Toms Character in the Great Gatsby

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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.

An example of this is when Nick is talking to tom about his accomplice in adultery and Nick says “Doesn’t her(Myrtle Wilson) husband object?” and Tom replies with “Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (Gatsby 26). This indicates that Tom is very cocky and ignorant. Tom’s immoral acts in the novel stem from his overconfidence and ignorance due to his wealth and power. This is further proved by the fact that when his first and only child was born, he left Daisy without any support only one hour after the birth of their daughter.

This is shown in the novel when Daisy says “Well she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where” (Gatsby 22). For most, the birth of a child would be a joyous occasion and a reason for celebration but as for Tom’s case, he had no love for Daisy at that time. If he had love for her, he would not commit a sin and perpetrate adultery with Myrtle Wilson. A man with strong morals would never commit the sin of betraying their spouse and then cause the other person to do the same in the process. Moreover, he uses his accomplice in the adultery as an object and has no care or consideration for her whatsoever.

An example of this is an altercation between Myrtle and Tom : “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy!

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