People with an immeasurable ego believe they are above authority and destroy all the morality of man and their relationships with others. Combining these repelling characteristics into one person makes the perfect antagonist. Tom Buchanan portrays this role of the perfect antagonist in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tom’s selfishness and arrogance cloud his judgment with his wife Daisy and leads to poor decision-making in his marriage. Tom represents the world of rich, entitled, and powerful people who care nothing for others and then expect sympathy for their actions.
Tom Buchanan is a part of the upper class in the 1920’s, which consists of two types: Old money and new money. Tom is considered to be old money because his family …show more content…
Nick compares the two and explains why he believes Tom’s actions are less valid even though the pair do comparable things to the outside world. Both men have a galore of money but he gives more respect to Gatsby, mainly because Gatsby has worked to be where he is today. Gatsby starts from the lower class and works his way to the top; he has the motivation that Nick admires. Tom willingly obtains the inheritance money just by having the last name Buchanan. He has very little motivation and is not concerned that he has never worked a day in his life for what he …show more content…
Nick does not argue with Tom’s nerve to ignore the fact he had a man killed and make everything about himself. Tom’s blatant lack of respect or consideration for other people and his hypocrisy towards Gatsby verifies that he is not worthy of sympathy from other characters or the readers. Buchanan always finds a way to make the discussion about himself even when he does not deserve the sympathy; he believes that he can demand it. The egotistical and selfish characteristics that Tom illustrates make him the perfect antagonist. Living in the upper social and economic class without having to work for money, Tom obtains a sense of entitlement and finds it acceptable to use everyone to get anything he wants. By having no morals, the choices he makes regarding the way he treats people or things affect his relationships negatively. His boorish behavior depicts a materialistic and controlling man who does not evoke the sympathy he tries so hard to
Tom Buchanan is a part of the upper class in the 1920’s, which consists of two types: Old money and new money. Tom is considered to be old money because his family …show more content…
Nick compares the two and explains why he believes Tom’s actions are less valid even though the pair do comparable things to the outside world. Both men have a galore of money but he gives more respect to Gatsby, mainly because Gatsby has worked to be where he is today. Gatsby starts from the lower class and works his way to the top; he has the motivation that Nick admires. Tom willingly obtains the inheritance money just by having the last name Buchanan. He has very little motivation and is not concerned that he has never worked a day in his life for what he …show more content…
Nick does not argue with Tom’s nerve to ignore the fact he had a man killed and make everything about himself. Tom’s blatant lack of respect or consideration for other people and his hypocrisy towards Gatsby verifies that he is not worthy of sympathy from other characters or the readers. Buchanan always finds a way to make the discussion about himself even when he does not deserve the sympathy; he believes that he can demand it. The egotistical and selfish characteristics that Tom illustrates make him the perfect antagonist. Living in the upper social and economic class without having to work for money, Tom obtains a sense of entitlement and finds it acceptable to use everyone to get anything he wants. By having no morals, the choices he makes regarding the way he treats people or things affect his relationships negatively. His boorish behavior depicts a materialistic and controlling man who does not evoke the sympathy he tries so hard to