The Great Gatsby

Wealth and Class in The Great Gatsby11 key quotes across the novel.

How the novel contrasts old money, new money and the working class, exposing the snobbery, greed and inequality of the Jazz Age.

All Wealth and Class Quotes

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy”
Nick CarrawayChapter 9
Wealth and ClassMoral Decay

Context: After the deaths of Gatsby and Myrtle, Nick delivers his damning final verdict on the Buchanans.

Analysis

The adjective "careless" condemns Tom and Daisy's reckless indifference to the destruction they cause. The full sentence shows they "smashed up things and creatures" then "retreated back into their money", making wealth a shield against consequence. Fitzgerald uses Nick's judgment to expose the moral bankruptcy of the privileged class.

Language Techniques:

Pejorative adjectiveMoral commentaryClass critique

Exam Tip

The key quote for the carelessness of the rich and the corruption of the upper class. Link "retreated back into their money" to the gulf between rich and poor.

“I hope she'll be a fool — that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”
Daisy BuchananChapter 1
Wealth and ClassIllusion vs Reality

Context: Daisy recalls her reaction to the birth of her daughter, revealing her cynicism about women's lives.

Analysis

The bitter wish for her daughter to be a "beautiful little fool" exposes Daisy's awareness that women in her world are valued only for beauty and ignorance. The diminutive "little fool" reflects a society that rewards female passivity. Fitzgerald uses the line to reveal Daisy as both complicit in and trapped by patriarchal expectations.

Language Techniques:

IronyDiminutiveSocial commentary

Exam Tip

Essential for analysing gender and the limited roles available to women in the 1920s. Argue whether Daisy is a victim or a willing participant.

“Her voice is full of money”
Daisy BuchananChapter 7
Wealth and ClassLove and Desire

Context: Gatsby tries to define the irresistible quality of Daisy's voice, and Nick realises what it truly is.

Analysis

The metaphor "full of money" fuses Daisy's allure with her wealth, revealing that her charm is inseparable from her class. Nick recognises in her voice "the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it" — desire and capital become one. Fitzgerald exposes how, for Gatsby, loving Daisy and craving the American Dream of wealth are the same impossible pursuit.

Language Techniques:

MetaphorSymbolismAuditory imagery

Exam Tip

A brilliant quote linking love and money. Use it to argue Gatsby loves what Daisy represents (wealth, status) as much as Daisy herself.

“They're such beautiful shirts ... It makes me sad because I've never seen such — such beautiful shirts before”
Daisy BuchananChapter 5
Wealth and ClassMoral Decay

Context: During the reunion at Gatsby's mansion, Daisy breaks down weeping over his collection of imported shirts.

Analysis

That Daisy weeps over "beautiful shirts" rather than over Gatsby himself reveals the materialism at the heart of her emotions. The repetition and broken syntax convey genuine feeling, yet it is feeling triggered by displayed wealth. Fitzgerald suggests Daisy's love is shallow and bound up with status symbols rather than the man.

Language Techniques:

SymbolismRepetitionBathos

Exam Tip

Use to critique Daisy's materialism. The shirts are a symbol — her tears are for wealth, not for Gatsby.

“It was a body capable of enormous leverage — a cruel body”
Tom BuchananChapter 1
Wealth and ClassMoral Decay

Context: Nick describes Tom's powerful physical presence on first meeting him at his East Egg mansion.

Analysis

The phrase "enormous leverage" and the blunt "cruel body" present Tom as a figure of brute physical power and menace. The dash isolates "a cruel body", making cruelty his defining trait. Fitzgerald uses Tom's physicality to embody the aggressive, entitled dominance of the old-money class.

Language Techniques:

Physical descriptionCaesuraCharacterisation

Exam Tip

Use to introduce Tom as a brutish representative of inherited privilege. His physical "cruelty" foreshadows his violence towards Myrtle.

“Civilization's going to pieces”
Tom BuchananChapter 1
Wealth and ClassMoral Decay

Context: Tom rants at dinner about a racist book, fearing the decline of the white race.

Analysis

Tom's alarmist claim that "Civilization's going to pieces" reveals his racism and his fear of losing the dominance his class takes for granted. The hyperbole exposes the insecurity beneath his bluster — he clings to white supremacy to justify his privilege. Fitzgerald satirises the prejudice and intellectual emptiness of the wealthy elite.

Language Techniques:

HyperboleCharacterisationSocial satire

Exam Tip

Use for context on 1920s racism and class anxiety. Tom's views expose the ugly ideology propping up the old-money establishment.

“Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”
Tom BuchananChapter 2
Moral DecayWealth and Class

Context: When Myrtle repeatedly chants Daisy's name to provoke him, Tom strikes her at the party in New York.

Analysis

The casual, "deft" violence of breaking Myrtle's nose reveals Tom's belief that he can treat the lower classes as disposable. The blunt, matter-of-fact syntax mirrors how easily and unthinkingly he commits the act. Fitzgerald exposes the brutality and impunity of the rich, who face no consequences for harming the powerless.

Language Techniques:

Violent imageryMatter-of-fact syntaxCharacterisation

Exam Tip

Key evidence for Tom's cruelty and the exploitation of the working class. Connect to Nick calling the Buchanans "careless people".

“I've got a nice place here”
Tom BuchananChapter 1
Wealth and ClassIllusion vs Reality

Context: Tom shows off his estate to Nick, asserting ownership and superiority almost immediately.

Analysis

The proud, possessive boast about his "nice place" demonstrates Tom's need to display the inherited wealth that defines him. Where Gatsby earns his fortune, Tom merely flaunts old money as a badge of inherent superiority. Fitzgerald contrasts the two men to explore the old-money versus new-money divide.

Language Techniques:

Possessive toneCharacterisationJuxtaposition

Exam Tip

Use to contrast Tom (old money) with Gatsby (new money). Tom's confidence is rooted in inheritance, not achievement.

“an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering”
Myrtle WilsonChapter 2
Love and DesireWealth and Class

Context: Nick describes Myrtle when he first meets her at her husband's garage in the Valley of Ashes.

Analysis

The "perceptible vitality" and "smouldering" nerves present Myrtle as sensual, energetic and full of suppressed desire. The fire imagery foreshadows the destructive passion that will consume her. Fitzgerald contrasts her vivid life-force with the grey, dead landscape of the Valley of Ashes she is desperate to escape.

Language Techniques:

Sensory imageryForeshadowingJuxtaposition

Exam Tip

Use to introduce Myrtle and her hunger for a better life. The "smouldering" fire imagery foreshadows her violent end.

“I married him because I thought he was a gentleman”
Myrtle WilsonChapter 2
Wealth and ClassIllusion vs Reality

Context: Myrtle scornfully explains to the party guests why she despises her husband George.

Analysis

Myrtle's contempt for George, who "wasn't fit to lick my shoe", reveals her snobbish aspiration to climb above her class. Her belief that a "gentleman" equals status exposes how thoroughly she has internalised the dream of wealth. Fitzgerald shows the lower classes corrupted by the same materialism as the rich.

Language Techniques:

CharacterisationClass commentaryIrony

Exam Tip

Use for social climbing and the corrupting power of class aspiration. Myrtle pursues Tom for status, not love.

“the valley of ashes”
Myrtle WilsonChapter 2
Moral DecayWealth and Class

Context: Nick describes the desolate industrial wasteland where Myrtle and George live, between West Egg and New York.

Analysis

The "valley of ashes" is a powerful symbol of social and moral decay — the grim consequence of the rich's pursuit of pleasure. Its grey desolation contrasts sharply with the glittering wealth of East and West Egg. Fitzgerald uses it to expose the human cost of the American Dream, trapping characters like Myrtle in hopeless poverty.

Language Techniques:

SymbolismImagery of decayJuxtaposition

Exam Tip

A central setting-as-symbol. Link the "valley of ashes" to "foul dust" and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg overlooking it.

Explore More The Great Gatsby Themes

Browse quotes by theme across the whole novel, or view the full set of character quotes.

The American DreamLove and DesireThe Past and MemoryIllusion vs RealityMoral Decay
All The Great Gatsby QuotesPractice with English Genie