Power In The Great Gatsby

Power, what is it? Many think they have it but how many people truly have it? Back in the 1900s amidst the times of war and a depression, a few big names rose to power. Some of them became powerful by taking advantage of the economy. Others used illegal activities to rise to the top. All of them however rose to power by trampling on the weak and oppressed and taking advantage of every opportunity they had. That’s how it was done during the great depression and that is still how our world is run today. This period was also a time of great change. Fitzgerald 's famous book The Great Gatsby centers around a rich man named Gatsby. This book is set in the 1920’s and talks about change that actually happened in real life. However as the country was

Al Capone, a legend by name, was a criminal by those who actually know what his name stood for. Growing up in Brooklyn, Al Capone developed this though gangster mentality from an early age. He practically had to have it to survive in the streets he grew up in. In his later years he became known for being one of, if not the greatest, crime-syndicate mobsters. In the early 1900s Capone moved to Chicago where his climb to fame really started. The Prohibition Amendment “prohibited the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors”(history.com), and this led to bootlegging alcohol. Al Capone prospered in this industry. Although this Amendment had good intentions, “prohibition proved difficult to enforce and failed to have the intended effect of eliminating crime and other social problems–to the contrary, it led to a rise in organized crime, as the bootlegging of alcohol became an ever-more lucrative operation”(history.com). Much of Capone’s power was through organized crime. Due to the Prohibition Amendment, there was an extreme desire for alcohol. With this strong desire for alcohol, many organized crime sellers came up. When all these gangs started, Capone’s gang took out other gangsters. Capone was able to get the all other gangsters to fear him which allowed him to become very successful and

Henry Ford Invented the Model T in 1908. Henry Ford, another legend by name, known for making the model t and ultimately the car. Henry Ford’s power started through grit and determination. Determined to make a faster and easier way to transport things around than a horse and carriage. From there he just took off as he successfully created that and wanted to add upon it to create something that could be steered and was easier to drive. “The Model T, also known as the “Tin Lizzie,” changed the way Americans live, work and travel. Henry Ford’s revolutionary advancements in assembly-line automobile manufacturing made the Model T the first car to be affordable for a majority of Americans” (History.com). The reason why Henry Ford was so successful with the Model T was because it was affordable. Before, not many Americans had the money to own a car. Ford made it possible for middle-class Americans to own a car. Also at the time the Model T was the only affordable car so he was successful by appealing to the middle class people’s needs. After his invention Ford gained more power through assembly line. The assembly line helped him get power but the heart of his power didn’t lie