The Great Gatsby Power Quotes

The main characters of the Great Gatsby, specifically Gatsby, Daisy and Tom are all grossly rich, with lavish possessions and important connections. Their richness and power gives them authority to do whatever they please without punishment, and without legal punishment. Tom Buchanan commits adultery, with his wife’s knowledge. Nick is at the Buchanans house with Daisy and Jordan while Tom goes inside to take a phone call. Nick and Jordan discuss with Daisy beside them, ““You mean you don’t know?” said Miss Baker, honestly surprised. “I thought everybody knew.” “I don’t.” “Why-” she said hesitantly, “Tom’s got a girl in New York”” (15). Daisy clearly knows that Tom is cheating on her as she sits through this conversation already aware of Tom's behavior.

This gives into Tom’s power because Tom does not receive any consequences for his actions. Tom ends up not getting in trouble for committing adultery, but Myrtle ends up having to pay for it by death. This is a situation where the poor people have to pay for the rich people's mistakes and sins. Gatsby acquires his riches from bootlegging, an illegal practice, but his social and legal power somehow prevents him from ever facing legal charges. Tom exposes Gatsby when he is trying to prove to Daisy why he is the better man. Tom states ““I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.” He turned to us and spoke rapidly. He and this Wolfsheim brought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong”” (133). Gatsby never gets in trouble from the law. Tom or the others that knew about Gatsby's job but never exposed him to the law. Even if Gatsby was exposed to the law, there is no evidence of him getting in