Grotesque Social Character In The Great Gatsby

Register to read the introduction… His relationship with George Wilson, the husband of Tom’s lover Myrtle, most poignantly expresses this cruelty with Tom putting off selling his car to Wilson until “next week”. This gives Tom power over Wilson. Tom is also aggressive and ‘power-consumed’ in his relationship with his lover Myrtle. At his and Myrtle’s party in their New York apartment, (an ostentatious show of Tom’s wealth), Tom responds to Myrtle’s taunts by “[breaking] her nose with his open hand” (p.39). He emerges from the party as a boorish bully who uses his social status and physical strength to dominate those around him, and does not hesitate to lash out violently in order to preserve his authority over Myrtle. In my personal opinion, this encounter leaves me with the impression that Tom is a grotesque social character. …show more content…
Although we expect an angry reaction from Tom, all he does is “look at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy” in shock. Having no qualms with his own extramarital affair, when faced with his wife’s infidelity he assumes the position of outraged victim. However, one would expect a much more physical reaction from someone who was described by his own wife as ‘a brute’. In this instance, there is the suggestion that Tom as powerful and ‘brutish’ as we suspect, and his superfluous ego is merely a product of his vast