Comparison Tom and Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” Essay

In The Great Gatsby, written by Scott Fitzgerald, turkey cock Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are two characters that struggle with the idea of losing their shared put forward love interest, Daisy. tomcat and Gatsbys attachment to Daisy is differently justified due to their contrastive views, personalities, attitudes, actions, backgrounds, and an another(prenominal)(prenominal) factors, whatsoever of which they do share and concur in. Fitzgerald did a salient thing here. He created two purposefully different characters- one that is slowly despised, the other that although not double-dyed(a), is likable- and united them in their love for money, the power that comes with it , and their mending for the ultimate prize Daisy. In this essay, we entrust analyze turkey cock and Gatsbys differences and similarities in several areas, and decide whether or not they are perfect foils of each other kindred they are commonly perceived to be. To force who tom turkey and Gatsby are, we must first analyze where they come from. In this area, gobbler Buchannan and Jay Gatsby couldnt be more different.Tom comes from an old and wealthy wampum family, hence his re steadnce in East nut where the old aristocracy of the countrys richest families reside. Tom symbolizes the idea of being born into a golden crib, a prestigious family name, and into old money. Tom is one of those intimate few who neer had to work for anything in his life, exclusively is privileged the duty description for him? Fitzgerald says in the story, They were careless people, Tom and Daisythey smashed up things and creatures and accordingly retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or any(prenominal) it was that kept them together, and permit other people clean up the muss they had made. Toms past never allowed him to learn how to own up to his mistakes, accept fault, and deal with difficult situations, but rather made him unavailing to adapt to the real world. Because of this, I use the term privileged more often than not when describing Tom.On the other hand, Jay Gatsby was born into what some of us call the other side of the tracks. Gatsby faced an impecunious childhood in rural jointure Dakota, but was an ambitious small townspeople boy with big dreams who persuasion himself to be superior to the farming life, and simply rejected the lot he had been dealt in life. Gatsbys father says to the narrator, Nick, Jimmy was bound to get in the lead Do you notice what hes got ab come in improving his see? He was incessantly great for that, and that is exactly what Gatsby did.Gatsby left his kinsfolk town and set out to find his fortune, and although some of his actions were not too admirable, crowd Gatz, the poor farm boy, used his ingenuity to reinvent himself and become Jay Gatsby, the successful millionaire. Fitzgerald makes Gatsbys residence in West Egg, where the newly rich reside, a place for a class of vulgar and ostentatious people who will al ways lack the affable g bleed and taste that the residents of East Egg possess, and can only be achieved from birth. Although the green light in Daisys garden is symbolic for hope, I stand for it also symbolizes the green-eyed junkie.It symbolizes the envy and frustration Gatsby must purport through the realization that stock-still though he achieved an incredible amount of wealth, he will never be an East Egger. Gatsbys impoverished past makes him unsatisfactory to this socially elite East Egg society that Tom was born into, and is of course an accepted part of. Now that we know about their contrasting pasts, let us take a look at their personalities. Tom is an overpowering, humongous man who uses his presence to intimidate people. It says in the book , two shining, compulsive eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his sit clothes could hide the enormous power of tha t consistencyit was a body capable of enormous leveragea cruel body. On the other hand, Gatsby come alongs to be shy and reserved to the point where he is not even acknowledged at his own parties.In my opinion, Gatsby did not do so well up when attempting to pull off a defying front during his confrontation with Tom. Tom also comes off as a racist bigot who fears that the Black race will eventually submerge the White race, a sexist, and an abusive, insensitive, brute, interchangeable Daisy calls him. Gatsbys open house parties which contain very colorful characters, on the other hand, seem to show little prejudice or assessment in his persona. Gatsbys action of waiting outside the Buchannans home all night just to make sure Tom would not physically harm Daisy, show just how sensitive Gatsby is to Daisys well being. Tom seems to be very blunt and crude, while Gatsbys distinguishing sustain is the enigma that is his life. Jay Gatsby holds himself to high expectations and lived h is life chasing a single dream, while Tom Buchanan seems to have no direction, goals, or dreams, other than to waste away his wealth, and enliven his selfish needs.In my opinion, the fundamental difference between Tom and Gatsby is how Fitzgerald unyielding that justice would be served to each concerning part. Tom is the definition of selfishness, arrogance, cruelty, and ultimately, the ugly side of inherited wealth. Despite all his faults, Gatsby is more good than he is bad, and is a clear rags-to-riches success story. However, Tom ends up getting away scot free, never facing any consequences for his actions or immorality, while Gatsby ends up killed for a iniquity he did not render, to save a women who did not love him back. As always, the poor man gets the short end of the stick. Now that we stated some clear differences between Tom and Gatsby, lets look at some of their similarities. Tom and Gatsby are some(prenominal) dishonest and deeply flawed men who commit consistent sh ows of indiscretions.For example, Tom condemns Daisys affair, but does not have the decency to be discreet about his own. Gatsbys shady business dealings with Wolfsheim and illegitimate ways of acquiring wealth can, without a doubt, compare to Toms unscrupulous character. Both Tom and Gatsby lie and cheat, but Tom does it for the repair purpose of self-indulgence, while Gatsby does what he does in pursuance of his dream. Tom and Gatsby both have controlling personalities, and will do what they can to get what they want, careless(predicate) of the consequences. Another similarity between Tom and Gatsby is that both men seem to be playing a role when every theyre in public, by putting on a facade for others to see. With his good looks, education, horses, polo shirts, go pants, and boots, Tom tries to impress and dissemble others, while hiding the monster he really is. On the same token, the ostentatious parties, mysterious past, and made up stories are all used by Gatsby to hide h is humble beginnings, and bilk ways of attaining his wealth.Without a doubt, Gatsby and Toms most obvious data link is their link to Daisy. Beautiful, educated, and well groomed, Daisy is the personification of feminism in the 1920s, and women of an elite social class. Although Daisy is the object of their affection, or better yet, desire, I do not think that either Tom or Gatsby are in love with her. Tom is so pompous, that he married Daisy not because he loved her, but because everyone else wanted her. Tom wants to keep Daisy now because he knows how socially unacceptable divorce would have been, and she looks good under his arm. Gatsby is not so more in love with her, as much as he is with the idea of her. Gatsby places Daisy on this pedestal, and wants her to live up to expectations that she neither can, wants, or deserves. In a way, both Tom and Gatsby see Daisy asa highly enviable prize that will attest to their own self-worth.In conclusion, because Tom and Gatsby do share some characteristics with each other they may not be perfect foils, but looking at the big picture, they are same oil and water. Tom is a despicable character who embodies everything that is wrong with society, and fly through life unpunished. Gatsby is a man who came from humble beginnings, and made something out of himself for the sole purpose of recuperating the one thing that ever made him feel alive Daisy. Gatsby lied, cheated, and took part in organized crime, so what can peradventure him great, you may ask.Well, in my opinion, Gatsbys never-ending optimism, simplicity of heart, and power to make his dreams into reality is what makes him Great. In reality, Gatsby never cared for the glamorous parties, the nice clothes, or the fast cars. Acquiring these luxuries were only important to him because he felt like they were necessary for him to accomplish his ultimate goal- winning Daisys heart back. Daisy somatic Gatsbys American dream, and unfortunately for him, his search fo r her was somewhat more of a fatally romantic idealism that seemed to be best suited in a world of fairy tails and happy endings. I adjudge with Nick when he tells Gatsby, Theyre a rotten crowd youre worth the whole damn bunch put together.