Assuming that it is odd that Tom wants Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle, it would be because Daisy, Tom's wife, is a "second cousin once removed" (Fitzgerald 10) to Nick. So there is a question of family solidarity, the idea being that Tom would more likely want to conceal his philandering than to brag about it to Daisy's cousin.
But in addition to Daisy being Nick's relative, Tom and Nick knew one another in...
Assuming that it is odd that Tom wants Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle, it would be because Daisy, Tom's wife, is a "second cousin once removed" (Fitzgerald 10) to Nick. So there is a question of family solidarity, the idea being that Tom would more likely want to conceal his philandering than to brag about it to Daisy's cousin.
But in addition to Daisy being Nick's relative, Tom and Nick knew one another in college, they are both males, and Tom is clearly quite a braggart. Male solidarity seems to trump any notion of family obligation for Nick, and he does become aware during his first dinner at the Buchanans that Daisy knows Tom has a mistress. I think that Nick chalks Tom's behavior up to a form of conspicuous consumption and the cruelty that is clearly inherent within Tom.
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