The American dream is something all people look forward to, even now, but it has been a long time since the dream was alive. Thomas Paine believed that America was an equall place where everyone get along, but the 1920s proved his ideals wrong. During the 1920s materialism, greed, and a corrupt government ruined the dreams of america and thomas paine; the book The Great Gatsby portrays thhis time period and proves that Thomas Pain was wrong about America. Now America is not a place where people work together and get along, nor is it a fair place. It is a place of corruption and hate proving the Thomas pain was wrong. The rich were privledged in many ways, and the government favored the wealthy. One way the wealthy benifited more than the poor was through the taxes, "taxes were not equall, they benifited the wealth". Thomas paine said that taxes were equall and the rich were not privledged, but he was obviously wrong.During this time period organized crime was popular, especially bootlegging during prohibition, "manufacturing and distibutiong alcohol... big business during prohibition". people would do anything for easy …show more content…
Fitgerald really grasps the social problems, economical problems, and governmental problems.The laws during the time were not always fair, "Wolfsheim fixed the world series back in 1919". The rich were often above the law , and never received punishment for their crimes. people couldn't get along and work together like Thomas Pain suggested they would, "they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between blacks and whited". this quote also showed how discrimination was a problem, and it is also shown by the fact that the Buchannans had slaves. Going back to organized crime during prohibition, "he and this Wolfsheim... sold grain alcohol over the counter"; this quote gives you a look into how organized crime ran during