Arrogance Of Tom Buchanan In The Great Gatsby

565 Words3 Pages

Tom Buchanan is a man of many negative characteristics. From his greed to his arrogance it will be very difficult to find many, if any, likeable qualities about him. With that in mind, it could be said that Tom Buchanan is a deplorable person by way of said arrogance, and greed, as well hypocrisy.
Tom Buchanan is a very hypocritical man. He expects Daisy to stop her affair on the merit of his “love” for her. This expectation is hypocritical as he himself has taken part in multiple affairs during his marriage, yet expects Daisy to adhere to traditional family values. For instance in chapter 7 he says, “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white." though this statement is outdated in today’s …show more content…

He lives under the assumption that he is simply better than most people. His arrogance is revealed though his interactions with characters, the attitudes he demonstrates, his statements regarding supremacy, and his controlling persona. These attitudes are underlined with racial remarks and feelings. This is particularly apparent in his thoughts on the topic of white supremacy. In the beginning of the story he says, "If we don't look out the white race will be-will be utterly submerged…”. Though he took this view from a book, the fact that he would openly agree with it shows that he is arrogant enough to even consider himself above these other races, (though the general consensus of that time period followed the same line of thought).
To conclude, Tom Buchanan was an arrogant, greedy, hypocritical man. He lived under the false assumption that he was better than most. This is why he was able to spout his hypocrisy on others. And since he is an arrogant man, and was rich since birth, he likely has established a feeling of entitlement that feeds into his greed. Overall, Tom Buchanan is not an admirable

Open Document