Jason Poff

12/18/13
Period 2
Theme in the Great Gatsby
Money has long been connected to power throughout the history of the world.
istory and e!en fiction often shows the power that comes with wealth and how it can
corrupt people" e!en today we can loo# at real life e$amples of this theme. The no!el The
Great Gatsby shows that wealth is power and wealth and power corrupt through the
actions and personalities of the characters Meyer %olfshiem& Tom& and 'aisy (uchanan.
)ne character in The Great Gatsby that shows how money corrupts is *atsby+s
business partner& Meyer %olfshiem. %hile in ,ew -or# with *atsby& ,ic# meets Meyer
%olfshiem for the first time. /+e+s the man who fi$ed the %orld+s 0eries bac# in
1111&+2 3ow did that happen4+ 5 as#ed after a minute. 3e 6ust saw the opportunity.+
3%hy isn+t he in 6ail4+ 3They can+t get him& old sport. e+s a smart man&+7 898:. ,ic# is
blown away at the power of this one man who so easily fi$ed a huge e!ent and is so well
#nown for it but can+t be caught because of his underworld connections. e has these
connections because of how much money he has& and with it he can pretty much to do
anything and not face the normal conse;uences. <fter *atsby+s death& ,ic# try+s to go
tal# to Meyer %olfshiem. /+,obody+s in&+ she said. 3Mr. %olfshiem+s gone to
=hicago&+2 <t this moment a !oice unmista#ably %olfshiem+s called 30tella>+ from the
other side of the door. 3?ea!e your name on the des#&+ she said ;uic#ly. 35+ll gi!e it to him
when he get+s bac#&+7 8198@191:. 0tella& the secretary& feels li#e she can be so rude
because of how powerful %olfshiem is. 0he was probably told to do this by %olfshiem to
pre!ent too many people from tal#ing to him and shows how important he thin#s he is.
Meyer %olfshiem is a classic corrupt underworld character and shows how money and
power corrupts e!eryone no matter their social status.
Tom (uchanan& a !ery rich and confident man& is another e$ample of the power of
money and what it does to your decisions. %hile in ,ew -or# with his mistress and ,ic#&
Tom loses control. /0ome time toward midnight Tom (uchanan and Mrs. %ilson stood
face to face discussing in impassioned !oices whether Mrs. %ilson had any right to
mention 'aisy+s name2 35+ll say it whene!er 5 want too> 'aisy> 'ai@+ Ma#ing a short
deft mo!ement Tom (uchanan bro#e her nose with his open hands&7 8A1:. Tom& being
born into a rich family& has always been rich and has had the attitude he could do
whate!er he wanted and people wouldn+t care or stop him because he+s rich and
powerful. is money and power ma#es him thin# he can get away with anything 8and
often does:. %hen ,ic# runs into Tom on the street after *atsby+s murder& he as#s him
about it. /5 told him the truth&+ he said2 3%hat if 5 did tell him4 That fellow had it
coming to him. e threw dust into your eyes 6ust li#e he did in 'aisy+s but he was a
tough one. e ran o!er Myrtle li#e you+d run o!er a dog and ne!er e!en stopped his
car&+7 8189:. Tom #new !ery well that if he told %ilson about *atsby he would go and
#ill him. <gain he show+s no restraint and tells him because he #nows he can+t be blamed
and neither then will be his wife& so now they can run away. %ith all his money and
power all his life Tom does whate!er he wants #nowing he+ll be safe. This shows his
corrupt ways.
Throughout The Great Gatsby as we learn more about 'aisy we learn more about
her money and power& which has made her selfish and careless. %hen ,ic# goes o!er to
the (uchanan+s for the first time in east egg he obser!es them. /+5 hurt it&+ we all loo#ed@
the #nuc#le was blac# and blue. 3-ou did it Tom&+ she said accusingly2 3That+s what 5
get for marrying a brute of a man& a great big hul#ing physical specimen of a@3 35 hate that
word hul#ing&+ ob6ected Tom crossly& 3e!en in #idding&+ 3ul#ing&+ 'aisy insisted&7 81B:.
This shows 'aisy and Tom+s personality& both saying whate!er they want. That creates a
lot of tension in the marriage and throughout the boo#& as they both do what they want
8ha!e affairs: and use their money to get out of problems. <t the end of the no!el ,ic#
reflects on what happened as he ma#es moral 6udgments on Tom and 'aisy saying /They
were careless people& Tom and 'aisy@ they smashed up things and creatures then
retreated bac# into their money or their !ast carelessness or whate!er it was that #ept
them together& and let other people clean up their mess they had made27 8189:. ,ic# is
shoc#ed that instead of facing the conse;uences of the hit and run they decide to run off
and lea!e *atsby to ta#e the blame for 'aisy& thin#ing only of themsel!es. 'aisy is used
to getting out of whate!er choices she ma#es because of her money which gi!es her
power to do this and continue the pattern throughout her life. (ecause of all her power
'aisy has grown up only caring for herself and that+s why she gets along with Tom
because they can run away together.
Truly these characters@ %olfshiem& Tom& and 'aisy@ in The Great Gatsby show
how money gi!es power and how the power corrupts. This theme shown by these
characters ma#es people thin# about today+s society and how we are still corrupted with
money and power and will probably always will be" howe!er it can ma#e people more
aware of it. This can help us understand oursel!es and other people better& possibly
helping us be more #ind and become o!erall a better society.