The Similarities Between Tom Buchanan And Jay Gatsby

Ruqaya Abed

Ms. Rodgers

Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are portrayed as complete opposites throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. Tom and Gatsby can be described as rivals, or enemies and readers tend to choose a side of who they like better. This leads the reader to believe that Tom and Gatsby are certainly different, especially due to their clashing personalities. However, on an analytical scale, it is clear that Tom and Gatsby display many similarities throughout the text. F. Scott Fitzgerald clearly demonstrates similarities between Tom and Gatsby which are shown through their equally deceiving personalities, their selfish use of relationships for their own benefit, and their mutual desire of having Daisy to themselves.

Gatsby carries out his deception by manufacturing stories of his past. Once Gatsby gets close to with Nick, he tells him of his past, “I am the son of some wealthy people in the Mid-West all dead now.” (Page 64). This quote alone is a lie, as Gatsby’s father appears at his funeral at the end of the novel. Gatsby continues to tell stories of his past, as well as his days at Oxford. Gatsby fails to incorporate the details of his rise to the top through the world of bootlegging. Tom is the same as Gatsby because he openly lies and deceives people in The Great Gatsby. One example is at the beginning of the novel when Tom is having an affair with Myrtle. Tom was not completely truthful with Daisy about his affair and kept a separate apartment for secretive independence. Not only does Tom, deceive his wife he deceives his mistress, Myrtle. As he tells her the reason he cannot leave Daisy is because she is Catholic, and they don't believe in divorce. To disprove Toms lies Nick proceeds to say, "Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie". (98) . Not only did both men have deceiving personalities but they both used people for their own