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Tom Buchanan Body Biography
267
Tom Buchanan
Kyle Wrigley
My Claim
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald utilizes Tom Buchanan as a symbol to expose the theme of Betrayal & Dishonesty.
Head
The head is comprised of three parts:
- Thoughts
- Eyes
- Mouth
Head
His Thoughts
Head (Thoughts)
‘I wonder where the devil he met Daisy.’ (page 103)
Tom is the character that is most out of the loop. Daisy fails to mention that bit of her past to Tom, which is why it blindsides him in the furious rant he went on later. Tom is enraged whenever he is betrayed, but whenever he betrays someone, he is perfectly fine with it.
The Eyes
"I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife...” (page 130)
Tom sees Gatsby as his enemy, because of Gatsby having an affair with his wife Daisy. There is an extreme level of hypocrisy in this statement, as Tom does exactly that very frequently, and with other people’s wives.
Head (Eyes)
The Mouth
Head (Mouth)
"She's not leaving me!" Tom's words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby. "Certainly not for a common swindler who'd have to steal the ring he put on her finger." (page 133)
Tom is trying to hold on to Daisy, despite it becoming very clear that he has been betrayed by her. She has already admitted to loving Gatsby throughout their marriage, which not only makes Tom furious, but also give Gatsby more to throw at Tom during the heated argument.
Heart
Heart
”And what’s more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time.” (page 131)
Tom admits to cheating on Daisy, but attempts to defend himself by saying that he still loved Daisy during those times, and loves her now. Just by admitting it, he’s admitting that he has betrayed their very marriage.
Hands
Hands
"You're crazy!" he exploded. "I can't speak about what happened five years ago, because I didn't know Daisy then—and I'll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that's a God damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now." (page 131)
Despite being so obviously betrayed, Tom is still attempting to defend Daisy, as well as himself from heartbreak. He is failing spectacularly in this scene.
Feet
Feet
“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.”(page 130)
Tom wants to be the one who walks out with Daisy, who is trying to stop them fighting, but only making the situation worse by admitting she loved Gatsby throughout her marriage with Tom. In a full-on rage, Tom begins insulting Gatsby by calling him a nobody, attempting to expose him for a complete jerk (which he’s doing to himself quite nicely).
Outside of Tom's Body
Outside of Body
"I found out what your 'drug-stores' were." He turned to us and spoke rapidly. "He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong."
Because Daisy is in love with Gatsby, Tom is trying to destroy Gatsby’s image by exposing his occupation as a bootlegger. Gatsby doesn’t even try to deny it, which both angers Tom and gives Gatsby more control over the situation. However, Tom has just exposed that Gatsby is dishonest about parts of his life.