The Great Gatsby Will To Power Analysis

Ways to Obtain Power

Lim Tea-woo (20231)
Literary Analysis Essay
May, 21, 2015

In his book Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, wrote, “The world itself is the will to power – and nothing else! And you yourself are the will to power – and nothing else!” Since the time the book was published in 1901, humankind has constantly desired power. People all over the world have always struggled to gain power and F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals this comparable human nature in his novel, The Great Gatsby. Published in 1925, the novel is set in Long Island and New York and shows the ways of the upper class in the early 20th century. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald demonstrates how one man is able to obtain power through finance, women

The main character, Jay Gatsby, epitomizes Nietzsche’s belief of the “Will to power.” Gatsby is portrayed as a fabulously rich man who accomplished power by earning a tremendous amount of money during the time of prohibition – the United States ban on alcohol sale. Initially, Gatsby was initially poor and had to execute immoral things to earn money, “[Gatsby] and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” to earn money(148). Once he attained his financial power, Gatsby became the highlight of West Egg, entertaining all sorts of people from East Egg, West Egg and the city at his extravagant parties. The importance of Gatsby’s parties helps reflect the influence the power he was able to obtain, first from the money he earned and then by the social connections he

According to the paper that Mr. Gatz brought up, Gatsby planned a hard schedule when he was a student, such as, “Rise from bed … 6.00 A.M. dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling … 6.15-6.30 study electricity, etc … 7.15-8.15 work …”(192). From an early age, he trained to be a man of authority by following a lifestyle of power and growth. He also pretended to be a noble, often using the words “old sport” in his speech; by using that phrase, he anticipated that he might be seen as a member of a noble heritage(52). Furthermore, he fabricated his background by asserting himself as “the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West”(71). To those who would listen, he insisted he was “educated at Oxford”; even though it was only for a few months, referring himself as an Oxford man(71). Over the years, Gatsby was adamant in becoming a great man, so he remained focused and built up an empire of wealth, friends and an image of nobility. In the end, Gatsby achieved a level of esteem that provided him with all of the “power” he