The Brute

“Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty, with a rather hard mouth and supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even then effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body-he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscles shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous leverage- a cruel body.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg. 12)


This passage allows the read to have an insight on to Tom Buchanan’s character. You can see that Tom is not the kindest person as soon as a description is given. His arrogant eyes are proof that he leans more to dare a person to judge him then to allow them to make any attempts to make an assumption of who he is. This allows the reader to understand certain things that he does right as they happen, but it also allows some shock when he does thing that are not considered ‘aggressive’ or ‘cruel’.

You also get the image that he is a very manly man, as the “effeminate swank” of his clothing does nothing to hide the power of his body. The image of power that is used through contrast gives the sense that he is also a completely selfish man, or possible one that uses all he has at his disposal to get his way. You are even given the line “a cruel body” to give emphasis to the fact that Tom Buchanan is not a good person; he is a cruel, aggressive and arrogant man.

This contrast lets the reader relate more to Tom. He is a human with human emotions, and is not a simplistic, cruel, and aggressive automaton. You also see that Tom could be called a bully by his physical appearance alone, then add his “gruff husky tenor” (pg.12) and a “touch of paternal contempt” (pg.12) you see an even more bully like person. His actions also show this as he strikes Myrtle and breaks her nose simple for saying Daisy’s name.