How Does Nick Describe Tom Buchanan in Chapter 1?

Question: How Does Nick Describe Tom Buchanan in Chapter 1?

Nick often expressed his impression of Tom based on his physical attributes, calling him a “brute” on a number of times.

According to Nick, when Tom first appears in the novel, he has “two shining arrogant eyes” that “established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward.” As we can see above, Nick views Tom’s physicality as harsh and unpleasant. Tom’s behavior is also consistent with these physical attributes.

Nick talks about his observation of Tom hitting Myrtle and criticizes Tom’s immorality. However, Tom’s violent demeanor is not just a result of his personality; it is also connected to his riches, which shields him from accountability. It would appear from moral considerations of any kind. His treatment of both his mistress and his wife demonstrates his lack of social skills. In addition, he treats his business dealings with Myrtle’s husband as a joke, which emphasizes his lack of empathy and seeming immunity to guilt. He offers to sell Wilson a car as a pretext for dropping by and setting up a meeting with Myrtle. Nick is even invited to watch with him.

Nick’s assessment of Tom’s wealth is strongly related to his aggressive and dominating nature. Tom is not as vulnerable to failure as other people because he comes from an “enormously wealthy” family and is physically strong and appears to be made of brick.

Tom has a distinctly stupid look to all of this. While he is not completely stupid, he is still mostly unaware of—and uninterested in—the thoughts, feelings, and lives of those around him.

Tom is almost the complete opposite of Gatsby, who maintains his vulnerability in spite of his wealth, being described as “completely without taste, culture, or sensitivity”. Tom is said to be above the need for praise, whereas Gatsby aspires for it while the two men lack taste and culture.