Great Gatsby Essay

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In the Great Gatsby, we are faced with two extremely wealthy men, a beautiful wife, and a mistress. Jay Gatsby, a very mysterious man, who is extremely wealthy and well known for his parties, is very interesting as well as spontaneous. Tom Buchanan, a man made wealthy by being a professional polo player as well as having a gracious inheritance, is very bitter and somewhat cynical. Daisy, a beautiful young lady and the wife of Tom, is very light hearted but is also in love with Gatsby, almost as much as she loves Tom’s money. I believe Gatsby and Tom are most different because of the way they have earned their money. Tom is more traditional, proper, and proud of his money because that is the way that he was raised. Gatsby on the other hand, has the “new money” effect and is more exuberant and carefree with his money than Tom is. Tom acts the way he does such as cheating on Daisy due to the normality in his life, day by day nothing changes. Whereas in Gatsby’s life every day is different, he has huge parties and lives a very enjoyable life making it easier for him to focus on Daisy instead of looking for distractions form the norm. Daisy and Myrtle live very different lives as well, Daisy lives in a very lavish house, filled with servants and she is waited on hand and foot. Myrtle lives in a small gas station and is very poor, with her husband who works hard all day. They do have ways that they are similar though, they both have abusive and crazed husbands. In one scene, "You did it, Tom," she said accusingly. "I know you didn't mean to, but you did do it. That's what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen… “. Myrtle’s husband punches her in the face during the book, and Tom continues to... ... middle of paper ... ...nce. When Gatsby or Tom arrive somewhere, it seems like they are treated like royalty and this is commonplace for that time. Another main factor that separates Tom and Gatsby is Daisy, and the way they treat her. Tom has all these servants that take care of Daisy at all times, where Gatsby says if Daisy was his he would show her much more personal attention, take her on vacations and show her another side to the lavish lifestyle she lives, where the other person actually cares about her. The life of Myrtle seems very secretive, especially the way that she interacts with Tom; this is influenced very much by his money and her desire to get some of it. Tom and Myrtle also had a brief abusive spat. “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai ––“. Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.

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