Jay Gatsby's Accomplishments

The 1920s, also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a time period full of decadent parties and an abundance of hope and reform. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, described this time period in New York directly following World War I. It portrays the exciting social and economic changes that came with the 1920s through a complicated love story that eventually leads to a bitter end to an American Dream. He uses his writing throughout the novel to evaluate the lifestyle of the 1920s. Fitzgerald’s purpose in writing was to inform, as well as entertain, the reader about the hidden difficulties masked by the extravagance of the 1920s. He used Jay Gatsby to represent the ultimate American Dream that everyone strived for, as well as the devastating fall that came along with it. Fitzgerald also uses Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle to convey to the reader the increasing importance of the role of women. In the beginning of the book, he describes the exhilarating atmosphere during the post-war time. He then critiques the time
The 18th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1919 banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The National Prohibition Act, also informally known as the Volstead Act, was passed to carry out the intentions of the 18th Amendment. Many people did not agree with this, so it led to the creation of speakeasies (secret hidden bars that illegally sold alcohol) and bootleggers (people who made money by selling alcohol illegally), which were examples of organized crime. This organized crime spread rapidly throughout the United States, and Fitzgerald provides examples of this through Gatsby’s character. Late in the book, it is revealed that Gatsby made his mysterious profit from bootlegging that he covered up by saying he owned a lot of “drug stores”. He used the money and power through his illegal profits to provide alcohol at all of his extravagant parties each