The character of Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby Of the five main characters in The Great Gatsby, I didn't like Tom Buchanan the most (but his wife Daisy was a close second). He just didn't seem like a nice person, and he also seemed extremely self-centered. I don't believe he and I would choose the same values ​​that we consider important to guide our lives. One of Tom's important values ​​is wealth. He was very rich and thought that made him superior to others. He likes to show off his possessions: “I have a nice place here. It belonged to the oil tanker Demaine” (Great Gatsby, 12). In this case, Tom shows Nick his house and obviously thinks that because it belonged to the oilman Demaine, that makes it a little more important. Tom thinks that poor people are inferior to him and he is quite a snob. He comes from old money and often refers to the nouveau riche as “bootleggers,” people who distributed alcohol during Prohibition. Tom doesn't think much of Gatsby and claims that he recognized him as a bootlegger as soon as he saw him. When Daisy tells Tom that she's leaving him for Gatsby, he says, "She's not leaving me! Certainly not for some common crook who should steal the ring to put his finger on her!" (140). Later, Tom even sends Daisy home with Gatsby, adding that his presumptuous flirting was over. Power and control over people is something Tom considers important in guiding his life. Throughout the novel, he is shown time and time again to be the type of person who likes to control others and what they do. Sometimes he's just a bully and other times he's just cruel. He often talks to George Wilson, his mistress's husband, about selling him his car, something he never really intends to do. He simply plays with the man, but becomes angry when Wilson tries to talk to him about it: "Fine, I won't sell you the car at all...I have no obligation to you...And as for If you bother me at lunchtime, I won't put up with that at all!” (122). Tom was extremely cruel at that time because Wilson needed the money that would come from the car and Tom didn't care..