Tom Buchanan Chapter 1 Summary

1. What do you find is the most crucial in the plot in Chapter 1?

The most important plot point of Chapter 1 is Nick viewing the marriage between Daisy and Tom. First, it shows us the personalities of Tom, an aggressive, short tempered womanizer who ignores his daughter and 'accidentally' bruises his wife, and Daisy, a passive wife who is angry at her husband not only for having a mistress, but that the subject of his affair is so tactless as to call Tom in his home. Besides this, it also gives a brief glimpse of Daisy's outlook when she states her wish that her daughter grow to be a 'beautiful little fool' so that she won't know any better of her mother or father.

2. How does Nick describe himself at the beginning of the novel?

Nick opens his personal description with his family history, stating he hails from the Middle West of America. He also speaks of him being a Carraway, descendants of the Dukes of Buccleuch which came into America in the form of his grandfather's brother, whom he never met. Nick then goes on to describe his teachings at New Haven in 1915, his participation in World War 1, and then finally him coming east to be a bond/stock businessman.

How does Nick describes Tom Buchanan?

Nick describes Tom, first, as 'one of the most powerful ends that ever played Football in New Haven', letting us know that he is strong. He then goes on to solidify the claim of him being straw-haired and sturdy in build, with a hard mouth and a bearing which says he believes himself above others. He tops off his description of Tom with defining him as aggressive in stance and that the nature of his clothing does nothing to hide the power of his body. Not long after, Nick states that everything about Tom seemed to say 'I'm stronger and more of a man then you are.".

4. Who is Jordan Baker? What does Nick find appealing about