How Is Tom Buchanan Presented in Chapter One?

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How is Tom Buchanan presented in chapter one? When Tom Buchanan is first introduced, in chapter one, he doesn’t come across as a very nice character from Nick Carraway’s point of view. The first thing that is said about his personality is, ‘Tom would drift on forever seeking,’ this says that Tam Buchanan is never happy with what he has or is doing, he always has to be looking for something or someone else. This foreshadows Nick discovering that Tom has a mistress in New York, showing that he’s not even happy with his own wife and he has to find someone else to please him. However, the fact that he keeps his mistress a secret and doesn’t file for a divorce shows that he does care about his wife’s happiness and well-being. Tom is a proud and confident character who has a lot of power and he knows it, it is what drives him. Even the way he stands shows that he has an immense power over people ‘leaning aggressively forward.’ This shows that Tom is always ready to be part of a fight or start something negative. He has ‘arrogant eyes’ which also shows that he has power and he is proud of that fact. The phrase, ‘fill those glistening boots’ describes how Tom thinks he is better at everything than everybody else is. He ‘fills the boots’ of the previous home owner and ‘strained the top lacing,’ showing how he is better that them because he is bigger, stronger and much more powerful. It suggests that he thinks he is doing a better job than anyone else could. When Tom says, ‘“I’m stronger and more of a man than you are.”’ he is wanting people to know how much he thinks of himself and how proud he is of himself too. He is also proud of the things he has accomplished ‘“I’ve got a nice place here,”’ however, Tom could also be looking for approval, this snobbiness and big-headedness could be the result of never impressing his mother or father as a child.

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