The 1920s in the United States serves as a crucial time period for the national ban of alcohol that took place known as the Prohibition era. The Prohibition era was when the federal government passed the 18th amendment which stated that the selling, consuming, and purchasing of alcohol was considered to be illegal. During this period its demand grew larger and alcohol’s black market started to emerge in upper class societies. This was now the era of flashy nightlife, loose morals, and outlawed drinking. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the protagonist Jay Gatsby's relationship with alcohol is essential, as he creates his wealth and status in this era of new money. Gatsby’s ability to be a risk taker and a dreamer transforms him into a very prosperous …show more content…
Gatsby’s wild parties with an ample supply of alcohol illustrates his prosperous status which he deems as an attractive quality for himself. Gatsby’s socioeconomic status is represented in his luxurious lifestyle and the parties he throws, which are thrown for the elite. Gatsby’s able to provide guests with an endless amount of alcohol which ensures his popularity. His extreme parties give him a stigma of mystery and attractive charisma, which captivated the attention of the wealthy class of old money East Egg. Gatsby having easy access to alcohol during the tough days of the Prohibition era attract many people to him and especially to his parties. Nick gives a glimpse into Gatsby’s party saying, “In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from the other” (44). The festivity that is explained is absurdly extravagant, stocked with “gin and liqueurs” and tons of young “female guests” who can't even tell the difference between the liquors. Fitzgerald creates Gatsby's parties to represent wealth and prosperity in this time period. Without the use of alcohol, Gatsby's parties would not be as popular and his social ranking would decrease tremendously. Jordan describes Gatsby's parties by stating, “‘Anyhow he gives large parties,’ said Jordan, changing the subject with an urbane distaste for the concrete. ‘And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy’” (54). Upper class resident Jordan Baker, refers to Gatsby’s parties being quite large and extravagant, which says a lot coming from an upper class perspective. The Prohibition era made alcohol more tempting and desirable and Gatsby's parties made it more fashionable, and it was a desire that guests needed to get there hands
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.
The United States and our government has been shaped entirely from its past. We have learned right from wrong, what has worked and what has failed. The 1920s was a time in our country where the government created a law that upset the people. This decade is often referred to as The Roaring 20’s, The Jazz Age, The Prohibition Era, The Cocktail Era, etc. All these names perfectly describe this time, but it was also a time to learn from the mistake of creating a law that prohibited alcohol. This law played such a huge role in the decade, and has been forever remembered. The Great Gatsby is a romance novel that also hints on the time of prohibition. F. Scott Fitzgerald talked greatly about alcohol and the part it took in The Roaring 20 's. Though
Carraway describes the atmosphere as “spilled with prodigality” (Fitzgerald 44). Gatsby’s fills his parties with wasteful extravagances like alcohol, and his efforts toward love end up as futile. The people, instead of appreciating Gatsby, backhandedly gossip about his past as a German spy, and simply partake in the alcohol being served (Fitzgerald 48). Instead of representing the upper echelon’s of 1920s’ society, in contrast to the poor, the party-goers appear weak, superficial, and unworthy of such acclaim, especially when given their tendency to gossip. With this depiction of the partiers, Fitzgerald showcases the hollow nature of 1920s society, lacking in morality and
Considering that many authors use figurative language techniques in their writing to help convey a specific message; there is no wonder why Fitzgerald and Twain both use the tools for the purpose of criticising people in more of a low key fashion. Fitzgerald uses many different figurative language devices in The Great Gatsby, like similes. Because it is set in the roaring 20s, partying is a big element to the storyline. When Gatsby throws extravagant parties, Nick thinks to himself “...men and women came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.” (Fitzgerald 44). Nick refers to the social statuses of the young people in the 1920s. It proves that they really just want to party, get wasted, and that they absolutely
Many people in the 1920s lived very extravagant lives. The time of the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s” where girls were flappers and the men were bootleggers. People loved to have fun and be carefree. However, alcohol dependence was becoming a problem and many started realizing that. Taking action to stop this was the hard part. Alcohol was corrupting the 1920s even though some did not recognize it. In the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the corruption during the 1902s through his main character, Jay Gatsby, and his illustration of prohibition.
Even with all the side effects of Gatsby’s lifestyle, however, there is still a large gap about Gatsby to discuss considering the depth of hedonism has within The Great Gatsby. There still stands the question of how Gatsby even funds his hedonistic lifestyle to woo Daisy, especially since he has no real job except for his job with Meyer Wolfsheim, which is bootlegging. His cooperation with Wolfsheim is what funds Gatsby. At first, it may seem to be not enough to pay for the weekly parties and the shirts upon shirts, but when one takes into account the time the novel occurs in and the time of the Eighteenth Amendment. Moreover, while alcohol was banned, it did not stop the consumption. In fact, “While the reduction in drinking had some positive
Fitzgerald accurately portrayed the flamboyancy of the 1920s in The Great Gatsby. Many aspects contributed to this flamboyancy and indifference. The pursuit of the “American Dream” contributed to the actions of Americans and to the actions of Fitzgerald’s characters. The advent of prohibition in 1920 also pushed the actions of Americans, real and imaginary. Gangsters and organized crime were an influential force in the young aristocracy of the 1920s. The revolution of new women also greatly impacted society’s twists and turns during the 1920s. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald accurately portrayed these aspects of 1920s American society.
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.
Prohibition movements grew during the 1800s and strengthened after the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1839; which was the leading organization promoting for prohibition in the United States. The Anti-Saloon League worked with churches across the United States to organize resources for fighting prohibition. Across America, religious groups began prohibition movements because they believed alcohol and drunkenness was a threat. The eighteenth amendment was passed in 1919 to prohibit alcohol. Reasons for the Eighteenth Amendment include reducing the amount of drinking, limiting the sale and consumption of alcohol, and ensuring that the content would be no more than .5% alcohol in drinks. Prohibition was also
Prohibition had the most effect on The Great Gatsby's most notable charachter, Jay Gatsby. Bob Batchelor states in his book Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel, “Gatsby is a deeply flawed hero” (Batchelor 250). Gatsby is a hero because he was able to achieve the American dream by working hard to get to the top. Gatsby, however, was flawed because his dreams revolved around impressing and winning back Daisy. He was so blinded by his love for Daisy that he was not willing to achieve his actual dream. In the Great Gatsby, it is heavily inferred that Gat...
The image of parties throughout The Great Gastby represents Fitzgerald’s belief that the American dream is only attainable in parts. These parties represent Gatsby’s grasp of superior status, which was part of his original goal to get Daisy back. To do this, however, he could not just hold a simple get-together. Gatsby had to throw the most outlandish and lavish party in town in hopes that Dai...
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
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,
The excessive consumption of alcohol is also prevalent in both stories. In The Great Gatsby, the characters indulge in alcohol to escape from reality or to lower their inhibitions. “The bottle of whiskey--a second one--was now in constant demand by all present” (45; ch. 2). Alcohol is not only a major part of Gatsby’s notorious parties, but it is also how he illegally gained his massive fortune. He is also using the alcohol and parties to win the favor of the society of old money. However, because he can never achieve this, it only gives him false hope (Mangum 514). As said before, Gatsby can never enter the world of old money, even using alcohol as an
Gatsby did not only excessively spend his money on parties. He also spent a myriad of money on clothing, cars, and a plethora of other toys. “…He opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits and dressing gowns and ties, and shirts piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high. ‘I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes.