Tom Buchanan and Donald Trump: A Parallel Analysis of Sexism, and Infidelity

Donald Trump and Tom Buchanan: A Comparison

Donald Trump, the forty-fifth President Of The United States, is a politician, businessman, and television personality. Those all are true facts about Donald Trump, but who is he in most of America’s eyes? Yes, he is the forty-fifth President Of The United States, but there is a lot more to him than that. He is arrogant, sexist, racist, and egotistical. On top of all of that, he has also cheated on each one of his wives. The list could go on and on. Tom Buchanan, a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, is also arrogant, sexist, and egotistical, and he cheated on his wife, Daisy. Donald Trump is the real-life Tom Buchanan through his sexism, infidelity, money spending, and attitude toward the lower class.

Origins of Wealth: A Common Background

Both Tom and Donald were born into rich families, which would classify them as “Old Money.” Donald’s grandfather, Frederick Trump, moved to America in 1885 when he was only sixteen years old. He gained fortune when he opened a restaurant and hotel in Bennett, British Columbia, Canada. He also later opened a restaurant and hotel in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. In the book, it does not tell us how far back Tom’s family wealth goes; it just tells us that he was born into a rich family.

Sexism: A Shared Disregard for Women

Unfortunately, sexism has been around for centuries. You would imagine by the year 2019, we would have the sexism thing figured out, but we don’t. Tom Buchanan was unquestionably a sexist. Throughout the book, Tom looks down on women and feels that women are weaker and not as important as men. Tom impulsively punches Myrtle Wilson and breaks her nose because she is screaming Daisy’s name. This action clearly shows that Tom has no respect for women at all. Our own President Of The United States, sadly, is a sexist. Donald Trump has made numerous remarks about women, which were very sexist remarks. He claimed that model and actor Heidi Klum lm was “No longer a 10” because she “looks older.” He also has claimed multiple times that most women are only successful because of their beauty. There are many more comments that Donald has made about women, some of which I cannot name because they are such vile comments.

Infidelity: A Parallel of Betrayal

Infidelity: The action or state of being unfaithful to a spouse. In this case, Donald Trump has committed infidelity way more than Tom has. Tom only had one affair (that we know of) in the book, and that was with Myrtle Wilson. Their affair lasts seven chapters, and then Daisy runs over Myrtle with Gatsby’s yellow car and kills her. Tom was very open about his “relationship” with Myrtle. He even had Nick meet her.

References:

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “The Great Gatsby.” Scribner, 1925.
2. Graham, David A. “How Trump’s Trade War Went From 18 Products to 10,000.” The Atlantic, 15 June 2018, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/trump-tariffs/562004/.
3. Staff. “Ford CEO: Trump Metals Tariffs Took $1B in Profit from Company.” Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2018, www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2018/07/25/ford-earnings-trump-tariffs-china/832003002/.
4. Wang, Yan. “Can Trump Win the US–China Trade War?” East Asia Forum, 5 May 2018, www.eastasiaforum.org/2018/05/05/can-trump-win-the-us-china-trade-war/.