Influence of Wealth and Power In Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, one of the most important dynamics expressed is the power dynamic between those with money and those without it. When introducing a new character, often the first thing the reader learns about them is their status in regards to wealth. Location plays an important role in the evaluation of wealth and power as those considered as “old money” live in East Egg and those considered as “new money” reside in West Egg. East Eggers show disdain for those with less money and think that the residents of both sections are incompatible with each other. However, this is not the only example of wealth and power playing a large role in the course of the story. Throughout Fitzgerald’s novel,
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During the initial stages of the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby is seen as ineligible as a candidate to marry Daisy because he did not have a dollar to his name. They loved each other, however, their love was evanescent and only lasted a month before Gatsby went off to the war. Needing to be prudent for the good of her future, Daisy decided that the best course of action was to marry a rich man such as Tom Buchanan instead of waiting for Gatsby to return. While Gatsby already had the goal of becoming rich and powerful, he saw Daisy as an additional prize, and even at the point where the reader meets the ostentatious Gatsby, he is still lacking that one piece to the puzzle that will finally satisfy him. Fitzgerald makes it obvious that Gatsby only wants Daisy because he sees her as an embodiment of wealth when he expresses, “it excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes”(Fitzgerald 149). This line directly states that Gatsby views Daisy as “valuable”, as if there is some kind of price to be paid for her. Gatsby shows the validity of this statement when he is anything but frugal with his purchasing of items to impress Daisy. Even if the two really did love each other, the relationship between them was fueled by superficial ideas such as the need for wealth and
During the initial stages of the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby is seen as ineligible as a candidate to marry Daisy because he did not have a dollar to his name. They loved each other, however, their love was evanescent and only lasted a month before Gatsby went off to the war. Needing to be prudent for the good of her future, Daisy decided that the best course of action was to marry a rich man such as Tom Buchanan instead of waiting for Gatsby to return. While Gatsby already had the goal of becoming rich and powerful, he saw Daisy as an additional prize, and even at the point where the reader meets the ostentatious Gatsby, he is still lacking that one piece to the puzzle that will finally satisfy him. Fitzgerald makes it obvious that Gatsby only wants Daisy because he sees her as an embodiment of wealth when he expresses, “it excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes”(Fitzgerald 149). This line directly states that Gatsby views Daisy as “valuable”, as if there is some kind of price to be paid for her. Gatsby shows the validity of this statement when he is anything but frugal with his purchasing of items to impress Daisy. Even if the two really did love each other, the relationship between them was fueled by superficial ideas such as the need for wealth and