Tom's Masculinity In The Great Gatsby

Tom Buchanan is Fitzgerald’s masterpiece of creating a character who portrays the life, and characteristics as an alpha male. Through the vision of character’s surrounding Tom we began to see how his loftier masculinity characterizes him in the story. I begin with a quote from Tom’s wife Daisy that embodies the intimidating masculine characteristics of Tom, “I know you didn’t mean to, but you did do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a-----” (Fitzgerald 12). In this quote from Daisy we view a list of characteristics that are associated with Tom’s masculinity. The comments made by Daisy not only refer to the physical appearance of Tom but the persona he displays onto others as a bigger

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