Sunday, October 29, 2017

How would Tom Buchanan be analyzed through a feminist lens?

Using a feminist lens to analyze literature means that readers pay special attention to gender politics. For example, we study the ways in which power is divided between the genders and whether or to what extent one gender may have an advantage over another. Usually, we are considering how women are oppressed or undervalued in a patriarchal society.
Tom Buchanan is a hypermasculine character. He does not value feminine qualities and certainly doesn't want to be associated with them. He thinks of his wife and daughter as weaker and lesser than himself. He is the primary member of the family. Tom could also be considered a misogynist based on his treatment of his mistress, Myrtle. First of all, the fact that he is having an extramarital affair exhibits his lack of respect for his wife or their marital vows. Then, he abuses and mistreats Myrtle; he even breaks her nose at one point in the novel. Tom is a brute of a man who takes full advantage of the power being a man in this society gives him. When he learns of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship, he is possessive and treats Daisy like an object of his that has been taken from him by another man.
Feminist literary criticism would view Tom Buchanan as a man who abuses his power in a patriarchal society. He mistreats and abuses both of the women in his life, treating them as though he is entitled and superior to them.

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