Corruption, unfortunately, has become a staple of today’s society. One might question if people are either born corrupt, or bred though the environment. This is a true question when it comes down to Tom Buchanan. In order to understand corruption, we must realize that corruption can stem from cheating, taking bribes, or accepting favors for future favors. In the case of Tom Buchanan we can look at the fact that he was born into a life of luxuries, and easy commodities. Tom can be thought to have been corrupt. In the beginning of the story we see Tom take Nick to see the girl Tom is having affair with and regard that Nick is daisy’s cousin. Tom takes it as something harmless that won’t affect him or anyone around him. “ ‘We’re getting off!’ He insisted. ‘I want you to meet my girl. ‘ ” (Fitzgerald Pg:28) During the outbreak with Tom and Gatsby, Tom argued that he loves Daisy and even though he makes a fool of himself. “And what’s more, I love Daisy too.Once in awhile I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time.” (Fitzgerald Pg:140). Having an affair is one way is that Tom is seen to be corrupt in the story. …show more content…
“Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald Pg:41) Tom even though he is protecting his wife name, he did it in a violent way that could have been solved a different way. Tom is an aggressive man, not only to people he doesn't care much about, but also to his wife. “ the Knuckle was black and blue. ‘You did it, Tom,’ “ (Fitzgerald Pg:15). Violence can be seen as way of corruption, especially if it’s a man hitting a woman, and Tom can be seen to be a little violent throughout the
In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy struggles between her desire to be with someone she truly loves and her rational to be with someone who will give her social and financial stability. Ultimately, Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby as he is the safer option once Gatsby is revealed to be untruthful, showing that she is predominately interested in a steady life.
What about your little affairs? How many times have you gone on one of your sprees? I saw Tom as a hypocrite. Even though he was off having a shameless affair with Myrtle, he still condemns Daisy for having an affair with Gatsby. Daisy turned from Tom and began to sob, “did it ever come to your mind Tom that I need a little some love too?”
In addition to Gatsby’s dishonesty with others, he is dishonest with himself. Gatsby has fabricated a dream—a fictional reality—in his mind. He wants Nick’s cousin, Daisy, whom he met five years prior to the story’s beginning, to marry him. However, this marriage could never happen, because Daisy is already married to an East Egg man named Tom, with whom she has a child. Despite the odds, Gatsby continues to push Daisy towards breaking it off with Tom.
Tom Buchanan is repeatedly depicted by words referring to his hulking and massive frame, producing a vivid image of sheer arrogance and power. Before Tom is even introduced, his expansive house is seen, an ostentatious mansion fit for a postcard. Tom later remarks matter-of-factly “I’ve got a nice place here'; (12). Nick’s first actual encounter with Tom is a paragraph saturated with words of strength and authority: sturdy, supercilious, enormous, and aggressive, to name a few. Tom’s physical body is described as “cruel'; and this describes more than just his body, but his demeanor as well. His voice, “…a gruff husky tenor…'; (11), added to his rough image. Every one of his actions is completed with unnecessary force. Tom has the tendency to manhandle Nick, manipulating nearly all of his movements. “…wedging his tense arm imperatively under mine, Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were moving a checker to another square. (16)'; The action verbs Fitzgerald employs convey Tom’s brutish force. Charles Scribner III could not have been more correct when he said, “I would know Tom Buchanan if I met him on the street and would avoid him…'; (199).
Another example showing the disrespect for women is the fact that Tom is cheating on Daisy quite openly. She knows that he is having an affair, but there is nothing that she can do about it. Fitzgerald comments on this power and disrespect that men had for women because he disagrees with it himself. He believes that men should not do these terrible things. Tom never once expresses his guilt for his actions, and never considers Daisy's feelings. His life is full of selfish actions which lead him nowhere.
Initially, while Tom Buchanan may seem like a wealthy, educated individual through his comments about racial hierarchy and social supremacy, it is gradually revealed that Tom is a victim of the carelessness that wealth can breed. His wealth provides him with an excuse for the poor decisions he makes and so, Tom is able to live life without a single thought about consequences. For instance,
Tom Buchanan is arguably the character who possesses the most corrupt set of morals. His actions can be described as “some of the most immoral and senseless actions in the entire novel” (“Ranking…). He cheats on Daisy “simply because he can” (“Ranking…”). This shows that he has no care or regard for anyone but himself. He is going to do what he wants no matter how it affects other people. It is this mindset that causes the deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Mr. Wilson. He knows this, but “he runs away from the entire situation… as if he was never part of it in the first place” (“Ranking…”). He and Daisy mess things up and leave. They go back to their normal, careless life of wealth and leave someone else to fix their mess (Fitzgerald 187-188). Together Tom and Daisy are absolutely incorrigible people with no regard for others.
“"I found out what your drug-stores were." [Tom] turned to us and spoke rapidly. "[Gatsby] and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong"” (Fitzgerald 133). This proves how Tom is quick to pass judgment and how Tom thinks he is the only perfect person. Tom can drink alcohol during the prohibition, but it is wrong for Gatsby to produce liquor. It is obvious to infer that Tom has to put people down to feel good about himself. “"You're crazy!" [Tom] exploded. "I can't speak about what happened five years ago, because I didn't know Daisy then—and I'll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that's a God damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now"” (Fitzgerald 131). Tom sees Daisy’s love as a possession; Tom sees marriage as a system of ownership, and he wants to be the only who can Daisy. Tom will let Daisy ride around with Gatsby, but not much else. In “The Great Gatsby”, Tom has shown his true personality, narcissistic, through these
Tom and George both show their treachery towards women on multiple occasions. Tom’s first physical violent act is towards Myrtle when she constantly says, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy! I’ll say it whenever I want to!” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke
Tom and Daisy have had an unhealthy relationship in their time together. Tom and Daisy over their time together have constantly been cheating on each other, even from their wedding day. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Tom and Daisy’s marriage as very unhealthy in The Great Gatsby. The story also presents a deep respect for understanding intellectual empathy by showing many sides of the characters stories. Tom and Daisy’s marriage has much to do with the plot and ultimately leads to Gatsby’s death. The Great Gatsby portrays the relationships in many different angles that help with intellectual empathy.
we are able to view the corruption through the eyes of Fitzgerald's character, Nick Carraway. The story begins as Nick moves to a small house in Manhattan, New York. It is here where he reunites with his second cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom. As the story unfolds, readers realize how the small island of Manhattan is used as a microcosm to represent the immoral behavior taking place throughout the United States. All of the characters represent the immoral behavior of this time period, yet there is one who is unique in comparison 一ㅡ Mr.
Tom Buchanan’s moral character can be quesitoned due to his dispicable and patheic nature when it comes to his actions throughout the novel. Even though he was born into a wealthy family and thus inherited the wealth he has in the novel, no signs of moral teachings by his family were evident. The actions he took in the book were due to him being a conceited and ignorant man. His ignorance was a result of the easy access he had to power and wealth. He feels that because he has wealth and power in society, he is given the acquiescence to be as arrogant and immoral as he so chooses and society cannot do anything about it. Because of this he looks down upon people that he feels are lower in the social and financial ladder.
Tom Buchanan is described as having a strong and repugnant presence. He was a star athlete at Yale and is restless after his glory days of playing there, “…had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax” (page 10). He is arrogant and seems to believe that he can have anything that he wants. Even though he has a wife and child, he has no problem with having a mistress on the side and does not care that others, including his wife, know about it. In addition, Tom is very self-absorbed and cares only about himself and his own desires. Tom was what Daisy’s family considered to be suitable for their daughter. That, along with his money, is mainly why she married him.
Tom Buchanan epitomizes the advent of moral uncertainty of the Modernist Era. Upon Tom’s introduction in the novel, Fitzgerald makes his lack of morals very evident. When Nick goes to have dinner with the Buchanans and Jordan, he learns something new about Tom. Jordan tells Nick something she believed everyone knew.
The vices exhibited by Tom Buchanan show that Fitzgerald’s attitude toward the wealthy class of the 1920’s was that, though they have money, they are not morally superior to the other classes. Tom exhibits many vices including adultery, selfishness, racism, etc. Tom embodies all of the vices that Fitzgerald believes the wealthy class of the 1920’s had shown. As such, Fitzgerald wants the reader to see Tom as a symbol for the entire wealthier class. Fitzgerald wants the reader to be disgusted by Tom and his actions.