Michael's Questions
Opening:

How does wealth change ones appearance towards another?

Core:

Why was Tom afraid of Gatsby having anything on him?

In my opinion it seems that Tom was afraid of Gatsby simple because of his wealth and the power that is associated with it. "Well, they say he's the nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm's. That's where all his money comes from". Pg (32)."Really?"…"I'm scared of him. I'd hate for him to have anything on me."(32). From the text it clear that Tom had not known that Gatsby was wealthy however once he learned this, he immediately reevaluated Gatsby and was afraid of offending him. By doing so Fitzgerald promotes the idea that in this era of time and place wealth was a very important part of the social stature of a person, and it could either be good or bad. The scene quoted above is a moment of realization for Tom, a moment before he didn't think of Gatsby as a powerful man who could affect his life, but with this little information that Gatsby was wealthy changed this entire perspective.

Why is it that Tom was more observant of Gatsby after learning of his wealth?

In my opinion Tom became much more aware of Gatsby after learning about his wealth, for example "There was music from my neighbor's house through  the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne."(39) Fitzgerald uses these details to show that Tom is now more attentive towards the activities of Gatsby. Before Tom learned of Gatsby's wealth he did not notice Gatsby as much or consider how Gatsby could change his life or even play a large role in his social stature. What Fitzgerald tells the reader is that in this era of time the wealth of your neighbor could very well control your social status, Tom who was relatively indifferent about Gatsby in regards to his status is now suddenly, to an extent, worried about Gatsby.

Closing Question: 

By revealing the wealth of Gatsby, and because it became a concern of Tom, to what extent does Gatsby's wealth effect Tom?