In a time of changing lifestyles, can two people with very different social status compare or contrast their love life’s? How does one with wealth and another poor compare or contrast? In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” Tom Buchanan Is the husband of Daisy but Is cheating with Myrtle Wilson. While George Wilson Is the husband of Myrtle but Is not cheating. In the end of the story Myrtle dies by a hit and run. Both Tom and Wilson are in very different statuses, Tom being rich while Wilson being poor. Tom and Wilson both compare and contrast with their attitudes toward women, their ways of showing violence, and their reactions to being cuckolded. Tom and Wilson compare and contrast with their attitudes toward women. They compare …show more content…
They both compare with their reactions because there reaction Is to control the situation. The Evidence for Tom trying to control the situation Is when Tom says “I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.”(Fitzgerald 141). In Wilson’s case the evidence is when he says “I’ve got my wife locked in up there,”...“She’s going to stay there till the day after tomorrow and then we’re going to move away.”(Fitzgerald 143).This shows that when he found out that ‘tomfoolery’ was happening between Daisy and Gatsby he tried to control the situation by turning Daisy’s opinions about Gatsby upside down. The evidence also shows that Wilson tried to control the situation by forcefully removing Myrtle and himself out of the situation. Tom and Wilson contrast in their reactions because Tom gives Daisy choices unlike Wilson who forces Myrtle into her room to wait until they move. The evidence for Tom giving Daisy choices is when he says “ Go on. He won’t annoy you. I think he realizes that his presumptuous little flirtation is over.”(Fitzgerald 142). Evidence for Wilson choosing to use force in the situation is when he says “I’ve got my wife locked in up there,”(Fitzgerald 143). The evidence for Tom’s reaction shows that he didn’t force her to go home , If she wanted Daisy could have driven off with Gatsby , but she didn’t. Unlike with Wilson's case the evidence shows that he forced her into her room and wait
Toms respect towards girls is a lot different than Wilson's. in the book "The Great Gatsby" Wilsons never hit a girl, he yelled at Myrtle, but that is because he knew she was having an affair. Wilson was a hard-working man, and never really had time to show "love" to Myrtle. Tom, when he was home, the phone always rang, and he would say "can't talk now", Daisy soon caught on. But tom still has shown her love, hell they had a kid together.
Tom Bucanan vs George Wilson Tom and George have a knack for picking the wrong person to spend their lives with. They both have similarities and differences that make them intriguing characters in "The Great Gatsby." Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are two characters who value their wives and money, as well as their appearance and social status. However, Tom is a ruthless man who cheats on his wife with Wilson's lover, while George struggles with inner rage but still loves his wife despite mistreating her. Throughout this essay, it will show how Tom and George are so alike, how they share similar personalities, and what sets them apart.
In the beginning George Wilson does not know that his wife myrtle is secretly in love with Tom Buchanan, but as the story of the Great Gatsby goes on George Wilson soon finds out that the women that he loves does not love him in return. When George Wilson finds this out he seems to be very angered, but sad at the same time, he does not know what to do because of this. The reason that George Wilson and Tom Buchanan become violent with each other is because of myrtle. Myrtle is an instigator, she makes everything worse than it actually is, and makes things get way out of
Tom drove Wilson to kill Gatsby and kept all of the truth from
Because Tom was fearful of Daisy leaving him for Gatsby, so he had to think of a way to get rid of him for good. For example, Tom persuaded Wilson to kill Gatsby for killing Myrtle and just leaving her on the road without stopping to help. Tom’s ignorance to Daisy and Gatsby lead to no conflicts because he was not feeling nervous of Daisy leaving him. Tom not being ignorant about the whole truth caused him to tell Wilson what he should with Gatsby. Because he knew with Gatsby gone there was no chance of Daisy leaving him, which was something he did not want, especially losing her to
For starters, one similarity in the backgrounds of Wilson and Castle are that the both of them lost their families. Wilsons’ son lost his voice to an enemy mercenary, and his wife divorced him. Castle lost his wife and children in a shot out at New York park during a picnic. Wilson and castle have both experience in the military. Wilson sharpen his skills and during his time in service. Castle gained and mastered his combat skills during his time during his service.
This shocked Gatsby, which shows more that she led him to be delusional about the possibility of them having a real relationship in the future. Her making him think that started this whole argument and if she didn’t lead him on, Tom wouldn’t have found out about any of this and then he wouldn’t have told Wilson that Gatsby killed Myrtle. Tom is responsible for Gatsby’s death because he let Wilson believe that Gatsby had an affair with Myrtle and killed her aswell, Tom did this because he discovered that Daisy and Gatsby were having an affair and wanted to keep Daisy from leaving him. After Myrtle was hit by the car, a policeman was questioning people and asked Tom suspiciously what the color of his car was and he replied: ‘“It’s a blue car, a coupe”’(Fitzgerald 140). Wilson heard Tom say this and later on Tom came back to Wilson to speak with him.
First of all, The Buchanans, are having many problems and are very unsatisfied with their lives. Daisy is not happy with her relationship with Tom. We do not find this out till the end of the book that she is in love with Gatsby. Daisy is also unsatisfied with Tom's actions. He was not at the hospital when her daughter was born , and he continuously leaves her alone to go on with other mistresses. Daisy is so disgusted with him, she finds him revolting after being embarrassed by him everywhere she goes. Tom is also unsatisfied with his relationship, in the book Jordan Baker says “ That’s Tom’s girl on the telephone, ”(Fitzgerald 116). Throughout the book Tom has been cheating on Daisy with mistresses, the main one being Myrtle. The fact that Tom is cheating in the first place shows he is not the happiest with Daisy. Daisy knows on the phone Myrtle is sometimes on the other line, leading her to fall for Gatsby harder. Both Daisy and Tom do not have those true feelings for one another, leading for both to be unhappy and unsatisfied in their own marriage. Being this unhappy, causes for other people to think they had chances with both Tom and Daisy and for those significant others, to be out for mostly Tom but Daisy as well. The amount of anger that comes from how unsatisfied they are leads, to Myrtle and Gatsby both being
He first displays the same tendencies of character by how Daisy and him were "talking intensely across the table" where he put his hand as it "covered her own" to show his dominance over the situation after Myrtle was killed as a way of handling the problem, and making her feel safe enough with him instead of Gatsby (144). There is also another indication, Tom not morally changing by how they "left no address" or way to "reach them" right after Tom had given up Gatsby's location to Wilson (164). Being that there was no way to reach them, it reveals how Tom had no remorse over the fact that he knew that Wilson was killing him, and that he just left without bothering to see the result of the incident. It is apparent that Tom moreover, does not change when he runs into Nick on the street and he is still walking "in his alert, aggressive way" to block others out, retreating "back into [his] money" and dominating position to cover up any vulnerability that could be seen through his body language (178,179). Lastly, Tom does not change his morals, although he "sat down and cried like a baby" when myrtle died, he still told Wilson where Gatsby was located, where he believed "the fellow had it coming to him" (178,179). It was hard for Tom to move past losing his mistress, but his overall attitude towards others say he found to be beneath them self did not change nor did
Both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are similar in their amount of wealth, but are viewed differently by their community. Tom believes himself to belong to a superior class because he was born into money and in contrast, Gatsby, took part in illegal business dealings to achieve his wealth. Their differences are evident in the location of where they live. East Egg is where people that have been born into money live like Tom, while Jay Gatsby lives in West Egg where people of entrepreneurial success live. “I lived at West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them…Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water, and the history of the summer really begins on the evening I drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans.” (Fitzgerald, 5) Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle, yet he can’t accept why Daisy would cheat on him with Gatsby since he is of a higher social class than Gatsby, and it would be degrading for Daisy. “‘She’s not leaving me!’ Tom’s words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby. ‘Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger.’” (Fitzgerald, 133) Another difference between
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
In the Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are both bad men. They get cheated on by their wives, Daisy and Myrtle. Though people are placed in different economic classes or defined as “poor” or “rich” in the 1920’s, it doesn’t change the reaction or emotion of women/men in these difficult situations. Though Tom Buchanan and George Wilson are in different economic classes, they are more similar than different when it comes to their attitudes and actions toward their wives when being cheated on. Some of the men’s actions are different while some show the stereotype of men in the 1920’s.
The author enforces Tom as a character foil to Wilson to prove that Wilson is merely a piece of Tom’s game, who willingly and blindly places his faith on untrustworthy liabilities like the blue coupe. Critics like O’Meara identify Wilson and Gatsby as separate from Tom as she describes, “Wilson and Gatsby are indifferent ... but they make the mistake of seeing material possessions rather than themselves as the best means for attracting and keeping their women” (O’Meara). Unlike Gatsby’s motives that surround an unattainable dream, Wilson’s hopes are uncorrupt. By obtaining the blue coupe he is able to reimage himself to escape the harshness of the past. However, Myrtle's death instigates Wilson into a state beyond caring about the blue coupe and Tom heartlessly responds, “Wreck!” Said Tom. “That’s good. Willson’ll have a little business at last” (137). Unaware who was involved in the crash and unfazed by a possible death, the author reveals Tom’s insensitivity toward people as a whole. The fact that he perceives this event as benefiting Wilson, highlights his heartless nature and the author draws parallels between cars and
His actions show that he is not loyal nor respectful towards Daisy, instead displaying apathy and disinterest. In addition to acting uncompassionate towards Daisy, he is also not taking into consideration Myrtle’s feelings. In fact, he lies to her in order to stop himself from being forced into a committed relationship. This lie that Tom tells Myrtle is not only extremely false, but also shows he is simply using her. “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce” (Fitzgerald 33). Tom lying to Myrtle shows he has no intention of marrying her, instead he only wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state. Myrtle is unhappy and desperate to fulfill her dream of moving up social classes. Instead of acting sympathetically towards her situation, he exploits her weakness. Likewise, Daisy and Gatsby’s affair shows similar exploitation for one’s own personal needs over the emotions of their counterpart. Without Tom’s knowledge, Daisy has an affair with her long lost love, Gatsby. Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour… (Fitzgerald 105). During this affair Daisy shows no acknowledgement of Tom’s feelings, the man she married and pledged to be loyal to. At the same time, she is also exploiting Gatsby. Authors say, “...his desire to marry Daisy as an attempt to enter/create
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.