Tom Buchanan
His Dream, and what he gave up to achieve it.
Toms Buchanan's Dream:
Tom's dream was to get everything he wanted, when he wanted it, also to maintain his social status and wealth. Tom was said to be "a national figure in a a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anticlimax" (Fitzgerald, 6) That states that Tom has many accomplishments and looks down on other people who are not as bountiful as him. As Daisy was talking to Nick she stated that"Tom was getting profound" (Fitzgerald, 13) and Tom interrupted her quickly and said that "Well, all of these books are scientific." (Fitzgerald, 13) Making Daisy seem stupid and less intellectual than him, belittling her so he could feel like a bigger man.
Symbol for Tom:
Tom's symbol was his cars and his horses because of his wealth and shallowness. He talks about money if it is nothing, "Plenty of gas" (Fitzgerald, 121), "You can buy anything at a drug- store nowadays" (Fitzgerald, 121). He is hallow to others who doon't have he same lifestyle as him, "Lets have some gas! cried Tom roughly. "What do you think we stopped for- to admire the view?" (Fitzgerald, 123).
Character Traits:
Tom was arrogant and doesn't believe anything that he hears from anyone else. When Gatsby wanted to tag along to go for a drive, Tom stated to the others, "Doesn't he know she doesn't want him?" (Fitzgerald, 103). At Gatsby's party, when Tom arrived Gatsby greeted him and asked him if he saw anybody he knew in which his "arrogant eyes roamed the crowd." (Fitzgerald, 104). Tom is also sexist, he believes that women are of less value and importance to men than men are to women, when Tom did not want to go out into town with people he stated that he, "didn't see the idea of going into town," (Fitzgerald, 120) and that "Women get these notions in their heads-", showing his belittlement of women.
Color:
Green best represents Tom because green stands for money, greed and envy. When Daisy first married Tom he was explained as "with more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before" (Fitzgerald, 75), which is saying he is wealth and of old money. When he married daisy "he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars." (Fitzgerald, 76), also showing he is from old money. When Nick was explaining where om lived he said that the house rented for "twelve or fifteen thousand a season" (Fitzgerald, 5), Showing that he is greedy to have that huge house just for him and Daisy.
Price Tom Paid for his Dream:
The price Tom paid for his dream was Daisy and his own daughter whom he never spoke to in the book. When visiting with Gatsby and others at his house his daughter came out and Tom was out of the room the whole time she was present, when she asked, "Wheres Daddy?" (Fitzgerald, 117), they quickly changed the subject. When Tom realized having a mistress and keeping it under wraps wasn't going to his plan,he began to feel unstable, "Tom was feeling hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control." (Fitzgerald, 125). When he was trying to explain his affairs to make it okay, he stated, "Once and a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love er all the time." (Fitzgerald, 131), In which Daisy replied, "you're revolting," (Fitzgerald, 131)
Works cited:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.