Gatsby and Tom
Essay Preview: Gatsby and Tom
Report this essay
Gatsby and Tom are both very affluent, not just in wealth but the way they go on with their lives and conduct themselves very highly around West Egg. They both strive to be financially supported and together find their high status in society important. Tom went to Yale and shows off with expensive sports cars compared to Gatsby who shows his need for wealth after he quits his janitorial job because of his mortification of the job and goes into organized crime.
Both Gatsby and Tom are also similar as they want Daisy to be their own and Gatsby strives for Daisys affection by buying the absolute biggest house he could find in West Egg which just so happens to be across from Daisy. He loves her so much that he does not mind taking the blame for her, and when Daisy kills Myrtle Wilson with his car, he takes the blame. Tom uses his great wealth and persona to keep Daisy interested in him by doing whatever she desires.
Toms hatred towards Gatsby and vice versa demonstrates one another similarity that they share. Tom and Gatsby argument in the Plaza Hotel show their dislike for one another. In conversations they both bring up each others faults and reveal them to their nearby friends. An example of this is when Tom yells “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.”
Although Tm and Gatsby share many similarities, Tom differs from Gatsby in many ways. On of Toms main attributes consist of being a strong athlete and having a instinctive personality. He also lives in East Egg which contains people that have old money, like himself. He attended Yale which led into never having to do much work when he was younger due to this wealth. He shows his money off by buying extravagant things for himself which he shows off to others, such as Daisy. People describe Tom as cold-hearted, and as a shallow man who doesnt really care about what happens to others. Toms careless nature gets illustrated when he “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” Tom likes Daisy not for true love but rather for a possession-type relationship in which he treats her to his vast fortune. He cheats on her and is gratified of it and doesnt attempt to love her because he knows his wealth will keep her with him.
Gatsby differs from Tom in many ways. For instance, he lets people he has not once met before attend his parties at his mansion. Gatsby lives in West Egg which contains people who have new money, which he gained by illegal activities such as boot legging. He came from a poor family in North Dakota and struggled with obtaining enough money to make it through college. Gatsby is known throughout the book as a loyal and good-hearted man who loves Daisy and really wants her true love. He is willing