The 1920s was a decade when a lot of crime was taking place in America. Many people felt the need to get involved in organized crime because of restrictions going on at the time, like prohibition. People usually committed crimes in order to achieve a goal for themselves. There were many cases of specific people and even characters who were famous for their involvement in organized crime during the 1920s. One of these characters was Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, may have even based this character after one of the most well-known organized criminals of the time. Jay Gatsby becomes involved in crime to try and win over the love of his life, who he had left five years back. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the negative aspects of the 1920s, specifically organized crime, to prove that Jay Gatsby’s dream was not even possible because he sought it through immoral means.
Some people felt the need to become involved in organized crime because of the laws that were being put into play at this time. According to Bob Batchelor in Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed in January 1919. This law made it illegal to manufacture, transport, import, or sell alcohol in the United States. Also known as Prohibition, this caused many people to become involved in organized crimes. Batchelor goes on to say that the people involved in these crimes like making or selling alcohol were called bootleggers, Jay Gatsby being an example of one (Batchelor 157). Just because there was a law against alcohol, it did not stop people from drinking it.
Despite the amendment that tried to ban alcohol in the United States, people still found ways...
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...m again. The reader comes to find out that his American dream is not possible because he never realized the difference between his and Daisy’s money. Daisy has moved on and does not want to be involved with someone who has earned their money illegally. Hard work pays off, and one can achieve their goals if done in the right way, as in the case of Nick Carraway.
Works Cited
Batchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Collier Books, 1991. Print.
Lehan, Richard. The Great Gatsby: Limits of Wonder. Boston: Twane Publishers, 1990. Print.
Pauly, Thomas H. Readings on The Great Gatsby. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1998. Print.
Wyly, Michael J. Understanding The Great Gatsby. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc., 2002. Print.
Sandbrook is incorrect to remark that from the moment the Volstead Act came into effect, America’s National gangsters saw it as a business opportunity. This is because the early years of Prohibition were years where enforcement was particularly strict, which made the distribution of alcohol very risky. Yet regardless, by far criminals who had the most to gain were gangsters such as Al Capone, who made $100 million a year from speakeasies and casinos alone. Violence played a large role in organised crimes during the years of Prohibition, with an increase in burglary, theft and battery assaults by a total of 22%. There were also wars between gangsters over each other’s territory, and the most famous act of violence during the years of Prohibition came from Capone’s army of 700 gangsters, who committed over 300 murders in Chicago. Willoughby points out that although organised crime existed in the years before and after Prohibition, it was “albeit on a smaller scale.” This is convincing as the affluence that the twenties created, along with demands for alcohol provided alternative opportunities for organised crime. Arguably, Clements acknowledges that even after the repeal of Prohibition, the wealth that corrupted illegal organisations accumulated made them turn to other areas where they could make a vast amount of profit, such as prostitution, gambling and drugs. Certainly,
"The Great Gatsby." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 64-86. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
During the early 20th century, the Prohibition era flourished as a result of the 18th Amendment being passed in 1919. The illegalization of alcohol created a public outrage, resulting in a revolution of bootlegging as people scoured for alcohol. This rapid monopolization of the prohibition era led to the thriving time period of organized crime. A notorious criminal that many people know of today – Al Capone – dominated this prominent change within society. Capone’s criminal ways and multi-millionaire business influenced the way the public interpreted not only prohibition, but also crime and the justice system in general. Gangster Al Capone played a significant role during the Prohibition era by revolutionizing whiskey bootlegging, becoming America’s most notorious mobster by controlling his business through manipulation and fear, and paving a pathway that many crime organizations follow today.
Trilling, Lionel. "F. Scott Fitzgerald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,1996. Print.
Gibb, Thomas. "Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby" The Explicator Washington: Winter 2005. Vol. 63, Iss.3; Pg. 1-3
...ald." Critical Essays on Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: Hall, 1984. 13-20.
People of the United States saw not only opportunity in prohibition but a need to make a penny with the Great Depression in the midst. This led to bootlegging (the illegal distribution of liquor, often illicitly distilled), to the financial advantage of organized crime. "Prohibition". 2015. In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide. Abington: Helicon. With illegal actions happening in the Country, there were kingpins that wanted to capitalize on that possible investment and bring themselves into wealth and power. Prohibition brought the bootlegger into being as a new kind of criminal, epitomized by the career of the notorious Al Capone. This is the time to acquire your Wines and Liquors. Prices are advancing daily and will continue to advance whether Prohibition becomes effective July 1,1919, or January 20, 1920 Prohibition". 2009. In Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable. Al Capones' reign was throughout the city and the boroughs of Chicago, however there were bootleggers all throughout the entire country. In 1920 during the height of Prohibition, Capone’s multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution and gambling dominated the organized crime scene. Capone was responsible for many brutal acts of violence, mainly against other gangsters.
Prohibition was the creation of bootlegging and gang wars that would make up the roots of the 1920’s. One of the most known gangsters in American History, Al Capone, was the most powerful gang or mob leader in his era. Capone was the roots of organized crime in Chicago area from the mid 20’s to the early 30’s. Al grew up in the 20’s in Chicago. In his younger days, he joined the James Street Gang whose leader was Johnny Torrio. In the year 1920, Johnny asked Al Capone to join his uncle in Chicago who had control of the city’s largest prostitute and gambling circuit. Capone ended up being a big fan of that idea. In the later months of 1920 the Prohibition act was passed into effect and Al Capone decided his next money maker was bootlegging illegal
The American dream has been a tangible idea, greatly sought after by many over the course of American History. The dream has eluded many, to strive for achieving in America’s open markets, and become a self-made man from the sweat of one’s brow. The idea of become self-sufficient, and have limitless dreams that take one as far as they are willing to imagine is captured very differently from The Great Gatsby to A Raisin in the Sun. Both novels seem to have the American dream as their subject, but both end up having very different outcomes to how one achieves it, and if the dream is truly in existence, namely with the characters of Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger. The books mainly brushes upon the idea of what the American dream truly is, how one achieves the dream, and what the real fulfillment the dream encompasses.
Batchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Bruccoli, Matthew J. Preface. The Great Gatsby. By F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. vii-xvi.
Hickey, Angela D. "Critical Examination: The Great Gatsby." Rpt. in Masterplots: Revised Second Edition. Vol. 5, Frank Magill, ed. California and New Jersey: Salem Press, 1996. 2651-2
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print
Hermanson, Casie E. "An overview of The Great Gatsby." Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.