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Simon Mattar

Storer

English 3H Block 4

3/2/20

Power Comes with a Price

“Strengths and weaknesses are the main elements of our characters” (Dokmak 2019). No

matter how much power or control in life a person has, it is part of human nature that they still

obtain the fragilities that every other human possesses. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great

Gatsby,  different prominent characters display lives of authority over others, but they still cannot

break through the chains of weakness that prohibit them from living their lives to their full

potential. The Great Gatsby is the story of a man who arranges his life around a long-lost love,

but through his efforts to re-possess those once vigorous feelings, his pursuit ultimately leads to

his death. Through the portrayed lives of Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Tom Buchanan;

power is a key component to the roles of these characters, but with this power comes weakness

and vulnerability.

Daisy Buchanan is a character who has the power to influence every move of Jay Gatsby;

however, she is taken by the physical and mental traumatizing relationship with her husband

Tom. In his profession of love for Daisy, Gatsby states, “And what’s more I love Daisy too.

Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back and, in

my heart, I love her all the time” (Fitzgerald 131). Gatsby is talking to Tom and explaining how

no matter what happens, he will always love Daisy and come back to her. This profession of love

for Daisy shows the amount of influence that Daisy has on Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s life revolves

around Daisy. Anything that Daisy does or says has a direct impact on what Gatsby does because
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he is so obsessed with her. However, with this much power over the life of Jay Gatsby, she is

overwhelmed by the relationship that she is currently in. Jordan is explaining the situation at

hand to Nick: “Tom’s got some woman in New York” … “then suddenly she[Daisy] threw her

napkin on the table and excused herself and went in the house” (Fitzgerald 14-15). When Tom

gets a phone call during dinner, Daisy immediately knows who it is from based off of her body

language when leaving the table. Daisy knows that Tom’s mistress has called because he gets a

usual phone call like this daily. Through Daisy’s frustrated body language, it is easy to see the

crucial effect that it has on her mentally and physically. Furthermore, she has not left this toxic

relationship yet because she knows that if she does, she will receive the physical abuse from the

brute football player that Tom is. Daisy is trapped in a dreadful relationship that she cannot get

out of and it is hurting her. Daisy Buchanan’s influence over Jay Gatsby is the reason why he

goes through so much heartache.

Jay Gatsby is an emblem for wealth and success in the eyes of society, but something is

still missing in his heart that causes him disconsolation. The description of Gatsby is portrayed

through the eyes of Nick Carraway: “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island,

sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it

means anything, means just that” (Fitzgerald 98). Jay Gatsby is no ordinary guy. He has the

power of the “son of God” in society. People know him from different cities because of the

“magical” parties that he hosts almost every night. Along with his eminent reputation in West

Egg and East Egg, Jay Gatsby is one of the wealthiest people in New York. He has connections

from all over the nation. Even with everything going perfect in his life, he still has a piece

missing in him that is greater than all of his power and wealth combined. After a long

conversation with Jay Gatsby, Nick analyzes how Daisy has affected Gatsby’s lifestyle: "He
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talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of

himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered

since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he

could find out what that thing was...” (Fitzgerald 110). Daisy Buchanan is Gatsby’s first true

love and it seems that he has never gotten over it. The life of Jay Gatsby revolves around Daisy

Buchanan. Despite his utmost efforts to retain the love that encompassed them so long ago,

Daisy continues on in her relationship with Tom. No matter what Gatsby has in his life, he will

still have a missing piece. This missing piece is the reason why his life “has been confused and

disordered.” The absence of Daisy in Gatsby’s life makes him weak and restrains him from

living his life to its maximum potential. The wealth of Jay Gatsby puts him at a higher place in

society just as Tom Buchanan’s wealth does.

Tom Buchanan seems to live the perfect life, but he struggles to connect with people due

to his controlling behavior. Nick paints of picture of Tom Buchanan, “Her husband, among

various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played

football at New Haven—a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute

limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax” (Fitzgerald 6).

Growing up in an extremely wealthy family, Tom was also a football phenomenon. With his

great stature and muscular body, nobody dares to contest him. The combination of Tom’s wealth

and his size gives him great power and authority in society. However, with this great power and

strength, a barbaric side of him comes out which hurts the people that he supposedly “loves.” In

a fight between Tom and Mertyl, Tom decides to take control and impose his will on Mertyl:

“I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai——' Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan

broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). After repeating “Daisy” multiple times, Tom
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loses his temper and smacks Myrtle in the face. He breaks her nose and it begins to bleed all over

her face. With Tom’s great strength, he believes that he can bully anyone around whenever he

wants. With this abusive behavior, people are hurt by his actions and this creates a bad image for

him. Having this cruel relationship between his friends prohibits him from establishing a true

relationship between any of them. It is hard for a person to truly love someone if they are being

abused by them. Not being able to develop heartfelt relationships with people because of his

brutish behavior is Tom’s greatest weakness and it stops him from being truly happy in life.

Through the examples of these prominent characters, weakness and power work hand in

hand and are a part of human nature. With great power comes points of vulnerability and this

principle is displayed through the characters of Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Tom

Buchanan. Even the most powerful people on this Earth live their life with some weaknesses that

inhibit them from achieving more; it just depends on how strong that person is “A Quote from

You Are Unique.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 2019, www.goodreads.com/quotes/9898302-

strengths-and-weaknesses-are-the-main-elements-of-our-characters. to overcome these obstacles.

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Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. PENGUIN Books, 1925.

“A Quote from You Are Unique.” Goodreads, Goodreads, 2019, www.goodreads.com/quotes/9898302-

strengths-and-weaknesses-are-the-main-elements-of-our-characters.