The Role Of Tom In The Great Gatsby

Myrtle yearns to be with Tom and live in his wealth but is prevented from doing so by Tom and Daisy. For instance, when Daisy tries to leave Tom for Gatsby, Tom does not exactly dismiss Myrtle, “…but there is no question that she would eventually be discarded” (Donaldson). Myrtle is so infatuated with Tom, she forgot that he can just as well choose Daisy over her. He has the upper hand, as a rich man with control over women especially when it comes to his relationships. While to Tom, Myrtle’s gender has made her just one of his possessions, to Myrtle, Tom’s rich and high status as a man has made him her only path to a higher class. Due to her infatuation with Tom, she often becomes jealous and possessive when she finds a threat to their relationship. Myrtle is so overcome with desire for Tom that she cannot stand the thought of him with another women. Even when she sees Tom in the car with Jordan Baker, Myrtle’s, “… eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she too to be his wife” (Fitzgerald 125). Myrtle is so convinced that Tom is hers, when in reality, she is really Tom’s. Myrtle has almost forgotten the fact that as an inferior women, she has little control over the situation. The reality is that Tom was in control of the relationship and used Myrtle for his lustrous desires. Tom’s rejection of Myrtle causes her to become overrun with jealousy. In

In the beginning, some people try to appear that everything about them is "in black and white, until later their true colors come out (Anthony Liccione). In literature, authors show a character's true colors through their actions throughout the book. In the beginning of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, he presents Tom as an immoral person through his actions.

In the book “The Great Gatsby”, Nick has a front row seat to a horrific love circle. Tom and Nick are different in many ways. Tom is portrayed in the story as an antagonist, while Nick is a protagonist. Both of these characters have encounters with Gatsby’s lover Daisy. The story of a distressed lovers drags a newcomer of the city into their feuds.

Fitzgerald further complicates the story when he introduces us to Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress, and her attempt to use him to climb the social ladder. Myrtle and her husband, Wilson, live in the valley of ashes, “a certain desolate area of land” (23). The valley of ashes is a particularly run down stretch of land between West Egg and New York City, mostly inhabited by people from the lower working class. Tom is good friends with Wilson, but is simultaneously having an affair with his wife. Fitzgerald shows us that Myrtle is unhappy with Wilson and seeks a better life when she cries, “The only crazy I was was when I married [Wilson]. I knew right away I made a mistake.

Mrs. Myrtle Wilson's reality was that she was a lower class, somewhat undesirable woman who dreamed that she could somehow elevate her status. The fantasy world that she created when she was with Tom lasted only momentarily and reality hit her mercilessly. Her desire to be a part of the elite class compromised her integrity; she was so desperate to fit in that accepted whatever treatment Tom was giving her. Chasing a painful dream and allowing herself to be abused, reality still had not sunk in for Myrtle when Tom broke her nose when she said what he did not want to hear (Fitzgerald, 41). She was married to a gas attendant, whom she did not appreciate, who was nothing like Tom and could not provide her with the lifestyle she yearned for. She blatantly disrespected him in conversation with her sister and Nick, saying, "I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe (Fitzgerald, 39)." Each time Tom picked

One of Tom’s most prominent traits is his disloyalty, especially to his marriage. During the dinner party at Daisy’s house in the East Egg, the telephone receives a call, from Tom’s mistress, resulting in Daisy exclaiming “She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner time, don’t you think?” (Fitzgerald 15). Daisy is frustrated that Tom is cheating on her, but not for the right reasons. Rather than being upset at Tom for having an affair, she is upset because the phone call is merely disrupting the dinner party. One of Tom’s proudest moments takes place at the dinner party when Daisy, Nick, and Jordan discuss races in America and his opinions on it. He mentions that “It’s up to us, the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things” (Fitzgerald 18). Tom upholds the white community in America to be at a higher standard than those that were not born/raised in America. He sees members of the white community as higher beings than those who are not, holding himself at an upper level.

Tom has been controlled by wealth ever since he was born into a rich family. Tom and Daisy’s negligence is what eradicates their morality. Their view of life is absurd which causes their foolish actions. Money is their leverage against society and the world. Tom also continues to show his licentiousness through his affair with Myrtle. When Tom and Myrtle first exchanged looks at the garage, Myrtle “walked through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye” (Fitzgerald 26). Tom then says, “I want to see you. Get on the next train” (Fitzgerald 26). Being already married to Daisy, Tom still decides to have relationships with other women, clearly indicating the his indecency. He acts as if what he is doing is acceptable because his possession of money provides him a sense of self-conceit. The upper class assumes that since they have money, they are able to do anything they want, whether it is ethical or not. Based on the events in East Egg, Fitzgerald is able to explicitly stress how wealth is one of the factors that intensifies moral decay in society.

As soon as she met up with Tom “she bought a copy of Town Tattle and a moving picture magazine, and in the stations drug-store some cold cream and a small flask of perfume” (Fitzgerald 26), in a desperate attempt of living her dream. Her dream stemmed from immoral ways; Tom had lots of money, and was willing to spend it on Myrtle, yet only for his own adulterous motives. Dreams stem the worst kind of immoralities because the best intentions can lead to the worst outcomes, so many dreamers do not realize their mistakes.

Tom Buchanan is a man who has achieved any achievement you could possibly ask for by the age of twenty one. He has accomplished anything he wants to accomplish in his life, lots of awards, lots of money, a beautiful wife a child, he has worked long, hard and honestly for what he has, however, he has what to live for now? While that is very impressive and something he will remember the rest of his life, it can also be depressing.In consequence, Tom wants to find some excitement in life or simply something to do to fill a empty space in his life, that person is Myrtle Wilson. Although Tom seems to be a respectful gentlemen, we learn that he has little respect for women. When Nick visits Tom and Daisy’s house for the first time, Jordan tells Nick in private, “‘You mean to say you don't know?" said Miss Baker, honestly surprised. "I thought everybody knew." "I don't." "Why−." she said hesitantly,

Through this scene, we see that George will try to do anything in his ability to have the car. As Tom has the material wealth that George does not have, it gives Tom the power to control him. While George is constantly working hard and relying on the wealthy people, Tom for one to use this power and dictates him throughout the novel. Fitzgerald is illustrating the inequality between classes and the authority that the rich has over the lower classes. He shows that not all hardworking men and women that are wanting to gain respect and climb high on the ladder to reach the American dream will be able to do so. People are being endlessly controlled by the upper class thus giving them no chance to have class mobility. Thus this becomes the reason leading George Wilson to have a miserable life and resulting to killing himself.

To Myrtle Wilson, the American Dream is to become wealthy and high class. For her, this is impossible. She is married to a working class man who owns an auto shop in a rundown part of New York. Myrtle is so corrupted by money that she cheats on her hardworking, loving husband, in order to be with Tom Buchanon’s money. When describing her marriage, Myrtle said, “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in . . . then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon” (35). She was, of course, talking about money issues. She thought her husband was wealthy, but when he had to borrow a suit, she became depressed and she believed her life was ruined. Myrtles unhealthy fixation on money ruined her marriage, and led to her becoming Tom’s mistress. Tom can supply her with the wealth she needs to feel happy. When given the chance, Tom will take Myrtle to parties just so she can wear the fancy clothing that he gave her. This

In the Buchanan household, which has been relocated several times to escape the bad publicity wrought by affairs, this kind of behavior is to be expected, showing how even the educated upper class is unable to escape the corruption of America, and what it stands for. The general lack of concern for affairs continues when Gatsby believes that he can turn back the clock and rekindle what he and Daisy once had. Gatsby not only hopes that Daisy will wait for him, but expects it, scoffing at Nick’s assertion that things have changed over time, and that Daisy is now married and a with a child and therefore uninterested in him: “Can’t repeat the past?...Why of course you can!” (116). Gatsby believes that Daisy will be willing to give up what she has for him, building his whole life on the assumption that she will be willing to forget all she has for him. This attitude of indifference for marriage is mimicked in the actions of Tom as well as Myrtle Wilson, showing that it may be widely held. Tom takes advantage of Wilson, replying to Nick’s concerns by simply saying that Mr. Wilson “thinks [Myrtle] goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (30). Myrtle’s ability to easily lie to her husband shows that the marital corruption of the upper class is prevalent in the lower classes as well. Fitzgerald uses the diverse characters, from the removed yet decidedly elite character of

As Myrtle’s relationship with George Wilson deteriorates and she is disenchanted with his limited lifestyle, she desires more and thus when she meets Tom he offers her this. In some distorted way, Myrtle thinks that Tom will leave his beautiful wife Daisy and marry her, Tom doesn’t truly see the relationship between Myrtle and himself being a true relationship, he just believes she is someone he can call upon unannounced and use her for a sexual relationship. But Myrtle has other plans for the two of them. This is made clear when he breaks Myrtle’s nose we she mentioned his wife’s name: “‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy Dai-‘Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald, 1926)This harsh action implied by Tom, really puts Mrs. Wilson in her place, making her come to her sense of what she can and cannot say. This reaction from Tom signifies that it is not a pure love existing between them. Further, Myrtle’s desire for the material goods Tom can provide shapes her conception of their alleged love, which is evidently greatly distorted as shown through Tom’s treatment of her.

The idea of the wealthy thinking of themselves as being superior and having dominance over others can be seen: ‘literally forced me from the car. “We’re getting off,” he insisted.’ Tom’s dominant attitude can be seen, as Nick is forced into meeting Tom’s mistress, also giving the impression Tom wants to show off ‘his girl’. This also puts the idea forward that Tom thinks of Myrtle as another possession to be shown off, again tying in with the theme of the American Dream in accumulating as many possessions as possible. This attitude Tom has towards Myrtle can also be seen: ‘leaving her at the table,

The roaring 20’s was an extrodinary time, and F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the feeling in his book The Great Gatsby. Throughout the book many of the characters showed the importance of the 20’s through their differences and similarities. Two main male characters, Tom and Gatsby, were both different and similar in many ways. Tom and Gatsby were both liars, but they also loved Daisy, and they were different on how they lived.