Tom and Gatsby both have money, but their social statuses are not equal. The inequality of Tom and Gatsby can be seen through the book’s strongest metaphor: East Egg and West Egg. The East Egg is a secluded area in Long Island which gives homage to the “old money” of society. These untouchable few breed money and hold great amounts of influence and power. On the other side of the sea is West Egg. This area is extremely wealthy as well, but houses “new money” such as Gatsby. These people are not treated equally in upper class society because their money was not inherited. East Egg is more elite than West Egg, and impossible for a common person to reach. Unless you were born under a wealthy name, like Tom, you can not be part of their society. Gatsby knows that it is more prestigious to be part of the East Egg society, and for that reason, he stays focused on his dream to obtain the love of Daisy, Tom’s wife.
Another important difference between Gatsby and Tom is that Gatsby is a dreamer, and Tom is practical. An important metaphor in the book is a green light at the end of the Buchanan dock in East Egg, seen from Gatsby’s yard in West Egg. It represents Daisy and a materialistic lifestyle. One night after dinner at the Buchanan’s, Tom saw Gatsby… “-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock” (Fitzgerald 28). The light represents Gatsby’s pursuit towards his rich ideal life. Gatsby came a long way from nothing to be living where he is, and he makes sure that nothing will interfere in his ultimate goal of opulence. Nick reveals at the end of the book that “James Gatz-that was really, or at least legally, his [Gatsby’s] name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career-when he saw Dan Cody’s yacht drop anchor over the most insidious flat on Lake Superior” (Fitzgerald 104). Ever since Gatsby was young, he craved a lifestyle that he never had and went as far as creating an alias to cover up his “inferior” roots. The problem with coming from a family of lower class was never a problem for Tom. Tom Buchanan is practical in the sense that he knows that he can use money and influence to get what he wants. Tom Buchanan buys his way through life and love. Tom and his wife Daisy started out their life together in a very elaborate way. “He came down with a hundred people in four private cars, and hired a whole floor of the Muhlbach Hotel and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars (Fitzgerald 82)”. Though this seems to be a romantic courting, this actually proves the fact that Tom believes money can buy love and happiness. It is practical for Tom to use his wealth in order to impress Daisy, rather than more complex traits such as personality. Another example of the practical nature of Tom, including his wife, is shown in a scene after Myrtle gets hit by a car and Daisy admitted that she loved Gatsby. Nick states, “They [Tom and Daisy] weren’t happy…and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (Fitzgerald 152). The fact that Tom is rich and powerful allows them to push things over that would normally disturb any normal human being. The relationship between Daisy and Tom is one of convenience because they are both absorbed in their own superficial worlds and they are able to get by through their use of money. Tom and Gatsby differ greatly in their personalities because Gatsby chooses to live a life of struggle to obtain his dreams, while Tom simply does whatever is convenient for him at the time.
The final contrasting difference between the two unequal characters lays within the opinion of Nick the narrator. Nick believes that Tom is an immoral character that uses people to only better himself. Nick expresses his disgust of Tom when he states, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 186)…The cold-hearted Tom only wished to benefit himself, no matter if it meant harming people in his path. After Nick confronted Tom about the murder of Gatsby and suicide of Wilson, Tom simply responded:
I told him [Wilson] the truth,…He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave, and when I sent down word that we weren’t in he tried to force his way upstairs. He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocket every minute he was in the house- …What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him” (Fitzgerald 185 &186).
Tom covered up the fact that Daisy was driving the car, which ultimately leads to the holocaust at the end of this story. Tom’s cruel and destructive way of thinking was not shared by Gatsby. Gatsby only wanted to pursue his dream of wealth and love. He wanted Daisy more than anything else in the world, and he perused her until his final breath. On the subject of Gatsby, Nick thought that “Gatsby turned out all right in the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men” (Fitzgerald 8). Nick believed that Gatsby’s determination brought about negative characteristics such as greed and breaking the law, but in the end he felt that Gatsby was not a bad person. Nick shows further support for Gatsby at the end of the book when stating, “They’re a rotten crowd [Nick, Daisy, and Jordan]…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Fitzgerald 160). These words were some of Nick’s last statements that he said to Gatsby before his tragic murder. Nick emphasizes his negative opinion for Tom and subtle support for Gatsby after being exposed to the twisted workings of upper class society.
In conclusion, contrasting Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby develops the central theme of class in The Great Gatsby through the perspective of Nick Caraway. The 1920’s were a time of rapid economic growth and people like Gatsby wanted a share of what people like Tom owned. The contrast between Tom and Gatsby reflect the two ways of achieving wealth: being born into a rich family, or making your own success. Nick reflects at the end of the book that “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning” (Fitzgerald 188) – Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace became a cautionary tale about the American Dream. But, holding on to dreams, no matter how difficult they are to grasp, is a positive trait. The positive attribute of this characteristic is seen in the poem by Langston Hughes titled “Dreams”. It states:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
This poem emphasizes the fact that you are incomplete and only half-alive when you do not have dreams. However tragic the death of Jay Gatsby is at the end of the book, it can be assumed that Gatsby died a happy man. Gatsby carried his dream to the end of his life pursuing what he lived for: Daisy and everything she stood for. The seclusion of Tom Buchanan’s elite world created the breeding ground for his arrogance and materialism. He was able to control his environment because he has a prominent last name and money. Tom did not have to work to be where he is in society, and for that reason Jay Gatsby becomes the likeable character, even though he did illegal things to get in his position. The differences between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby reflect the different social positions, personalities, and opinions of wealthy society.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. London: Penguin Popular Classics, 1994.
Gevaert, Hudson (1996). “About the 1920’s”. The Great Gatsby. June 1, 1998. July 27, 2005.
<http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/3844/#1920>
Hughes, Langston. “Dreams”. ENGL-202 Course Packet.
