Should we feel bad for Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby? | Top grade character analysis

[@cicihoustonsudholt1452]

You're providing great food for thought, but oof! I hope you never have to encounter an abusive narcissist because you are affording this character with so much compassion, and he would likely take advantage of that. That said, thank you for your thoughts and efforts; I love hearing other people's insights into iconic characters in great literature.

[@JenChan]

Haha, that's fair - although I'm not sure IRL I'd actually have the emotional generosity to be so compassionate towards someone like Tom B... (which would be a good thing for self-protection!!) Can't be having narcissists walk all over us, for sure. :D Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@timothyflynn2738]

A line that stuck out to me? “I’d rather not be the polo player”, in Ch. 6. But what else can described Tom? What is he currently? How would he have introduced himself if given the choice at Gatsby’s party? His life after Yale, where he succeeded on the football field entirely on his own merit, his own strength and prowess, it’s gone into the past and he’s left with nothing entirely of his own value. The ‘Anti-Climax’ of it all must eat up at him no matter how prolific his affluenza really is. That’s a pitiable part, he’s never been afforded a chance to strive for a new dream and he’s left going through the motions playing with luxury and status quo.

[@JenChan]

Yes, agreed. And your POV is also an empathic one which gets to the nuance of a character like Tom (who doesn't inspire empathy at first glance!) Thank you for sharing :)

[@jodichui1262]

Loved the video!❤️

[@rgmrtn]

Very engaging and informative.

[@victoriakorlewala]

Would love if you did some A-Level (y12) essay structuring videos

[@JenChan]

Thanks for the rec, Victoria - I will certainly look into doing more essay structuring videos / general essay writing skill videos, so stay tuned!

[@QwertfiedBySara]

Hey Jen, loved how perceptive this is! Would you be interested in doing a video on Kesey’s One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest? Would be so helpful!

[@JenChan]

Thanks Sara! Interesting suggestion... I will look into it. What curriculum / exam board are you doing? My priority right now is to focus on popular texts studied by most students (GCSE/A-Levels), but if there's enough interest for a particular title I might create content for it so let me know!

[@QwertfiedBySara]

@@JenChan A-Level AQA, it’s part of the Texts in Shared Contexts from paper 2 and is written about as a comparison to another text. A Streetcar Named Desire is a common pairing, might be more mainstream and will still be so helpful regardless, so thank you!

[@JenChan]

Great - thank you! Yes, might work on Streetcar at some point next year so stay tuned :)

[@redbluebae4397]

@@JenChanoh please do another one of my favorite American novels

[@redbluebae4397]

I love these videos of yours because Not grades but I love The Great Gatsby and TRUTH

[@JenChan]

Thank you! The Great Gatsby is such a great, timeless piece of writing, right?