A brutal, hulking man, Tom Buchanan is a former Yale football player who, like Daisy, comes from an immensely wealthy Midwestern family. His racism and sexism are symptomatic of his deep insecurity about his elevated social position. Tom is a vicious bully, physically menacing both his wife and his mistress. He is a thoroughgoing hypocrite as well: though he condemns his wife for her infidelity, he has no qualms about carrying on an affair himself. This is how Nick describes him in the book,
"He had changed since his new haven years. now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearsnce of always leaning aggressivley forward. not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body...it was a body capable OS enormous leverage-----a cruel body."