In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan is forced to compete with Jay Gatsby for his own wife’s love and life-long commitment. In the novel, Tom is able to win and retain Daisy’s love by intimidating her, publicly portraying Gatsby as a criminal who cannot be trusted, and finally, by dismissing Gatsby’s love and making it seem illegitimate. Through these methods, Tom crushes Gatsby’s dream and is able to convince Daisy to remain his faithful wife.
Tom tries to convince Daisy that she loves him by intimidating and taking advantage of her vulnerable and sentimental side. When Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy doesn’t love him, he instantly goes into defensive mode and tries to explain to Daisy why she does love him: “She does [love me], though. The trouble is that sometimes she gets foolish ideas in her head and doesn’t know what she’s doing...in my heart I love her all the time” (138). Tom is fully …show more content…
When he is first introduced in the novel he is described as being tough, cruel, powerful, and intimidating to those around him. He is not a man who responds well to being challenged or opposed, especially when it comes to his wife, whom he regards as one of his many valuable belongings. Gatsby’s advance towards Daisy presents a challenge to Tom, who is forced to do everything he can to defeat Gatsby in the battle for her love. All the methods Tom uses to delegitimize Gatsby are enough to successfully win the battle and keep Daisy for himself. At the heart of this battle though is something more than just Daisy: Tom is fighting for his own pride. He needs to prove to himself and everyone around him that “some common swindler” can not show up and steal his wife. For all he is portrayed as being extremely strong and intimidating, his need to crush those around him is actually a sign of his weakness. While Tom appears as a strong forceful man, he needs to suppress others to build up his own self esteem and hide his
Tom tries to convince Daisy that she loves him by intimidating and taking advantage of her vulnerable and sentimental side. When Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy doesn’t love him, he instantly goes into defensive mode and tries to explain to Daisy why she does love him: “She does [love me], though. The trouble is that sometimes she gets foolish ideas in her head and doesn’t know what she’s doing...in my heart I love her all the time” (138). Tom is fully …show more content…
When he is first introduced in the novel he is described as being tough, cruel, powerful, and intimidating to those around him. He is not a man who responds well to being challenged or opposed, especially when it comes to his wife, whom he regards as one of his many valuable belongings. Gatsby’s advance towards Daisy presents a challenge to Tom, who is forced to do everything he can to defeat Gatsby in the battle for her love. All the methods Tom uses to delegitimize Gatsby are enough to successfully win the battle and keep Daisy for himself. At the heart of this battle though is something more than just Daisy: Tom is fighting for his own pride. He needs to prove to himself and everyone around him that “some common swindler” can not show up and steal his wife. For all he is portrayed as being extremely strong and intimidating, his need to crush those around him is actually a sign of his weakness. While Tom appears as a strong forceful man, he needs to suppress others to build up his own self esteem and hide his