Tom Buchanan Case

Period 2

Tom Buchanan

Tom Buchanan is a retired football player who comes from an extremely wealthy family. He was a popular guy in college, and was once a member of Nick's social club when they were both at Yale. He continued to stay wealthy and famous after college, and was able to gain the hand of the beautiful Daisy in marriage. After their wedding, they traveled and lived at many places, each time drifting "unrestly wherever people played polo and were rich together" (Fitzgerald 10). He has a very stock body, "a body capable of enormous leverage" (Fitzgerald 11). Although he was a very attractive, sturdy, and good looking guy, he was enormously arrogant and racist. In short, he was a notorious bully. In fact, he represents the typical upper class of the 1920's. These people often portrayed personalities of rudeness and egoistical behaviors, thinking only of themselves. This is exactly how Tom acts in The Great Gatsby. He not only had no morals, he was extremely racist against black people and also marriage between blacks and whites. He believed that the white race should remain supreme to other colored men, and this is shown by his words "if we don't look out the white race will be - will be utterly submerged" (Fitzgerald 17). He cared only about what others are doing to him, but not what he is doing to others. For example, after marrying Daisy he continued to have affairs outside of their marriage. This showed his sexist nature towards women, a prominent feature to have for white men in the 1920's. He felt that women, including his wife, were inferior to him and had no rights when they were with him. He had no morals for himself to follow and thought that it couldn't harm anything to have affairs with other women even for married men. In this book the particular woman Tom was in a relationship with was Myrtle Wilson. However, when he found out of the little affair Daisy had with Gatsby, he immediately demanded a confrontation and channeled out all his negative thoughts towards Gatsby in person at the first opportunity. Even after his confrontation with Gatsby and Daisy, he did not think twice about his own relationship with Myrtle, but instead continued to see his own affair as legitimate and fair.

Tom would be at Gatsby's party because he will feel obligated to know where Daisy is going at night. Since Daisy will be invited to Gatsby's party, it would seem natural to Tom to go along with his wife. However once he gets to the party he will expect to be the center of the show, he will act arrogant and walk with an air of confidence. He will express unsatisfied feelings against Gatsby once he finds out about his business with Daisy. Tom will also unashamedly hang out with Myrtle Wilson, maybe not while Daisy is in presence but in perhaps in secret.