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The amount of shallowness a man can be is sometimes absurd. The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells a story about a fictional cast of characters living in a town separated by West Egg and East Egg in Long Island. One of the characters in the novel is Tom Buchana who lives in East Egg. Tom is a friend of the narrator whom he became friends with at Yale University. In this novel, Tom Buchanan is portrayed as shallow through his speech, effects on others, and actions.
A representation of Tom being shallow would be through his speech. Tom is a character that has said some arrogant comments throughout the novel such as, “It’s a fine book… The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific and stuff…” (Fitzgerald 13) Tom is arrogant and racist in considering the white race as the dominant race only cares for himself and has no regard for the people at his table or their beliefs. Furthermore, Tom has also stated “Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 131). In the statement, Tom confesses that he cheated multiple times on his wife Daisy; the fact that he told on himself but still claims he loves her shows how self-centered and manipulative he can be. Tom is only trying to keep Daisy in his corner after he finds out that she has been seeing Gatsby for some time now.
Another way Tom is portrayed as shallow is through his effects on others. There are countless times Tom has revealed this. One particular moment is when “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”(Fitzgerald 37) Tom doesn’t feel bad for breaking her nose out of anger. He went so low to hit a woman but had said previously that he still loved his wife while doing this. Furthermore, Tom has also done some manipulative things that lead to the terminal death of Gatsby. During his last few lines in the Novel, Tom says to Nick “What if I did tell him?... He ran over Myrtle like a dog”(Fitzgerald 178) Tom confessed to Manipulating George to kill Gatsby after Daisy ran her over in Gatsby’s car. Tom has convinced himself that even if Daisy was driving Gatsby should be responsible. Tom Buchana slept with George’s wife, lied to him about selling him a car, and in a last attempt to save himself from going to jail told George that Gatsby was the man to blame for his wife’s death.
Finally, Tom has shown by his actions how simple-minded he is. While at dinner with Daisy, Nick, and Gatsby, Tom made it his mission to expose Gatsby. He went on and said “I found out what your 'drug-stores' were... He and his Wolfshien bought up a lot of... drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 133) Tom wants to expose Gatsby for having no high moral for himself and for being a fraud and prove to Daisy that he is not who he says he is in an attempt to get her not to leave him. Another statement that shows how self-centered he is is when he tells Nick “We’re getting off… I want you to meet my girl” Tom shows no respect for Nick and his wife for the fact that he is his cousin and tries to bring him to see his mistress with no regard for Nick’s opinion about it.
In conclusion, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells a story about a fictional cast of characters living in a town on Long Island. One of the characters in the novel is Tom Buchana who lives on the rich side of town. Tom is a friend of the narrator whom he became friends with at Yale University. In this novel, Tom Buchanan is portrayed as shallow through his speech, thoughts, and actions.
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