The Prohibition, a Theme in F. Scott´s Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby

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In the 1920s, prohibition, the ban on alcohol is in full force in order to better society, alcohol was seen as the corrupter of people’s judgement. Ironically prohibition caused society to decay, despite the many boons happening at the time. Beneath the seemingly prosperous country lies corruption, inequality, and despair. The corruption is so obvious, that author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a book on this subject called The Great Gatsby. His main character, Jay Gatsby, spent his whole life trying to become rich enough to win the heart of a now married Daisy. He became rich by bootlegging, selling alcohol illegally. In the end, he ultimately didn't win Daisy’s heart. She instead stayed with her husband, Tom Buchanan, as she rather have a predictable future, rather than an uncertain one. In the novel, Fitzgerald explores the corruption of wealth and how it causes suffering to others, while the rich themselves don’t face the consequences.
In The Great Gatsby, the wealthy are shown to be self-centered while the poor are left to suffer in poverty. The wealthy really don’t like change in the social order, doing everything they can to keep the lower class in their place. The prime example is the Buchanans’ treatment of Gatsby; however, he isn't the only one who suffered at their hand. George Wilson is also unfortunately one of those people. Throughout the book, Wilson, a car dealer, asks Tom if he is going to sell the blue coupe’ to him, Tom promised Wilson at the beginning of chapter 2, “Next week; I’ve got my man working on it now.” (Fitzgerald, 29) The reason he needs the car is so he can sell it and make money to support himself and his wife Myrtle. Despite his numerous promises to Wilson, Tom never gave him the car. The only reas...

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...o all these things is because they are bored with their life and must do something without getting into trouble themselves.
The Wealthy during the 1920s are shown to be egotistical people who only care about their own pleasure. New found independence, new technology, and a ban that only make alcohol more tempting certainly makes this prosperous time a moral dystopia. For the first time for many people, they can do almost anything with money; sometimes at the expense of others. The others were forced to live in poverty, endured careless rich people, and get blamed for their mess. Unfortunately for the rich, the Great Depression slap them back into reality and they have to work hard to get back what they lost. Both history and The Great Gatsby shows that money can be a double-edged sword and that there some things money can’t buy, like love and happiness for example.

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