Prohibition In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

777 Words4 Pages

The 1920s was a time of new industries, flappers, prohibition, and money. While reading The Great Gatsby I often picked up on how money affected the characters actions and values. The characters were often obsessed with the idea of love and money. I think they often confused the two, causing lots of conflicts for all the characters involved. The text is heavily influence by how the characters lived lives of few consequences and had big dreams of acquiring love and money. The lifestyle of most of the characters involves spending an outrageous amount of money on lavish things and partying with a just as outrageous amount of alcohol. Even though the prohibition was going on at that time that did not stop Jay Gatsby from …show more content…

Daisy married Tom, a handsome athlete that came from a very rich family. Throughout the book Tom had a mistress and Daisy knew it. Daisy was unhappy, so when her old fling, Jay Gatsby, came into the picture with his large house and lavish lifestyle she "fell in love". "'I adore it!' exclaimed Daisy 'The pompadour! You never told me you had a pompadour- or a yacht.'" (99). Another example would be when Daisy exclaimed: "'That huge place there?' she cried, pointing 'Do you like it?' 'I love it but I don't see how you live there all alone.'" (95-96). Daisy said this to Gatsby when he was showing her his home. In chapter 4 Jordan remembered a story of Daisy getting drunk and confessing that she didn't want to marry Tom the day before they were married. This shows me that Daisy married Tom for reasons other than love, I think she did it for the status, money, and lifestyle, leaving her with only a dream and want for …show more content…

Jay Gatsby was helplessly in love with Daisy Buchanan and did everything he could to have her. Gatsby worked hard to make a fortune because he knew that if he wanted Daisy's love he would need the money to take care of her and her lifestyle. He was head over heels for her for five years, even though for most of the five years they didn't see or talk to one another. Eventually he moved to West Egg in order to be near her. When they reunited and went to Gatsby's house he took Daisy's opinion and reaction seriously. "He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes." (91). Towards the end of the book Daisy accidentally hit and killed Tom's mistress Myrtle. Gatsby loved Daisy that he would have taken the fall for her and claimed that he was driving. '"Was Daisy driving?" "Yes," he said after a moment, "but of course I'll say I was."' (143). At the end Myrtle's husband, Wilson, shot and killed Gatsby because he believed that he was driving and killed Myrtle. Tom was to blame for telling Wilson that deadly lie. As for Daisy, the women that Gatsby so dearly loved, didn't even attend his