes from his affair with Myrtle. If Tom cared about Daisy he would not be seeing other women, it was also revealed that Myrtle was not the first person Tom had an affair with, which just proves this even further.
His extramarital affairs source back to his ability as a man to still have women who desire him as a man even through his involvement of a commitment to another woman. The masculinity of Tom’s ability to have been successful in sports resources back to the stereotypes of the era associating sport with masculinity. The ability to physically violate a woman at the time demonstrates a sense of power in a relationship which is expressed with violence over an expression of emotions to resolve issues in a relationship which is associated with feminine characteristics. Tom’s masculinity represents more than just a superior alpha male but the success that is associated with superior male character. Fitzgerald creates Tom’s character as what is implied as the higher male in
The impact of socioeconomic status can be examined through a myriad of lenses. F. Scott Fitzgerald aims to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and power. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom’s character shows that socioeconomic status is equivalent to power within the novel. Tom puts great pride and emphasis on his socioeconomic status and wealth.
He treats Myrtle as a possession and often physically abuses her. When Myrtle talks back to him during one of their arguments, Tom “[breaks] her nose with his open hand” (37). This violent act highlights Tom’s sense of entitlement and his belief in his inherent superiority due to his social status. He does not consider that he is committing this act in front of his family member Nick, as it is an acceptable action for a person of his character. Furthermore, when Myrtle dies in a car accident, Tom does not even attend her funeral.
They share the same love for Daisy and try to win her heart by buying exotic gifts and providing her with a lavish lifestyle. One trait they both exercise quite often is the repetitive use of Nick. Tom uses him as a puppet to make it seem like he cares about Daisy’s family and also to hide the fact he is having an affair with
When Nick describes Tom, it is showing a sign of cruelty. Nick describes Tom by saying, “Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (9). Here Nick is describing how Tom Buchanan changed from when they both attended college together. In college, Tom was very friendly and was wonderful to be around. Nick realized, when they met again, that Tom had changed from friendly to cruel in the years after Tom and Nick graduated from Yale.
(Fitzgerald 41). This scene shows Tom’s wealth and power; Tom feel Myrtle had no right saying Daisy’s name so he hit her to make her behave. He thinks of Myrtle of more of a pet he can control
Tom physically abused Myrtle when she refused to listen to him. In fact, The Great Gatsby, whilst having several diverse and complicated relationships, does not possess one exemplification of
Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.