How was Tom Buchanan clever man

tonyheaney

One of my questions in the Mocs Leaving cert was:

Tom Buchanan is a clever man, describe one incident how this is and how??

But I'm not sure if you can call a Condescending, Bigoted, Unfaithful and a Sexist cleaver

Any one help with this?

spurious

Could you disagree with the opening statement?
I would agree with you, I can't think of anything backing up an opinion that he was clever. he doesn't even manage to hide his racism/general unpleasantness.

tonyheaney

thats true, im struggling to write it out here, (im at home) Mocs were last week for us (Vtos) and its not easy to defend or modise him.

Id have a better chance of making Hitler look like a sweetheart

how would you open the statement yourself? wich part of the opening statement are you referring too? thew book or chapter? the first meeting of Tom

spurious

The statement "Tom Buchanan is a clever man". It's presented as if it is a fact.

A much better question would have been 'Was Tom Buchanan a clever man?'. Usually in a question, they leave it open to you to disagree or agree, as long as you can back up your opinion with evidence from the text.

You may get no marks, as it's not really answering the question asked (which in my opinion is a bad question), but I suppose you could start with something like...

The character Tom Buchanan in Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' has been described as 'a clever man'. I disagree with this statement.

Then go on to outline examples of where he was not clever at all.

At the very worst, when your teacher corrects it, they can tell us all where is this evidence for him being clever.

tonyheaney

spurious wrote: »

The statement "Tom Buchanan is a clever man". It's presented as if it is a fact.

A much better question would have been 'Was Tom Buchanan a clever man?'. Usually in a question, they leave it open to you to disagree or agree, as long as you can back up your opinion with evidence from the text.

You may get no marks, as it's not really answering the question asked (which in my opinion is a bad question), but I suppose you could start with something like...

The character Tom Buchanan in Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' has been described as 'a clever man'. I disagree with this statement.

Then go on to outline examples of where he was not clever at all.

At the very worst, when your teacher corrects it, they can tell us all where is this evidence for him being clever.

In your own option where do you think he cold be clever? As I see it, it would be convincing Geroge to go kill Jay but that also to me isn't clever just downright nasty.

TSMGUY

He's Yale-Educated
He's rich
He reads "scientific books" with "long words in them"
Juggles two relationships
Gets Daisy back in the end
Articulate

I think he's a complete and utter a**hole but there's definitely wriggle room for you to argue he's clever. Even though I'm black and his little rant about Nordics pissed me off, I think it's silly to think his racism negates his intelligence. At that time many intelligent people believed in eugenics and racism. On our very own poetry course Phillip Larkin was a massive bigot.

Good luck.

tonyheaney

TSMGUY wrote: »

He's Yale-Educated
He's rich
He reads "scientific books" with "long words in them"
Juggles two relationships
Gets Daisy back in the end
Articulate

I think he's a complete and utter a**hole but there's definitely wriggle room for you to argue he's clever. Even though I'm black and his little rant about Nordics pissed me off, I think it's silly to think his racism negates his intelligence. At that time many intelligent people believed in eugenics and racism. On our very own poetry course Phillip Larkin was a massive bigot.

Good luck.

I feel that money and breeding has made him the man he is, money doesn't necessarily make him clever and able to read a big book doesn't mean he clever perhaps a might intelligent certainly not clever. It's so hard to make this racist fascist man look clever.

spurious

Not sure if any of your list means he's clever, TSMGUY, privileged yes, but I can't think of anywhere in the book he showed he was clever.

Anyway, hopefully it all gives you a few arguments to make tony?

TSMGUY

tonyheaney wrote: »

I feel that money and breeding has made him the man he is, money doesn't necessarily make him clever and able to read a big book doesn't mean he clever perhaps a might intelligent certainly not clever. It's so hard to make this racist fascist man look clever.

No doubt. He's the beneficiary of nepotism and privilege. If it weren't for him being a blue-blood with all the right connections, he'd be a nobody. That being said, they often ask questions like this to test your ability to argue from different perspectives. Disregard all of your objections to him and write about him as if you were his biggest supporter. Highlight every passage that you can twist to show him in a positive light.

tonyheaney

spurious wrote: »

Not sure if any of your list means he's clever, TSMGUY, privileged yes, but I can't think of anywhere in the book he showed he was clever.

Anyway, hopefully it all gives you a few arguments to make tony?

certainly, with what I have read in the book and what I have chatted about I have a good idea I will def go with toms not a clever man. Now I have to decide what I felt was interesting about Jordan. No no good lazy layabout lol

TSMGUY

spurious wrote: »

Not sure if any of your list means he's clever, TSMGUY, privileged yes, but I can't think of anywhere in the book he showed he was clever.

Anyway, hopefully it all gives you a few arguments to make tony?

LOL I know, I know. When they give you a question like this all you can is passionately argue dubious premises as if your life depended on it. I once argued Iago was the hero of Othello.

tonyheaney

TSMGUY wrote: »

LOL I know, I know. When they give you a question like this all you can is passionately argue dubious premises as if your life depended on it. I once argued Iago was the hero of Othello.

LOL

After the mocs we were given the question sheet to study in preparation for the main exam. I feel this paper is going against my very morals. Was the original writer of these questions a racist?

what do you think of Jordan? was she interesting? I fell not she was a busybody to me, no character nothing going for her, I'd probably date her twice and then drop her lol but then again its all from one persons "Nicks" perspective

TSMGUY

tonyheaney wrote: »

LOL

After the mocs we were given the question sheet to study in preparation for the main exam. I feel this paper is going against my very morals. Was the original writer of these questions a racist?

what do you think of Jordan? was she interesting? I fell not she was a busybody to me, no character nothing going for her, I'd probably date her twice and then drop her lol but then again its all from one persons "Nicks" perspective

Jordan Baker was the 1920's equivalent of a club chick. No personality, provides a bit of sexual tension and then poof, you never think about her again. Honestly don't have any opinion on her whatsoever. She did absolutely nothing. If I were you I'd something incredibly pretentious and argue that she represents repressed desires and that it's the fact she doesn't do anything that makes her so fascinating and unknowable, but in all honesty it'd just be meaningless waffle that sounds a bit deep. You'd be surprised how often that would get you an A1.

tonyheaney

TSMGUY wrote: »

Jordan Baker was the 1920's equivalent of a club chick. No personality, provides a bit of sexual tension and then poof, you never think about her again. Honestly don't have any opinion on her whatsoever. She did absolutely nothing. If I were you I'd something incredibly pretentious and argue that she represents repressed desires and that it's the fact she doesn't do anything that makes her so fascinating and unknowable, but in all honesty it'd just be meaningless waffle that sounds a bit deep. You'd be surprised how often that would get you an A1.

yeah I felt that she was, she seems to represent the "Modern" masculine type of woman, self-sufficient

would love an A1 the rebel in me does also lol.

tonyheaney

The question I have here is what makes me want to say she was useless to the story and didn't even move it o in any way effectively.

the fascinating thing is how she survived the 20s at all. Especially when

The women's liberation movement and feminist thinking had not even emerged in the United States and other developed countries until well into the late 1960s

would that work also?

TooMuchWork

Bit off topic, but would you guys recommend The Great Gatsby over King Lear for the single text? I'm doing Othello for my competitive so I have a Shakespearean piece already.

Rosalind151

Do you think such a question could actually come up? I ve never seen a question on just one character like that.
As for single text, I am doing KL, but wish i was doing GG - it seems like way more fun

TooMuchWork

Sorry for the bump, but I think a question on Tom is likely.

I'd consider Tom to be quite clever, wouldn't you guys? While he might not have the intelligence of the nation's leading people, he does have wit which is accompanied with an impressive ability to manipulate and play people. He knows he has the ability to make George Wilson believe Gatsby was the one who was having an affair with Myrtle and who ultimately caused her death. Tom also uses his emotional intelligence to win Daisy over. He knows exactly how to make Jay Gatsby crack and cause Daisy to change her mind on him. He understands how fragile she is and uses this to his advantage to win her over. He always seems to be two steps ahead of the others, and if for whatever reason he isn't two steps ahead, he makes sure he will be in due time. He's a fantastic character.