F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the novel, "The Great Gatsby” uses the narrating character to reveal the personalities of other characters. Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a valuable asset in understanding the character Tom Buchanan. One example of Nick providing crucial information on Tom is his description of him, "He had changed since his New Haven years. Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner" (Fitzgerald 9). This shows how arrogant Tom is. Even though Tom is depicted as a role model of the American Dream, his behaviors, and every aspect of himself are hypocritical. The author uses Nick Carraway’s observations of Tom Buchanan to demonstrate how being part of the social elite does not represent one as a moral role model.
Nick's description of Tom displays how hypocritical Tom is. Nick points out how Tom is depicted as a role model for ‘The elite’ who have accomplished the American dream of wealth and power. The American dream inspires people to obtain a family, wealth and career, which are believed to be all the essential elements for a perfect and carefree life. Nick describes Tom as having peaked early in his life, he was the most successful in college and experiencing a downfall of his life (8). When we consider the ideal life, Tom is a character who should be admired by people. However, as Nick reveals ‘The Real’ Tom’s personality, it suggests that he is not a figure of moral standing. Nick describes him as a “straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner” (Fitzgerald 9). The way Tom treats other people is ruthless and disrespectful. Whoever he dealt with, he always had a “Touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people he liked” (Fitzgerald 9). Tom’s egocentric actions are hardly defined as a moral exemplar. His beloved ones are no exception, including his wife Daisy.
During Nick’s visit to the Buchanan’s, we are introduced to the relationship between Tom and Daisy through Nick’s observations. Based on Tom’s behavior toward Daisy, he could be defined as an unscrupulous man. Marriage is a vow that a husband and wife will take care of each other and love one another for their entire lives. However, it was hard to see Tom’s appreciation of Daisy as a wife. While they are having a conversation, Daisy gets injured by Tom. Daisy over reacts and laments about marrying a “brute of a man” and describes Tom as being hulking which he is abruptly offended by and doesn’t console Daisy in any way about her injury. (15) Is this an interaction between two people who are madly in love with each other? Instead of apologizing and taking care of his beloved wife, there is nothing but indifference. Exceeding his alienation from his wife, he commits the worst crime that a man who has a family can do: adultery. Nick hears a gossip of Tom from Jordan Baker that “Tom’s got some woman in New York” (Fitzgerald 18). Leaving Daisy behind, Tom forgets his essential role as a father and a husband. Even though he has a young child, Tom is living in a life full of deception which exposes his true nature.
Just looking at the frames of Tom's life, outsiders may be fooled by his deceitful lies. Nick Carraway plays a critical role in exposing Tom’s personality in the novel. Tom could be a role model whom everyone would try to emulate, however, Tom fails to accomplish the role of a perfect man in the novel. Fitzgerald emphasizes Tom's arrogance and immorality to demonstrate how hypocritical Tom is and to show how having wealth, a prestigious family name, and glamorous life style does not guarantee one to be as a moral standing in the world.
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