Compare And Contrast Tom And Gatsby

Peyton Camacho

Mr. Roe

English 3 cp

Period:2

3-12-14

The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis

Many people in life are different from one another, although many people are also very similar. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald has his characters act in very odd fashions. The characters in this book would practically do anything for wealth. Fitzgerald shows that wealth and upper class were big in the 1920’s just like it is today. Tom and Gatsby, who are both wealthy, show that class does not make you a better person.struggle They both struggle with a girl named Daisy, which in the end chooses to stay with one of them. These two characters share some similarities along with many differences.

Throughout the novel, both characters show their similarities towards one another. One of the biggest similarities is the wealth that both of these characters hold. Tom attended school at Yale and was born into the wealth of his family. Gatsby was a janitor which humiliated him and led him to become an illegal bootlegger. This is how Gatsby gained his wealth. Tom has many sports cars while Gatsby has an enormous mansion with lights so bright that it shines like a fair. Even though there is a difference in how they gained their riches, the two characters still have an immense quantity of wealth. Both characters also want Daisy to themselves. Gatsby goes into a crime business to gain his wealth in order to attract Daisy whom he is in love with. He also holds large parties which are mainly used to gain Daisy’s attention as well. The love Gatsby has for Daisy is so strong that he is willing to take the blame when Daisy kills Myrtle with his car. Nick asks if Daisy was driving and Gatsby says “Yes but of course I’ll take the blame for ...

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...aracteristics between the two are very different.

Toward the end of the novel, Daisy chooses high class over her first love. Daisy makes the decision to stay with Tom even after she has love affairs with Gatsby. As the readers think about why Daisy would go back to Tom, the idea that she is trapped is a common thought. Daisy makes the decision to go back to Tom in fear. Daisy fears losing her wealth and the high social status that Tom brings to her. On page 84 Daisy says “Oh you want too much!” to Gatsby telling him that he expects to much of her. Daisy feels as if she isn’t the girl Gatsby wants her to be. It seems as if Tom and Daisy reunite after the crazy day in the city. Overall Daisy wants wealth and high class which Tom gives to her and Gatsby did not.

In the novel The Great Gatsby, the conflict is created by the differences in the two opposing characters.