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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Nibbling on Stale Ideas:
Nick’s thoughts during his first dinner with the Buchanans contain an implied metaphor comparing Tom to an animal nibbling on stale food:
As for Tom, the fact that he “had some woman in New York” was really less surprising than that he had been depressed by a book. Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart.
The book Nick is referring to here is The Rise of the Colored Empires, whose central argument is that white people are inherently superior to other races, and that non-white people’s success poses a threat to white people’s deserved dominance over other groups. The idea that Tom is “nibbl[ing] at the edge” of the “stale ideas” that he reads likens Tom to an animal trying to get nourishment from something that’s old and unappetizing—that is, a racist, pseudoscientific book.
Nick suggests that Tom might be attracted to white supremacist ideology because “his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart.” In other words, something in his life has made him feel less confident than he was before, and convincing himself that he’s part of a master race makes Tom feel better about himself. This could be rooted in the fact that Tom “ha[s] some woman in New York” (meaning that he’s cheating on his wife, Daisy), and he feels insecure and nervous that Daisy will find out about his mistress. This metaphor thus suggests that people who behave selfishly and immorally tend to seek out information or belief systems that will bolster their egos and ease their guilt—even if those beliefs are “stale” and outdated—like hungry rodents desperately trying to nourish themselves with scraps of old food.
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