Tom Buchanan Is A Villain

Tom, the true Oppressor
Order in the court! There has been a murder in the town of West Egg, and the purpose of this meeting is to discuss the person responsible for the death of Jay Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, many characters take questionable actions that hurt their reputations; furthermore, there are several literary perspectives which one can compose their argument upon. Gatsby, as a man whose most valuable possession was his ability to dream, redirected his life in pursuance of the American dream. For this reason alone, Gatsby deserves a justified death. This being said, Tom Buchanan, of East Egg, is the only person admissible to this sort of crime. Tom is a wealthy, educated, and powerful man; however, despite

his charming persona, Tom is the villain, regardless of the literary lens through one views the text.

From a historical perspective, Tom Buchanan is the true villain of The Great Gatsby. A historical literary critic sees the text within its historical context, which gives the reader information about when the text is set, and the ways in which people of this historical period saw and thought about the world in which they lived. Tom valued materialism more than he did common morals: for example, Daisy claims, that Tom uses his “hulking” (Fitzgerald 12) physique to bruise her finger. Instantly, the reader can infer that Tom and Daisy’s relationship has a dark and abusive side despite the initial fondness between them. This is evident when Daisy states, “I hope she’s a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). In other words, the way women were viewed during this time may have given them more freedom, but they were still set apart from males and were portrayed as the less important “fool” (Fitzgerald 17) of society. Daisy is not literally a fool; however, she is surrounded by the constant sexist and degrading presence of her husband, Tom. In addition, Tom states, “Civilization’s going to pieces” (Fitzgerald 12) while referencing

the book ‘The Rise of the Colored Empires[sic]’ (Fitzgerald 17), and the importance of keeping minorities from attaining social power. This statement represents his effort to maintain his position at the top of the social ladder. Tom is using scapegoatism to place the blame of societies hardships on minorities in order to draw attention elsewhere. As the oppressor, he focuses on others weaknesses rather than his own, in furtherance of keeping his egotistic charisma alive. Subsequently, one can infer that the thing making Gatsby great is the power to imagine himself better than his actual circumstances, which is how he became so powerful and wealthy. This goes back to the American dream; which is the pursuit of happiness and prosperity. As Gatsby is imagining himself with Daisy, he realizes that wealth is something that can help him achieve his goal. This being said, Tom was Gatsby’s main opponent, and the only person stopping him from achieving his own manifest destiny. Gatsby's dream of extreme wealth, love, and power embodies the distinct circumstances that construct the foundation of the 1920’s. Tom is materialistic, egoistic, and the adversary of Jay Gatsby; therefore, he is the guilty suspect from a historical perspective. The Author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had a very fascinating life. As a result, many of his experiences are directly mirrored into his work.
Furthermore, looking at it from a biographical perspective, Tom Buchanan is still the true villain of The Great Gatsby.

A biographical literary critic uses the text to gain insight into the authors work, which can provide the reader a better understanding of themes, historical references, social oppositions or movements, and the creation of fictional characters. At the same time, this information may not correctly reflect the author's true intentions. Gatsby and Fitzgerald have many parallels between their lifestyles. Fitzgerald, as a 17-year old, fell in love with a woman named Zelda Sayre; ultimately, using his charming personality to get her to marry him. Similarly, Gatsby became fixated on a woman named Daisy. From a young age, a man named Dan Cody mentored Gatsby and taught him how to use his pompous nature to attain everything he wanted. For example, Gatsby used these skills to gain the friendship of Nick Carraway. Nick describes his smile as, “one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life” (Fitzgerald 48). This shows he had one ambition he was seeking to fulfill: the American dream. This being said, Tom was Gatsby’s main opponent, and the only person stopping him from achieving his own manifest destiny. Nonetheless, one can infer that the thing making Gatsby great is the power to imagine himself better than his actual circumstances, which is how he became so powerful and wealthy. This goes back to the

American dream; which is the pursuit of happiness and prosperity. As Gatsby is imagining himself with Daisy, he realizes that wealth is something that can help him achieve his goal. In contrast, Tom uses his wealth to support his position as the “dominant race” (Fitzgerald 13), in society. This portrays the indisputable difference between the motives of Tom’s selfish actions in comparison to Gatsby’s selfless intentions. For example, Gatsby ran a side business in order to throw his extravagant parties and attract Daisy. Similarly, Fitzgerald devoted his life to writing novels in order to maintain his lavish lifestyle and make his wife happy. Both, Fitzgerald and Gatsby, had noble morals that influenced their actions while Tom had other values in mind. When looking at it from the biological perspective, Tom Buchanan maintains his role as the true villain. In The Great Gatsby, many characters possess common traits, which can be found in countless other novels.
Tom’s role as the villain is not only verified to be true through a historical and biological lense, but through an archetypal lense as well. In literary criticism, an archetype signifies a recognizable pattern or model. An archetypal literary critic, identifies: story designs, character types, or images that can be found in a variety of works of literature. The archetypal similarities between texts and behaviors are thought to reflect a set of universal, even primitive, ways of seeing the world. In many instances, Tom Buchanan is the bully or jock of The Great Gatsby. Tom uses his strength and power to intimidate those who are weaker: physically, socially, and economically. For instance, Daisy describes him as, “a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen” (Fitzgerald 12). One can compare Tom to the jock in a high school movie or Gaston, a handsome villain, from the movie The Beauty and the Beast. As the bully, he focuses on others weaknesses rather than his own, in furtherance of keeping his egotistic charisma alive. On the other hand, Gatsby represents the champion who dedicates his life to winning back his past lover, Daisy. His unique qualities are shown during his meeting with Daisy at Nick’s house when he said, “I’m sorry about the clock” (Fitzgerald 86) to Nick after knocking a clock off of his mantelpiece. Gatsby’s carelessness shows that he is still human, despite his ostentatious lifestyle. This is important, because his individuality is being shown in a pure, transparent way. By abstaining from using his captivating persona, he is showing affection for Daisy in a genuine way. The main setting takes place in West and East Egg, part of Long Island. Both locations are symbolizing the difference between social classes; East Egg representing old wealth, and West Egg representing new wealth. While giving Nick a tour of his home in the east, Tom states “ I’ve got a nice place here” (Fitzgerald 7). In making this comment, Tom is attempting to impress Nick with his wondrous material possessions. Although this may seem trivial, it is crucial to consider that Tom is an egomaniac. As a man whose only woe is playing a bad game of polo, he becomes severely obsessed with keeping his subconscious ego alive. In opposition, West Egg is described as, “the less fashionable” (Fitzgerald 5) of the two towns; however, the fact that Tom decides to live in East Egg corresponds with his demand for constant attention.