What Are Tom Buchanan's Attitude In The Great Gatsby

867 Words4 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. First of all, Tom Buchanan and George Wilson largely shared their attitudes toward women. For example, it is clear that Tom is concerned that Daisy, his wife, would go off on her own and do things by herself. One instance of him acknowledging this concern is when he says "I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy. By God, I may be old−fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me” (Fitzgerald 111). Tom says this after finding out that Gatsby had met his wife, implying that Daisy was “running around too much” simply by going anywhere at all without his prior knowledge. Another instance of Tom apparently being excessively concerned about Daisy doing anything without him occurred earlier in the book. After Daisy goes outside their house to …show more content…

However, the other time in the book when he uses violence is much more cruel than Tom’s actions. To avenge his wife, he tries to figure out who owns the yellow car that killed Myrtle. After doing that, he immediately shoots Gatsby, the owner of the car, with his gun upon finding him. After killing Gatsby, he then takes his own life; that is why “the gardener saw Wilson’s body...and the holocaust was complete” (Fitzgerald 173). At the time, Gatsby is swimming in his pool. After the gunshots occur, Gatsby’s death is indicated by “a thin red circle in the water” (Fitzgerald