The Morally Corrupt Characters

Tom Buchanan is very much like Daisy Buchanan in caring for himself only. Tom is a racist, arrogant, and an adulterer. Tom very proudly shows his racism, and does not care who knows. For instance, when Toms says, “Well, it’s a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be- will be utterly submerged” (Fitzgerald 16). Tom Buchanan is very rude and he looks down upon people that are not in the same race as him. AS you continue reading, the reader will see: “Later in the novel, during his argument with Gatsby, Buchanan uses the ‘intermarriage between black and white,’ as a sign of the decay of various social and cultural institutions” (Lena 50). Tom does not respect people of different colors. Tom puts himself on a high seat: “And not only is Tom unable to relate directly to the world of nature he is also unable to relate directly to others outside his class and race” (Lehan “Civilization’s Going to Pieces” 86). Tom is very arrogant to different races, and people of different social standings. Within the novel we can see: “Tom’s violent attitudes towards those he deems inferior are not only evident in his, but also through sexist encounters with his wife Daisy, and his mistress du jour, Myrtle Wilson, an aspiring social climber” (Tunc 72). Tom himself even said, “Just last year. I went over there with another girl” (Fitzgerald 38). This statement in itself shows that Tom Buchanan is not a faithful husband to his beloved wife Daisy Buchanan. Once we see this we realize: “Thus when we think of Tom Buchanan as a power broker in this novel, we must realize that the system of power he manipulates is one that has come at the end of a long line of varying power systems” (Lehan “Civilizati...

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