How Does Nick Carraway Use Prohibition In The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald makes trouble now seem a little less worrisome. Gatsby, the main character, must deal with war, betrayal of love, and illegal acts. Nick Carraway, the narrator, takes the reader on a journey not only through the novel but also his own life. He starts by saying that his father taught him to never hold people to the personal standards of one's self in fear of misinterpreting the person as a whole. This advice is carried throughout the novel and is by far one of the most notable aspects within the story. The Great Gatsby is a delicately written story of a young man trying to fight his way through the 1920’s with the issues of prohibition, which lead into organized crime, and the forthcoming of the second industrial
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Unfortunately, this method was proven ineffective in many different way. When the ban was put in place those who proceeded to go against it, by illegally buying or selling alcohol, were known as bootleggers. “The Americans can fix nothing, without a drink. If you meet, you drink; if you part, you drink; if you make acquaintance, you drink; if you close a bargain, you drink; they quarrel in their drink, and they make it up with a drink. They drink, because it is hot; they drink because it is cold. If successful in elections, they drink and rejoice; if not, they drink and swear; they begin to drink early in the morning, they leave off late at night; they commence it early in life, and they continue it, until they soon drop into the grave”(Lerner). Bootleggers did not want to live without the presence of alcohol. In turn the prohibition only backfired on the United States to make the wants for it that much more powerful. It began the black market and illegal sales through pharmacies.
Pharmacies would turn around and sell illegal alcohol to those who had the money to pay for it. Gatsby became intertwined with these pharmacies and illegal distribution sales. In this way Gatsby was able to get the banned alcohol for parties that were being thrown. Since he was able to do such things, people noticed him which gained him popularity. Without the gained popularity, he would have been unable to house his own parties in order to attain Daisy’s attention. With the prohibition issues, bigger problems emerged rather than just people drinking illegally. This began the start of organized crime in the
Unfortunately, this method was proven ineffective in many different way. When the ban was put in place those who proceeded to go against it, by illegally buying or selling alcohol, were known as bootleggers. “The Americans can fix nothing, without a drink. If you meet, you drink; if you part, you drink; if you make acquaintance, you drink; if you close a bargain, you drink; they quarrel in their drink, and they make it up with a drink. They drink, because it is hot; they drink because it is cold. If successful in elections, they drink and rejoice; if not, they drink and swear; they begin to drink early in the morning, they leave off late at night; they commence it early in life, and they continue it, until they soon drop into the grave”(Lerner). Bootleggers did not want to live without the presence of alcohol. In turn the prohibition only backfired on the United States to make the wants for it that much more powerful. It began the black market and illegal sales through pharmacies.
Pharmacies would turn around and sell illegal alcohol to those who had the money to pay for it. Gatsby became intertwined with these pharmacies and illegal distribution sales. In this way Gatsby was able to get the banned alcohol for parties that were being thrown. Since he was able to do such things, people noticed him which gained him popularity. Without the gained popularity, he would have been unable to house his own parties in order to attain Daisy’s attention. With the prohibition issues, bigger problems emerged rather than just people drinking illegally. This began the start of organized crime in the