Similarities Between Tom Buchanan And The Great Gatsby

Long Island Sound is divided up into two parts, East Egg where people that had old money lived and West Egg where people with new money lived. In East Egg, there was a strong, arrogant and aggressive man named Tom Buchanan. He inherited all of his wealth and was very well-known. In West Egg, there lived a mysterious man who had been the subject of many rumors and who hosted lavish parties that took days of preparation. This man spent all of his time and money to impress one woman whom he had not seen for five years. This man went by the name of Jay Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby, there are many important characters, but the two characters that stand out the most are Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. These two powerful men influenced the people that …show more content…
One way Gatsby and Tom are different from each other is in their morality. In the book, Tom cheated on his wife Daisy multiple times, whereas, Gatsby is loyal and true to Daisy even though she is Tom’s wife. Gatsby would not think in a million years of doing anything to hurt her. In fact, he would do anything to get her back. Even though she has not been him for five years. Another difference between Tom and Gatsby would be Tom’s racist outlook. Tom believed that if white people did not try to do anything to keep their race alive, soon the white race would become the minority. In the book, Tom states, “The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be — will be utterly submerged.” (Fitzgerald 13). Gatsby, on the other hand, does not express any concern with race or their economic status. Everyone is welcomed to Gatsby’s parties, people just show up from …show more content…
Tom and Gatsby are both liars. Tom lies about his affair with Myrtle, Mr. Wilson’s wife, and Gatsby lies about the way he earns money. Gatsby tells Daisy that he owns a couple of drug stores on the side when in reality he is selling alcohol over the counter. Gatsby and Tom are also very dependent on their money. Without money, both Gatsby and Tom would lose Daisy’s interest. Finally, they both want Daisy to be present in their lives without the other. One night when Nick and Gatsby were talking Nick realized how deep Gatsby’s feelings for Daisy were. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to and say: ‘I never loved you.’” (Fitzgerald 109). Gatsby is determined to get Daisy back and restore things back to the way they were before he left for the war when Daisy did not even know Tom. Tom sees Gatsby as a threat and his objective is to reveal that Gatsby is a