The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
I do not like Tom. His personality seems to represent very well the kind of man I would imagine to have an affair, "his speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward the people he liked- and there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts" (Fitzgerald,7). He is obviously a man lacking gentle social skills, which is probably why he is so intimidating, and why he has such the ability to manipulate and convince women (like Mrytle) that she is actually of value to him and actually wants to marry her. Not to mention he cuts every one's sentences off way before they're seen to close. Tom also seems like the kind of person that would regurgitate someone else's opinions for the purpose of sounding passionate and intelligent himself. In this first chapter he references "The Rise of the Colored Empires" by some author Goddard. He is so utterly obsessed with his image that he forcibly spit out someone else's opinions onto the unprotesting Daisy, Nick, and Jordan. He seems like he could be dangerous, a narcissist who is desperate for control.
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