The Great Gatsby Selfish Quotes

Great Gatsby Essay In The Great Gatsby, many characters were portrayed, all with their own little quirks and characteristics. However, one of the most interesting characters is Tom. That is because he is one of the most arrogant, self-serving characters in the book. He sometimes bursts out with white supremacist ideas, such as when he mentions that whites created civilization. He also has the habit of putting people down, such as when he has an affair with Myrtle, and makes fun of her husband. Lastly in an attempt to save himself, he sets a mourning George Wilson onto Gatsby. In the 1st chapter, Tom displays his arrogance when he says, “The idea is if we don’t look out, the white race will be – will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff, it’s all been proved.” When he says this, he means that the white race is superior to all the other races. Since Tom is white, he is …show more content…
He admits doing this to Nick on page 187, where he says, and “I told him the truth… He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave and when I sent down word that we weren’t in he tried to force his way upstairs. He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocked every minute he was in the house ---… What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.” In this quote, Tom is trying to absolve himself and maybe Daisy of all blame and point the finger at Gatsby. He didn’t even check to make sure if Gatsby was really the culprit, when he wasn’t, but instead instinctively laid a death warrant on Gatsby’s head. This shows how when it really comes down to it, Tom will willingly use a scapegoat to save his own butt, just like a selfish person