How Did Prohibition Influence The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, takes place in the summer of 1922, after World War I has ended in 1918. The new cultural and social trends changed American life. Many Americans lived life to the fullest, but the new customs and values created conflicts. The reader’s experience of The Great Gatsby is influenced by the reader’s knowledge of the 1920’s including conflicts related to Prohibition, changing women’s roles, and cultural differences.

The reader’s understanding of Prohibition is important in the novel. Prohibition is the Eighteenth Amendment and was mandated on January 17, 1920. The manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was illegal during this time. Reformers thought alcohol was a cause of the corruption

Bootleggers are people who smuggle alcohol into the United States. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is a bootlegger. Tom Buchanan states, “‘[Gatsby] and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter… I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him” (141; ch. 3). Gatsby, Nick, Jordan, and the Buchanans are at a speakeasy. A speakeasy is a hidden saloon where people can get alcohol. Tom is drinking, which is illegal, but he believes that it still makes him a better person than Gatsby. Gatsby makes his money by doing illegal activities dealing with alcohol. Bootleggers were common in the 1920’s, and there was also an increase in organized crime. Readers have to know that drinking and making alcohol was illegal during this time period. The readers will have a better understanding of Gatsby and how he got to where he is in his life. In Gatsby’s main hall of his house, there is “a bar with a real brass rail… stocked with gins and liquors” (44; ch. 3). Alcohol is illegal, but Gatsby is having big parties with alcoholic beverages. Prohibition was difficult to enforce because police officers were underpaid. The rich would pay the police officers more money than

Women get the right to vote on August 18th, 1920, but they still do not have the same rights as men. Nick states that “[across] the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water and the history of the summer really begins on the evening [he] drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans” (10; ch. 1). Nick uses Tom’s name to represent the Buchanan’s marriage. I think this shows that there is not equality in their relationships. There were not a lot of marriages that had equality between the wife and the husband. Most men believed that a woman's real job was to be at home during this time. Daisy does not need a job because the couple already has a lot of money. I believe this quote shows that Daisy is not independent and she has to rely on Tom. It also appears that Tom dominates the relationship with Daisy, and he likes to control Myrtle. Women had more rights than they did before the 1920’s, but they are still restricted. They had stricter standards of behavior than men. Women were not supposed to do certain things in public that men could. Marriage equality does improve when more women are able to work. However, men still earn more than women, so complete equality has not been established. In addition, many women began to reject the values of the 19th century and decided to change their styles. Nick describes Jordan as a “slender, small-breasted girl with an erect carriage which she