The Great Gatsby Research Paper

The Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby
Throughout literature, the 1920s are depicted in several ways; F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, displays the 1920s in his novel. Authors parallel different aspects of this time period into their works through characters, settings, and plots. Using this in writing helps readers understand history and changes over time. Many immoral behaviors caused people to become involved in bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution in the 1920s. These actions revolve around money and the need for money during this time period. Bootlegging and prostitution were not only immoral, but they are also crimes. Gambling, on the other hand, was used throughout casinos as a hobby, but this American tradition became
corrupted over time when it got involved in important aspects of society. All of these factors contribute into Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The characters he creates are involved in these immoral behaviors. Overall, all of these actions in this decade are considered morally wrong and are discouraged. Throughout Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the 1920s are well portrayed through behaving in immoral ways, bootlegging, and gambling.
The 1920s consisted of immoral behavior expressed in many different ways.
Immoral behaviors began during this time period because of the Prohibition affecting the government. The government created this act to decrease the crime rates in America; but instead, they had to handle with new crimes that began to occur. Prohibition included the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacturing and selling of alcohol in the United States. The banning of alcohol forced people to smuggle alcohol from other countries. Also, bars and other places shadily sold illegal alcoholic beverages, which became very popular throughout the country. The smuggling and distribution of illegal alcohol is known as bootlegging. Also, people also began producing their own alcohol to sell to anyone willing to pay a large sum of money. This process became very lucrative to the producers, and bootlegging became a very popular industry throughout America (Moss and Wilson 147-49). Another profitable behavior many people became engaged in was prostitution. Brothels arose in several bars, cabarets, and saloons throughout America. The police discouraged these actions, so people involved in prostitution arrange secure meeting areas for their escapades. Along with bootlegging and prostitution, gambling also had an effect on the behaviors of the people of the 1920s. Gambling in the 1920s was popular to people who enjoyed betting their money on ridiculous matters that may or may not bring money back. The most popular
gambling scandal throughout the sports world of the 1920s was the Black Sox Fix of 1919. The Chicago White Sox had a conspiracy of players who gambled on the 1919 World Series. The eight players involved purposely threw games, giving the series win to the Cincinnati Reds. The White Sox players’ salaries suffered because owner Charles Comiskey “…paid them as poorly as the worst team in the league” (Moss and Wilson 149). No persuasion granted a raise from Comiskey, so the players decided to gamble once again in the hopes of receiving the salary they deserved from Arnold Rothstein, a gambling expert. The plan fell through after evidence was found against the players, and a few of the White Sox players involved in the scam confessed. Gambling was not only popular throughout sports; it was also performed in casinos and clubs located around America (Moss and Wilson 149-50). The 1920s included bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling, and these actions revolved around the want and need for money, which brought corruption into this decade.
The characters in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby involve themselves in immoral actions throughout the novel. The American Dream of the characters consists of their need for wealth and love. Firstly, the characters in the novel are all involved in a type of predicament or crime, causing them to become shady or mysterious characters. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy young man with a large house, very flashy clothes, and luxury items like cars and boats. Although he is a successful citizen, his life began as an average person. It later transformed into a life of extravagance, which is the average 1920s American Dream. He is an extremely mysterious, shady person; many people in the novel do not personally know Gatsby, but they do know who he is. Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, is an average young man who becomes interested in the life of Jay Gatsby. These two men become friends, and Nick uses Gatsby as a model of excellence because Gatsby has all of the qualities that portray a successful life of a 1920s American. Nick learns that Gatsby is in love with Nick’s cousin, Daisy. Throughout the novel, Nick helps Gatsby achieve his dream of loving Daisy (Becnel 154-55). Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, and the Buchanans live a lavish life; although they are married, adulterous affairs are created. Tom does not conceal his affair, which greatly embarrasses Daisy. Tom and Daisy are careless people who create a mess, but they do not let anybody clean it up. Unlike how Tom publicly flaunts his affair with Myrtle, who Tom will spend all of his money on, Gatsby and Daisy keep their love to themselves and Nick. Nick has difficulties making room in his life for such a complex love, but Gatsby does not allow Daisy or Nick to escape his virtues. Gatsby wants to climb a ladder but not alone. Barry Gross describes “Daisy standing beside him, breathless, immediate” (2). This shows Gatsby’s incorruptible American Dream of living his life with Daisy, and the excitement that overpowers them while having their secret affair. The Volstead Act bans alcohol from all citizens, which causes bootlegging. The main character, Jay Gatsby, is involved in bootlegging; he throws extravagant parties with his large amounts of illegal alcohol, which brings several people into his huge home. Money was not well spent by the characters in this novel, seeing that bootlegging is very expensive in this decade. During this period, many people became wealthy. Different characters express money in different ways. Money is spent foolishly and is said to buy almost anything. People who did not have enough money began buying stocks. They would deposit a percentage to avoid loss on a deal; these people from The Great Gatsby believed of the prosperity of the future in their American Dream. The Great Gatsby exaggerates the immoral behaviors the characters perform throughout the novel.
The 1920s are portrayed throughout F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Several representations throughout the novel are comparisons to the decade of the 1920s. A Spanish artist, Francis Cugat, who also worked on movie posters, designed the cover artwork of The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was inspired by this piece from the 1920s, and he used it to write his 1920s based novel. The face is said to represent Daisy; the eyes of a woman show through the sky. Fitzgerald describes Daisy as “The girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs” (Moss and Wilson 150). Comparisons made between the novel and the 1920s are expressed through immorality including bootlegging and gambling. As Prohibition passed along with the Volstead Act, bootlegging became an important and popular way of recruiting alcohol into the United States. As it is common throughout America, Jay Gatsby bootlegs alcohol for the lavish parties he throws in The Great Gatsby. Also, another immoral behavior performed in both the 1920s and the novel is prostitution. This lucrative crime performed throughout this decade is exemplified through affairs within the characters in the novel. The affair between Gatsby and Daisy, which is based on the love and virtues of Gatsby, can be considered prostitution (Becnel 150-51). Although no one is gaining wealth from this affair, they are both sneaky and secretive comparing with the prostitutes’ meeting places in the 1920s. Tom and Myrtle have a
relationship based on money, which they spend foolishly on gatherings and unnecessary items. William Voegeli expresses prostitution through Tom Buchanan because “He expects his wife to love him, he expects other men’s wives to be his mistresse,” (3). The affair between Tom and Myrtle compares to prostitution in the 1920s because Myrtle spends Tom’s money; love does not exist in their relationship similar to prostitutes and their customers. Money is important throughout both the 1920s and The Great Gatsby, and money can be earned through gambling. In 1919, the baseball World Series scandal of the Black Sox Fix shows how gambling was performed in this decade. Fitzgerald refers to the Black Sox Fix in his novel by creating a character, Meyer Wolfsheim, to represent Arnold Rothstein who played an important role in gambling. In The Great Gatsby, Wolfsheim was involved in the Black Sox Fix of 1919. Nick Carraway cannot believe that gambling could play a role in such an important American tradition that affects with the faith of fifty million people (Moss and Wilson 149). Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby compares to the 1920s through the similar behaviors performed by people of the 1920s and his characters.
The 1920s compares to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatbsy through behaving in immoral ways, bootlegging, and gambling. In the 1920s, immoral actions began to spread throughout America. Bootlegging started after the Volstead Act was passed; prostitution and gambling started shortly after. Mainly, these behaviors began for wealth in this decade. Bootlegging is exemplified through the main character, Jay Gatsby, who gets illegal alcohol, which is against the 1920s Prohibition. Also, affairs in the novel between Tom and Myrtle and between Daisy and Gatsby exemplify how prostitution was a factor in making money throughout the 1920s. Tom wants a mistress in his life, and he succeeds in doing so by spending money on Myrtle. An important event in the 1920s that Fitzgerald focuses on is the Black Sox Fix of the 1919 World Series. Fitzgerald uses his character of Meyer Wolfsheim as real life gambler Arnold Rothstein who played an important role in the gambling scandal. All of these behaviors revolve around the want for money in the society of the 1920s described throughout the novel. Behaving in immoral ways, bootlegging, and gambling are performed in the 1920s and in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Works Cited
Becnel, Kim. Bloom’s How To Write About F. Scott Fitzgerald. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2008. 150-65. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Press, 1925. Print.
Gross, Barry. “Our Gatsby, Our Nick.” DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Student Resources in Context. Web. 27 Jan. 2011.
Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson, eds. Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1997. 146-52. Print.
Voegeli, William. “Gatsby and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Claremont Review of Books Winter 2003: 69+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 Jan. 2011.