Preview

eng 215

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
833 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
eng 215
English 215
15th October, 2014

Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom F.Scott Fitzgerald’s story of The Great Gatsby is an intriguing piece of literature that is full of suspense and surprises. The two main characters Gatsby and Tom were both living the America dream, but were not fully satisfied due to the contention for Daisy’s love and company. Gatsby and Tom had similar characteristics, but were different in some other aspects. Daisy choose Tom over Gatsby, however, it was not really easy for her, but was necessary for her to live a safe and comfortable life. The similarities between Gatsby and Tom are limited. Both characters are indeed in pursuit of Daisy, they feel they are both justified to have her, because of the relationship they shared with her. They are both Nick’s friend, which happen to be Daisy’s cousin. Furthermore, they are males, very rich, and are cheaters. The difference between them are, Gatsby is very refined, caring, and he made all his money by himself; which is often referred in the book as new money. He was once in the Army, and made most of his money in an illegal way. Gatsby rationalized that if he could incur wealth and fame comparable to Tom then he would eventually have a chance to win back his first love. In contrast, Tom was an Athlete and he went to Yale. Gatsby was an epicurean who pursued worldly pleasures, such as partying. However, the purpose of his parties was obscured because his main objective was to use his found wealth to rise to Tom’s level of prestige; thus, winning back Daisy love. During the course of the story, the reader becomes aware of the love Gatsby has for his lover, because of his willingness to put himself in jeopardy. He incriminates himself for the sole purpose of winning Daisy over. On the other hand, Tom never experienced hardship in his life because he was protected by his family’s wealth. He bequeathed his father’s assets and was only interested in enjoying the pleasures that life had

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eng 221

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    * May 1: Contact agencies that will be considered as well as agencies that will not be considered…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He soon gets a first person view of the lifestyles of the rich through contact with his rich, spoiled cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. During his time with them he visits their friends and gets introduced to new people. He also attends parties hosted by his neighbor to whom he knows nothing about, Jay Gatsby. After finally meeting the man he learns of the connection between him and his cousin, along with his cousin’s true feelings. Also he tries to solve the mystery of Mr. Gatsby himself. After becoming close friends with Gatsby, Nick agrees to establish a planned reunion between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby has been obsessively trying to win back Daisy for as long as they have been separated. His sole purpose of acquiring a fortune was simply to impress Daisy and become of equal status. Gatsby is convinced that he can reinvent their past love and…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imagine the 1920's have been re-enacted, a time of luxurious parties and when things, didn’t seem to matter or mean as much as they do now. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, gives you a picture of what the time period was like. It was a time known as the "Jazz Age", where the economy was at its peak, and money was easy to be held. Prohibition was in affect, and bootlegging was very gainful for those who took part in it. Jay Gatsby most likely took part in an illegal business scheme, such as bootlegging, to make his fortune. Tom Buchanan, on the other hand though, acquired his wealth through inheritance. The plot of The Great Gatsby seemingly also revolves around a girl, Daisy Buchanan, whom Tom and Gatsby both love in different ways. However, they are similar as they both want to be able to call Daisy “mine.” In The Great Gatsby, although Tom and Gatsby strive to be financially successful and maintain a high social class, and they both love Daisy in a way, they are two completely different people with different personalities and morals.…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom and Gatsby’s relationships with Daisy differ. Even though Gatsby has not seen Daisy in five years, he still loved her very much and stayed loyal the whole time. This shows that Gatsby loves Daisy so much that he would stay lonely and hopeful for years just for her. Gatsby never gave up hope during the time that they were apart. Tom has an affair on Daisy with Myrtle. This shows that Tom isn’t loyal to Daisy and he doesn’t put any effort into their relationship. Tom really uses Myrtle to satisfy one of his needs and Daisy to satisfy another. Gatsby was the only one willing to work and put effort towards him and Daisy while Tom took his and Daisy’s relationship for granted.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fitzgerald uses Tom’s characteristics and actions within Tom and Daisy’s relationship to convey negative feelings about his character to the reader. Their relationship involves Tom abusing and shouting at Daisy creating an instant dislike to him. Daisy accuses Tom of ill-treating her saying “I know you didn’t mean to, but you did do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great, big, hulking physical specimen of a ——”. The fact his own wife described him as having a bully like appearance suggests he doesn’t possess the attributes of a pleasant person especially when compared to the way Daisy describes other people she loves like Gatsby who to her resembles "the advertisement of the man” implying through the symbolism that Gatsby is a flawless man in every way which reflects the modernity of the age.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby used his wealth to throw parties so he could try to get Daisy’s attention and impress her. He did end up impressing her. However, because Daisy was married to her husband Tom she could not be with Gatsby. Tom found out about Daisy’s affair and confronted Gatsby. Gatsby insisted that Daisy never loved Tom but Daisy could not deny her love for her husband. It showed that Gatsby was extremely naive to believe that Daisy would love him to a certain extent as to say that she never loved her own husband. Gatsby believed that he could easily win her back simply by showing up with his wealth, but he was wrong.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby by Scott F Fitzgerald is a book about a millionaire named Jay Gatsby who seeks to be with his lover, Daisy, even though she is already married. The book is narrated by Gatsby’s neighbor Nick Caraway, who observes Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy and the conflicts Gatsby faces along the way. Gatsby lives the American dream of being popular and wealthy, while Nick is a shadow who watches Gatsby’s and the other characters’ actions. As an outsider, Nick is able to observe the main characters of the book and use descriptions of the setting, contradictions, and ellipses to prove the main idea that Gatsby is great.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby doesn’t see Daisy as just a Trophy like Tom, Gatsby actually has genuine feelings for her and loves her. Another way Gatsby is different is he is considered new money because he actually worked to get where he is right now. Gatsby lives in west egg and his neighbor happens to be Nick, Overall, Jay Gatsby is humble, isn’t selfish, and doesn’t like having problems with anyone. Gatsby is also considered a mysterious person because no one really knows who is he because most of the people that go to his parties just show up on their own. Unlike Tom because everyone knows who tom buchanan is and they know everything about him and his business, for example a lot of people know that he’s cheating on daisy. Back to where i said that Gatsby Has true feelings for daisy that can be seen because Gatsby bought a house across daisy’s so he can be closer to her. Gatsby has done pretty much everything he can to get to daisy, Since he found out Nick and Daisy are cousins Gatsby wanted to set up a tea party at Nick’s house which he did. The main purpose was to see Daisy and show her his house, so for that Gatsby is a Romantic type of guy because he had tons of flowers for her and throughout the book we never read anything that says tom bought her flowers or anything like that. Another way it shows that Gatsby has true feelings is because he said he has been loyal to daisy for 10…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He throws lots of big parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Additionally, after five years being separated from Daisy, what Gatsby worries about when he meets her is not whether she misses him but whether his mansion looks well and the first place he wants her to visit is his splendid house (2). He keeps showing off his belongings and asking Daisy to check whether she is impressed. When “he [revalues] everything in his house according to the measure of response it [draws] from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 98), it is clear that Daisy’s recognition of his achievements concerns him the most and Gatsby overestimates the importance of material passion in his relationship with Daisy. In the end of the story, when Gatsby is willing to scarify his life-work and fame to save Daisy from being a murderer, this event is argued to be an evidence of love. However, as he desires her in the same way he is in pursuit of the glory of success and Daisy is only a supreme object helping him to strengthen his achievements, the act of protecting her is merely to protect the thing he longs for in his whole…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The theme that is portrayed throughout The Great Gatsby would be a deviant sense of love. Even though Tom and Daisy may seem somewhat loyal and affectionate towards each other in the beginning, their true feelings begin to show as the novel develops. As we see with their unfaithfulness to each other, they are clearly not in love. Tom begins seeing Myrtle, George’s wife, and Daisy has an affair with Gatsby, her former lover. Ever since Gatsby had laid eyes on Daisy, he’d wanted to be with her which is why he, “bought that house so that Daisy would just be across the bay.” (Fitzgerald.78) It’s largely evident that Gatsby is in love, but with what? With Daisy? Or with a dream of Daisy? He’s always had fantasies about loving Daisy, but now that…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Myrtle In The Great Gatsby

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The famous novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, is a renown piece of American literature. This novel revolves around a rich, hopeful man by the name of Jay Gatsby who desires nothing more than to get back together with his old lover, Daisy. Daisy though, is already married to a wealthy man named Tom, and even though Tom is cheating on her with Myrtle, Daisy still loves him. Gatsby, having been born in a different class than Daisy, fears he may never be able to live the life he imagined with her because of his penniless past. This shows that in society, people are extremely separated from one other due to factors such as class and wealth driving them apart. This is shown through the characterization of Myrtle and Daisy, the conflicts…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love...love, is seen as one of the greatest motivators in a novel, as it greatly affects the decisions made by a character, this theme is continuously seen throughout many great works of literature (ex Romeo and Juliet), but that same romance occasionally draws harmful consequences. These consequences are displayed in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. This story follows the mysterious Jay Gatsby who, despite of his background, climbs to to the top of the social ladder to reclaim the heart of Daisy, wife of Tom Buchanan. Successfully reviving the love once shared between them, Gatsby’s dream of a future with Daisy cease, caused by uncertainty held within their relationship. The antagonist of The Great Gatsby can be greatly disputed as being that of Tom Buchanan, as he shares great opposition to Gatsby’s main goal: Daisy; despite this certainty the choices made, such as her marriage to Tom, the love she shared for both Tom and Gatsby, and the murder of Myrtle…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gatsby ends up confirming Tom’s suspicions of Daisy and Him having an affair saying that Daisy loved Gatsby and not Tom. This shows that men’s love for someone can blind them from recognizing that they are showing ignorance. Gatsby thought that by having Daisy in his life again and saw that he was rich that he was automatically the only one Daisy loved. His ego gets in the way because he thinks he is victorious by assuming that Daisy only loves him. When in reality she loves both Gatsby and Tom, and Gatsby can’t accept that. He wants to be the only wants Daisy to spend the rest of his life…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby talks to Tom and says “she never loved you [Tom], do you hear?” [Gatsby] cried. She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!” (Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby is trying to justify why he is okay with Daisy marrying Tom instead of him. Gatsby assumes that the only reason Daisy married Tom was for his money and not for who he is as a person. Gatsby has a misconception that if he earns enough money, Daisy will want to be with him. He earns his money by doing illegal bootlegging. Even though Daisy is married and has a child with Tom, Gatsby is still trying to win her over. He’s trying everything he can to interfere with their marriage by telling Daisy “he wanted nothing less of [her] than that she should go to Tom and say: I never loved you...just as if it were five years ago” (109). Gatsby feels like Daisy deserves more than what Tom has to offer, he really does care for Daisy and seems to want the best for her. Gatsby just approaches it the wrong way. His approach produces many conflicts and does not end the way he wanted it to. Gatsby tries to recreate the past because he loved her even before he went to war. He’s thinking that they may still stand a chance to be together because of their slight history together in the past. Gatsby’s getting so carried away with “...his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. [Gatsby] had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out...no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his heart” (170). He has put his whole heart into this so called “relationship” with Daisy. Gatsby tries to reel in the past to show her that he hasn’t changed as a person, where his wealth is the only thing that has changed. He has so much passion in him to try to impress her and do…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By using these two antagonists in comparison to the protagonist Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows that Gatsby has the opportunity to achieve his dreams , but his ambition gets in the way of his dreams. Similarly Tom and Daisy represent the American dream and the corruption of it during this time period. Fitzgerald also shows that Gatsby has the opportunity to achieve his dreams , but his ambition gets in the way of his dreams. Similarly Tom and Daisy represent the American dream and the corruption of it during this time…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics