Similarities Between Tom And Daisy In The Great Gatsby

Gatsby's desperate clinging to his uncovered illusion stands in contrast to Tom, whose belief in illusions is unshakable, explaining the stark contrast in their fates. Unlike Gatsby, Tom is more privileged; he has an old-money background and security with “a family [that was] enormously wealthy”. With his strong personality, “wholesome bulkiness” and force, he is the perfect complement to Daisy, who has little willpower of her own and simply wants“ her life shaped now, immediately— and the decision must be made by some force—of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality—that was close at hand.” Therefore, because Tom’s reality is more secure, he can indulge in illusion without worry. Tom believes that he is superior to everyone and can

get whatever he wants. To strengthen this illusion, Tom also always surrounds himself with lower class and weaker people such as Myrtle and George so that he can belittle and agitate them as much as he wants without facing repercussions such as the times when he broke Myrtle’s nose. Even when Tom faces difficulties and insecurities, he always tries to bend the world to this illusion. Indeed, Tom is quite similar to Gatsby in this way, but Tom’s background, history, personality, and security along with his stubborn faith in his illusions explains why he prospers in the end. For example, when Tom suspects that “his wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control”, he finds all the negative evidence that he can about Gatsby, using this to separate Daisy and Gatsby, even letting them sit in the same car to demonstrate his superiority over Gatsby. He does not give up his illusion that he can conquer Daisy, even though Daisy seems to initially side with and love Gatsby. He chooses to exert his confidence and exemplify the contrast between the power of his reality such as his status, his marital bond with Daisy, and the powerlessness at the heart of of Gatsby’s lies. Gatsby, on the other hand, is too awkward and unassertive around Daisy, and he completely loses his composure once the love of his life denies that she never loved Tom. Moreover, even though Tom does not know who killed Myrtle, he does not interrogate Daisy to find the truth. He instead assumes that it was Gatsby because it suits him to think this. Armed with this information, Tom tells George who he thinks killed Gatsby and by doing so, lets George, a resident of the Valley of Ashes, do his dirty work and end Gatsby, the one person who perplexed him and challenged his illusions. When Nick confronts Tom about his misdoings, Tom safely hides behind his advantages and claims that Gatsby “had it coming to him”.
One can see that all of the characters left standing at the end of the novel are more like Tom than Gatsby; they are wealthy, powerful, and not unreasonably ambitious, so even if they do betray their illusions, they escape without harm.

Daisy thinks she is pure and carefree and fun, which she symbolizes through her fluttering white dresses, but this is clearly not true as she is cognizant of the world and her place in society as she says, “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.“ But Daisy does not challenge this view and chooses to embrace it, staying away from complex issues like ideal love. Even when she seriously diverges from the illusions that make up her life, stating her opinion on Tom by calling him “revolting”, she does not face any repercussions. Unlike powerless Myrtle, who receives a beating when she angers Tom, Daisy receives love from Tom. In fact, Tom seduces her by reminding her of their past and by “ talking intently across the table at her and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own”. In the end, she ends up with Tom, a husband who can now be devoted to her and make all the decisions. Her illusion of being pure and carefree is restored. Even Nick is trapped in his illusion that he is an unbiased narrator. But it is quite suspicious that he has to keep on asserting that fact, as if he’s trying to convince himself. Other characters such as Jordan see through this illusion, claiming, “I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person.” Even the reader sees that Nick shows bias towards Gatsby as Nick idolizes him and treats him as a good person who fell upon unfortunate circumstances. In fact, he admits to “a feeling of defiance, of scornful solidarity between Gatsby and me against them all.” But this feeling does not cause any harm to him. Even though he later criticizes Tom, refusing to shake his hand at first, Tom does not hurt

or threaten him. Nick is protected by his honest money, his prominent family background, prestigious education, and well-connected social circle, things Gatsby did not have. But Nick chooses not to see Gatsby as a bootlegger or an imposter.
This view from Nick invites us to inspect Gatsby more than something as a bootlegger and perhaps as a hero. Nick describes that he “wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart … Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction.” Even though all the main characters have their illusions and ambitions, Nick admires only Gatsby because “there was something gorgeous about him… an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person”. Everybody else’s illusions involves greed and elitism, but only Gatsby’s appears to be pure. Not only is it pure, but it transcends his powers. Even though reality says he can be nothing more than a bootlegger, he believes that he can be a knight in shining armor. Nick commends how “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Gatsby’s light is Daisy, which is almost impossible to achieve. No matter what challenges Gatsby face, he is unrelenting. He is going against the current, against the odds and social forces against him. He loses his fake charm that he created and devolves to his past self as he grows closer to Daisy, wanting to recreate the past. This past self is the reality and the hope to recreate the past is the illusion that Nick appreciates; They both depict Gatsby’s true love, and even though his vehicle to receive this love was questionable and eventually led to his destruction, ultimately his motive was just noble love. However, reality cannot be denied. Even though Gatsby is heroic, his story can only be told by someone like Nick who has the luxury of believing his illusions without consequence. He can afford to expose so many people, trust bootleggers, and completely challenge conventional views of society. Anybody else who believes in and writes about such biased illusions might end up with a similar fate like Gatsby or Myrtle.