Prohibition In The Great Gatsby Essay

There are many different problems and situations that affected many Americans during the time period of The Great Gatsby. The different problems affect many characters lives and relationships throughout the novel in a variety of situations. Such problems with characters personal lives would be the withering of a American dream. Also, such situations during this time period is how characters aren’t achieving their highest potential and achieving their dreams. Another problem during this time period would be the very unequal wealth distribution in America, but also among all the characters families and themselves individually in The Great Gatsby. There is new money, old money, and the poor which is represented by the valley of ashes throughout this time period. Also, among the rich and poor there is always those who want more and more and are always greedy at every point in the story. Even though characters want all the money they can get there hands on they also try there hardest to achieve enough love and romance in there lives that their heart desires. Lastly, there is a great deal of betrayal throughout the entire length of the novel The Great Gatsby. It is represented by many characters, their relationships, and their personal lives. Different characters’ personal relationships and personal lives give well-distinguished representations of the problems such as a withering American dream, unequal wealth distribution in America, and betrayal in The Great Gatsby.

In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway gradually grows annoyance with Daisy and Tom Buchanan and their selfish and luxurious life. Daisy, on the other hand finds Nick to be her “trustworthy genuine cousin”. Tom thinks of Nick as his old friend from college who is always there for him; however fraudulence lies between all of them. Thus, representing how each of the characters perceived their friendship differently. To begin, throughout the book Nick grows to become more and more disgusted with the actions Daisy and Tom fulfill; especially towards people. Nick represents this when he says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them

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After going through the “Great War,” also known as World War I, soldiers came back home in the middle of prohibition, a time where the almost all recreational alcohol was illegal. Despite the government's intentions to protect the people from alcohol abuse, prohibition forced people to find unorthodox ways of attaining alcohol. Prohibition unofficially made people rich because so people made lots and lots of money making and selling alcohol illegally–bootlegging. This is the setting for the famous novel, The Great Gatsby. In this book, F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies the true corrupting nature of wealth and shows just how powerful the desire for money can be through the corruption of the American dream, Gatsby’s dream, and the main characters.

In The Great Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan are two wealthy but careless residents of East Egg, New York. Jay Gatsby, Daisy’s old boyfriend, lives in West Egg and recently became wealthy, as opposed to the inherited wealth that she and Tom have. Gatsby is still in love with Daisy, and throws parties every weekend in an attempt to get her attention. Towards the beginning of the novel, Gatsby invites the narrator Nick Carraway, who is also his neighbor and Daisy’s cousin, to one of his parties. In chapter three of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick uses vivid imagery, figurative language, and syntax in descriptions of Gatsby’s parties in order to communicate both the enticing appearance of wealth, as well as its destructive nature.

With its increase in organized crime, notorious icons, and unhealthy lifestyle, the Era of Prohibition represented the Roaring Twenties which F. Scott Fitzgerald vividly portrayed in The Great Gatsby.

beginning to end.” What does this curiously ambivalent admiration for Gatsby tell us about Nick,

F. Scott Fitzgerald was accurate in his portrayal of the aristocratic flamboyancy and indifference of the 1920s. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores many aspects of indifference and flamboyancy. A large influence on this society was the pursuit of the American Dream. Gangsters played a heavily influential role in the new money aristocracy of the 1920s. The indifference was mainly due to the advent of Prohibition in 1920. One major societal revolution in this period was that of the “new women,” who expressed new actions and beliefs. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald accurately portrayed his characters Nick Carraway, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and the novel’s eponym, Jay Gatsby,

With ‘The Great Gatsby’ taking place in the summer of 1922 and right in the midst of the alcohol prohibition we see how it has a profound effect on the lives of many of the novels characters. In general, the ban on alcohol actually had a damaging effect with the desire of alcohol becoming vaster it was not uncommon to find assemblies of drunk individuals like we see at Gatsby and Tom and Myrtles parties. However, as another critic, Nicolas Tredell, alternatively argues the closest thing to a freely chosen wider community is the party, especially Gatsby’s spectacular parties. Many bad things happen at Gatsby’s parties: drunkenness, fights, injuries, general dissipation. But they do also offer people a space, partly detached from the everyday world, in which they can assemble, expand, explore, perform, realise their desires, relate to one another in new ways; in this respect, they are intimations of positive human

In the article, The Great Gatsby, Prohibition, and Fitzgerald by Tori Avey, Logos is portrayed to show prohibition and the effects it had on families in the 1920’s through imagery. The roaring twenties can be said to be the greatest times of America. Many things rose in mainstream america. Cities began to grow. New ways of living rose in the millions. Electronics were brought into the picture. But one thing became a problem, it was alcohol. Alcohol which is a timeless classic of all cultures, becomes the biggest problem in america. “Alcohol flowed like water in homes across the country, and the drunkards filled America’s prisons and poorhouses” (Avey 1). The image of alcohol flowing just as popular as water in american homes creates a sense

Meanwhile, another amendment to the Constitution was disrupting the post-war world; the 18th, which put Prohibition in effect on a federal level. After years of temperance movements, many people were supportive of this new law, however a large percentage of the population continued selling, buying and drinking alcohol illegally throughout the 1920’s (Brown 705). In The Great Gatsby, the opinions that were more socially acceptable are presented through Nick Carraway’s observations. Throughout the novel, Tom Buchanan believes in his own social superiority; he is of a family with old money, and dislikes Gatsby for the fact that he is of new money, among other reasons. Tom declares that "[the white race] has made all the things that go to make society" (Fitzgerald 13), proving his white supremacy, and believes that "women run around too much these days to suit [him]" (Fitzgerald 103), showing he believes in the traditional role of women as housewives. As well, while none of the main characters directly oppose Prohibition, the consequences of drinking –such as the drunken fight between Tom and Myrtle– are shown and give validity to those who supported Prohibition. However, the more rebellious views toward these issues are also shown in The Great Gatsby. The main characters regularly drink at parties, in private rooms, and in shady restaurants, and do so without a second thought, showing

Fitzgerald’s portrayal alcohol as a shield from pain and suffering serves as a counterpoint to the prohibitionist argument that alcohol is an ineffective way to escape the troubles of life. When Nick arrives at Gatsby’s party he asks several guests about Gatsby’s whereabouts. He realizes that this is, at Gatsby’s party, an embarrassing faux pas. His first reaction to this humiliation is “to get roaring drunk from sheer embarrassment” (Fitzgerald, 42). Fitzgerald repeatedly shows us that, in response to any sort of embarrassment or loss, drunkenness can be a default option for coping. Alcohol, in The Great Gatsby, can help ward off the troubles of life. When Myrtle is hit and killed, Catherine, her sister, decides to break her rule against drinking. When Daisy receives a deeply upsetting letter (presumably from Gatsby) before her wedding, she turns to liquor to shield her from the pain. “‘Gratulate me,’ she muttered. ‘Never had a drink before, but oh

While researching texts about the changes in the 1920’s in the novel The Great Gatsby, I found some authors that said that the Prohibition, women finally getting the right to vote, World War I coming to an end, electronics and many more advancements had a substantial significance as to why the society changed throughout the novel. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he used all of the advancements in the 1920’s to show how the era influences the characters choices, and their actions throughout the book. In the 1920’s, alcohol had a big effect on society. It became a stress reliever, a way to have fun, or a way to make a living.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to the Prohibition era to create conflict. Many people were making million from bootlegging during this period, including Gatsby. This is significant because it shows that Gatsby is underneath the Buchanan's for making money illegally. This is what turns Daisy away from Gatsby, because she figures out that he did not earn his fortunes from the drug stores. This makes Tom look like a better choice in the end, because he is from the rich world she is

As Jones summed up on a BBS response, "The certainly love drinking from dawn til dawn" (Jones 1160). In comparison, many of the characters of The Great Gatsby drank excessively, keeping in mind the story was set in the United States during prohibition. Jay Gatsby, a bootlegger, threw large, lavish parties at his grand estate during the summer evenings where the alcohol, food and music flowed. Characters such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, and Nick Carraway enjoyed parties and drank excessively. Another important parallel to point out under the vice of excessive drinking is the fact that both Hemingway and Fitzgerald drank excessively. Their excessive drinking behaviors caused their writing to suffer (McDowell 91).