How Organized Crime Was Used In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

How Organized Crime was Used in The Great Gatsby

The 1920s were a great time for many, everything was cheap, unemployment was near 0, and people could buy the most luxurious things. But, with the rise in this civilian life, came a rise from the underworld. Organized crime prospered more than ever. The Italian and Irish mafias/mobs had arisen, taking over much of the alcohol and drug trade. Organized crime was relatively new to America, there were families in the past, but they had never grown to the extent they did in the 1920s. With the expansion of the availability of luxury goods and prohibition, the criminal underworld had many doors open to it. Criminal organizations started to take advantage of prohibition, bribing police, taking control

Gatsby is one of the main characters, he would throw parties with celebrities, senators, and social lights alike. Hundreds would show up for his parties, and he would provide. He would have the best alcohol, music, and entertainment around. All to attempt to gain a Woman by the name of Daisy, someone who he has been chasing for years. With this, he had to get funding from somewhere to keep these parties going. But how? The criminal underworld was not only a time of parties and luxury, but a time of rising opportunities. This rise was shown in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby himself was involved in the new criminal underworld, working with Mr.Wolfsheim in shady deals, influencing political offices, and controlling the bootlegging operations. How else would Gatsby have gotten all of the alcohol for his parties? He had to have connections to keep the parties going. Organized crime is insinuated to be how Gatsby has gained his wealth, he would get calls from across the east coast, His dealings with Wolfsheim, and he invited high-ranking government officials. These are all signs of his connections to organized

Wolfsheim. A man that is shady, and off-putting when he is introduced in the novel. When Mr. Wolsheim is introduced in the novel, he believes that Nick is a potential “business partner” that Gatsby wanted to work with. “His nostrils turned to me in an interesting way. ‘I understand you’re looking for a business Gonnegtion.’ The juxtaposition of these two remarks was startling. Gatsby answered for me: ‘Oh, no,’ he exclaimed, ‘this isn’t the man!’ ‘No?’ Mr. Wolfshiem seemed disappointed.” (Fitzgerald 76) Gatsby and Wolfsheim organizing the deals in speakeasies are clearly suspicious. Speakeasies themselves were illegal operations, so if someone wanted to tell the police that there was one there, they had to have been invited, making them look like a criminal. So, Gatsby and Wolfsheim used this to cover their tracks, so they could not get arrested. Not only that but to also show their potential “business” partners their power and wealth. Not to mention how forward and convincing Wolfsheim is trying to be before Gatbsy stops him. He is trying heavily to convince someone to participate in a deal with him. Almost like the individual needed to be coerced into making the deal. Furthermore, on Gatsby and Wolfsheim working together, Tom brings up; “‘I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. "He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of