Tom Buchanan Materialism

Words are important. Anyone can forge their own worlds out of nothing more than a pen and a thought; authors must pick their words deliberately as most words carry additional meaning. One of the easiest examples of this phenomenon to observe is the phrasing of a character’s first quotation, which often times hints at said character’s future. While many authors across many novels use this to strengthen their works, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this tactic in his novel The Great Gatsby when introducing Jay Gatsby and his foil: Tom Buchanan.

Tom Buchanan’s first words provide an insight into just how materialistic his world view is. In the novel, when Tom Buchanan first speaks, it is soon after Nick Carraway arrives at Buchanan’s house. Carraway

is awed by the scale of Buchanan’s property. Despite having a nondescript conversation with Carraway, Buchanan’s first words come later: “‘I’ve got a nice place here,’ he said, his eyes flashing about restlessly.” This quote foreshadows Buchanan’s character by having his first intelligible words being him bragging about his property, rather than him greeting Nick, or talking about his wife. Throughout the story, Buchanan is living a large, rich lifestyle with the sole goal of getting more money. Despite doing some questionable things, like cheating on his wife with a different married woman, he remains extremely cautious of what’s happening around him, and tends to have an alibi, such as him and Gatsby switching cars before Gatsby runs over Myrtle, the girl Buchanan was cheating on his wife with. Fitzgerald chose this except from a conversation to introduce Buchanan with in order to indicate to the reader that Buchanan, despite having a seemingly lovely relationship with his wife, cares more for his material possessions than the affection of his wife.

Unlike the boisterously social Buchanan, who is seen having a conversation before his first words are spoken, the reclusive Gatsby’s first words aren’t spoken; he is silent in his first appearance.

When Gatsby is finally revealed in the fleeting moments of chapter 1, Carraway has just returned home from Tom Buchanan’s house. It is the middle of the night, and Carraway is resting in his car. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he sees who he can only assume is Gatsby. He struggles to decide whether or not to call out to Gatsby and introduce himself. He turns to gaze out over the bay, attempting to see what Gatsby was looking at. However, “When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness.” Gatsby’s first words, or lack thereof, is a hint towards Gatsby’s character, in more than him not speaking. Him not speaking, having no first words so to speak, helps to lay the groundwork for the mystery the character commands. Some in the novel aren’t even sure that Gatsby even exists. Nothing is known about him and contradictory rumors fly through the mouths and ears of New York’s elite in the quest to find out who, or what, Gatsby is. In Gatsby’s first appearance, Fitzgerald chooses to end the scene, and indeed the chapter, by mentioning the noises in the night. This hints at Gatsby as, throughout the novel, he is holding lavish, loud, flamboyant parties. These parties serve as little more than background noise and a mating call targeted

towards Daisy, the way a pond of frogs provides background noise to outsiders, but a mating call to those who understand. Despite having no first words, Fitzgerald uses mystery and miscellaneous noises to foreshadow the bulk of Gatsby’s characteristics.

The first words of Tom Buchanan provide a mark on what he finds valuable, whereas Jay Gatsby’s first words, or lack thereof, emphasise the mystery of the character to all but the reader. These two characters showcase how Fitzgerald foreshadowed the characters stories from the first pen-stroke. Because of how deliberately Fitzgerald planted his words, one universal truth about literature is shown: words are important.