Examples Of Con Men In The Great Gatsby

There exists two men capable of deceiving whole towns and villages. They scammed hundreds of people in numerous communities for their own personal gain. Existing in the world of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, the Duke and King serve to represent the corruption of an unethical society. The nature of the two con men parallel the immoral attributes of characters in The Great Gatsby. Like Twain, Fitzgerald draws on the lack of morality evident during a specific time period, in this case the 1920s, allowing it to influence the way he chooses to depict his characters as innately flawed in nature. Much like the way the Duke and King's selfish motivations correspond to the 1800s, the actions of Fitzgerald's characters correspond to the 1920s. Because

Popular crimes during the 1920s are reflected through Gatsby’s questionable past. During the 1920s bootleggers like George Remus became rich off of the illegal booze trade, which caused some critics to suspect that he inspired the characters Fitzgerald presents (Eversole). Fitzgerald proves this suggestion to be true when Tom Buchanan unveils the truth about Gatsby’s past. Tom reveals that “[Gatsby] and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter…” (Fitzgerald 141). This crime that Gatsby commits shows he has bad morals through his motivation to do so. Gatsby knew that Daisy would not love him unless he had money, and so he felt that what he did was justified. However, Gatsby’s actions does not prove that he has sound values, but instead that he does not understand the ramifications of his actions. While Gatsby’s immorality came in part from his motivation, it was also created through his decision not to drink but continue selling alcohol. Gatsby decided he would not drink after witnessing its harmful effects on Dan Cody. “It was indirectly due to Cody that Gatsby drank so little… for himself [Gatsby] formed the habit of letting liquor alone.” (Fitzgerald 107). Although Gatsby himself did not condone drinking, he still sold liquor to people illegally. His actions are hypocritical of his beliefs, which shows that he does not hold sound values. With the heavy focus on prohibition during the time it would be suspected that Gatsby would never be a bootlegger, however his decision to be one and lie about it gives him a bad sense of