Lastly, during the 1920's alcohol grew popular. Although it was illegal many people still drank, bought, and/or sold it. In the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, characters drank often. For example, Daisy asked her husband, Tom, to open the whiskey so that she could make them a mint julep (Fitzgerald 42). A Mint Julep is an alcoholic beverage that consists of whiskey, mint, water, and sugar (“The Great Gatsby; Mint Julep.”). High balls, champagne and whiskey were also mentioned frequently throughout the novel. Due to the Prohibition era, a time when alcohol was deemed to be illegal, citizens hid and disguised their alcohol. They would sometimes use "slang words, such as " rot gut, panther sweat, monkey rum, tarantula juice,
white mule", etc., to fool the law" ("History of the Roaring Twenties"). For instance, Tom wrapped his unopened bottle of whiskey in a towel (Fitzgerald 142). Because of the Prohibition, the crime rate in the twenties rose incredibly. After all, alcohol also brought many people joy and excitement.
This is seen throughout the novel in obvious ways, but also hinted at in minor ways as well. James Gatz became the wealthy, well known Jay Gatsby, but nobody knows for a fact how he came into the wealth that he did. Tom Buchanan makes some accusations of Gatsby and how he assumes he got his wealth. He says “He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t wrong” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, ch. 7). “Prohibition made alcohol illegal, but it did not eliminate it. Illegal producers known as moonshiners sold their illegal product to illegal distributors known as bootleggers, who in turn sold it to illegal retail establishments known as speakeasies” (Mark Thornton). There was a chain of different ways that a person could get alcohol and then get away with drinking it, or even selling it. Government officials or police officers could easily be bribed to let off people who were illegal producing alcohol. Some doctors were even against the prohibition. They would prescribe alcohol to their patients as medical liquor, then drug stores would give out these prescriptions as if it was legitimate. We can only assume, since it isn 't stated directly in the novel, but this is why Gatsby and Wolfsheim owned drug stores, and that is how Gatsby made is fortune (Mark Thornton). Gatsby never denies these accusations that Tom made, which makes it seem as if they are
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are several parties that take place in the novel that provide the reader with insight on the characters. At each party the reader gains new information about the major characters. At the first festivity, it is in Tom Buchanan's house in East Egg, a large and elaborate house , owned by Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Tom , Nick , Daisy , and Jordan have dinner. It is a private dinner party, and the conversation that takes place during this dinner, includes talking about other people, and Jordan enlightening Nick on Tom’s affair with Myrtle.
Everyone in the world is different. People have come to acknowledge the variety of differences that comes to surround one today. Differences do not always mean race or religion, but rather the individual characteristics that make up one specific person. Everyone has characteristics of themselves that are either the best or the worst. The good traits are usually concealed and hidden because people mainly focus on the negative sides of people. Conversely, the worst trait is more visible and apparent to the eye. In literature, the same applies, but the bad trait leads to larger ramifications for a character and others around them. In F. Scott Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, the recurring trait of recklessness is found throughout the classy and lavish denizens of
Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. In "The Great Gatsby" Fitzgerald cleverly uses symbolism. Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing. characters wear. There are three main symbols used in The Great Gatsby, they are The East and West Egg, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, and the eyes of Dr.T.J. Eckleburg.
The Theme of Excess in The Great Gatsby Everyone has dreams that they want to achieve, but few end up doing so. It can be said that those that do achieve their dreams, do so by dedicating their life to the task so that they are willing to deal with any adversity that comes their way. However, sometimes this will and desire can overtake one’s sense of reality, as they fail to understand that due to passing of time or unfavourable circumstances their dream is unachievable. Such stubbornness may lead to an absurd, excessive pursuit of the dream. This idea of excessive pursuit is developed in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as the main character (Gatsby) longs to re-spark lost love between himself and Daisy.
“The great Gatsby” is an inspiring novel written by the famous American author Scott Fitzgerald. The novel was published in 1925. It is regarded as Scott’s supreme achievement and also as a masterwork in American literature, and it’s entirely justified.
Looking back in American history, America has tended to have different phases lasting around ten years. The nineteen-twenties will always be remembered in history because of the triumphal progress in many different areas. The twenties were a time of great change in America in many different areas. The changes were in the laws, the lifestyle of women especially and the moral values that they lived by. One of the major events that sculpted this era was prohibition. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the life of crime associated with prohibition causing the enormous transformation of Jay Gatz to Jay Gatsby, and also causing a tremendous change in America.
A fantasy world is a personality trait in which a person experiences a lifelong extensive and deep involvement in fantasy. This is what Scott Fitzgerald attempted to portray about people living in the 1920’s in his novel, the Great Gatsby. This book takes place in the 1920’s, shortly after WWI, a period of time where people were trying to block out the bad memories associated with war and embrace happiness. Embracing happiness meant creating fantasy worlds filled with money and materialistic items, blocking out reality and attempting to relive old memories. In the Great Gatsby, reality clouded by fantasy illustrates that people are not capable of living their lives in a rational way, because their mind has blocked out the harsh reality in which
This is conveyed to the reader when Baker is recognized by two girls at one of Gatsby’s parties that she attends with Nick Carraway and they proclaim “You don’t know who we are, but we met you here about a month ago” (Fitzgerald 43). Baker also declares her love for parties as she comments “And I like large parties, they’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy” (Fitzgerald 49). As the Gatsby era was during the time of Prohibition, the period of time that alcohol was made illegal, the alcohol at these parties was bootleg liquor.
Most of our characters in the novel overreacted over the use of drinking too much alcohol. In the novel The great gatsby, Fitzgerald shows what alcohol symbolizes to our characters and how consumers in the 20’s portrays the use of too much alcohol. “I have been drunk just twice in my life and the second time was that afternoon so everything that happened has a dim hazy cast over it although until after eight o’clock the apartment was full of cheerful sun. Sitting on Tom’s lap Mrs. Wilson called up several people on the telephone; then there were no cigarettes and I went out to buy some at the drugstore on the corner. When I came back they had disappeared so I sat down discreetly in the living room and read a chapter of ‘Simon Called Peter’—either it was terrible stuff or the whiskey distorted things because it didn’t make any sense to me,” (Fitzgerald 33-35). Alcohol was the main reason why people seem to make them over reacted, and do things that you wouldn 't normally do. Nick is not the type of person who usually likes to get drunk, but seeing people around you doing it can motivated an individual to try it too. Tom and Mrs.Wilson’s friends were tempting Nick to try something that he normally doesn 't do. “Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. ‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’ shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it
The 1920s were greatly influenced by prohibition. The prohibition law restricted the manufacturing, consumption, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920s.
Book Analysis F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of "The Great Gatsby," reveals many principles about today's society and the "American dream. " One of the biggest fears in today's world is the fear of not fitting into society. People of all age groups and backgrounds share this fear. Many individuals believe that to receive somebody's affection, they must assimilate into that person's society. In the story, Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream and his passion for being happy only to come to a tragedy and total loss.
Several individuals mark Gatsby to be a man of great wealth, with a beautiful estate, and an abundance of friends. To illustrate, parties that are hosted at Gatsby’s house are magnificent, filled with professional entertainment, music and dancers, and guests varying from politicians to movie stars. Fitzgerald paints the picture of the parties at Gatsby’s house in great detail in this passage “The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.” (Fitzgerald 44). It can be seen that these were extravagant parties filled with lust and alcohol. The evidence shows that no ordinary man would be throwing parties of this form, only a man with great wealth and resources would pull of such a feat. Furthermore, this was the prohibition era, which meant that alcohol and the consumption of alcohol was illegal. After this brief look into Gatsby’s life, one can understand why he was considered “great”, but to truly understand Gatsby’s greatness, one must look into his
The Great Gatsby portrays the Prohibition Era, or the Roaring Twenties, as a time of parties, wealth, extravagance, and drinks. A falseness permeated the entire society, with "introductions forgotten on the spot" and fake friends who simply took advantage of wealth to move up in society (41). Parties were casual, with friendly but often insubstantial conversations accompanied by calming Jazz music. The music both shaped and was shaped by the parties. The music swells with an influx of people and the repeated and often improvised sections of the music matched the polite conversations that took place. The cocktail music is upbeat and welcoming, with a comfort similar to the alcohol that everyone is consuming. Music very much reflects and creates the mood of the party; the specifics of each song will not be remembered by the partygoer after they leave, similar to how they will not recall the other people they met at the party. By not distracting from the main party, the music creates a mood while not calling attention to itself. Even when the atmosphere is threatened by a "gypsy...
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.