The Role Of Prohibition In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby was a love fulfilling story that showed how a poor man did everything he can to try and win over a rich woman. The life in the 1920s is heavily shown in The Great Gatsby. There was 2 eggs people separated to, east egg and west egg. East egg was known as “new money” and didn’t live in mansions as west egg was known as “old money” which people lived in mansions and their fortune was passed down through generations. The book is narrated by Nick Carraway who is also the cousin of the rich woman. The Great Gatsby was written during the time of prohibition, the Jazz Age, the rise of the automobile, and publishing of Fitzgerald’s short stories.
One way that prohibition was connected to The Great Gatsby is that Fitzgerald was a big

Wealth, fancy clothing, expensive cars, and of course alcohol is what most of the characters lives were about and the banning of alcohol didn’t help them out either. Although, local and federal governments struggled to keep prohibition enforced so they turned to the IRS for the enforcement. Gatsby did not like to drink but however, he did like to party. When he threw the parties, all of his guests drank but he sat from a view and mostly watched everyone. “The illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”) went on throughout the decade, along with the operation of “speakeasies” (stores or nightclubs selling alcohol)” (History.com Staff). Gatsby was in fact a bootlegger, before he was the “mysterious figure”, he was in fact of the illegal selling of alcohol. Fitzgerald made Gatsby not drink and watch people during The Great Gatsby because he was unable to control his own drinking habits in his own life.
Fitzgerald also seemed to write a lot around what was happening in America at in the 1920’s. He liked to put all of the world’s hopes and dreams or even promises into his books and give his opinions about it. “At the same time he conveyed America’s promises created in many people (History.com Staff). He told about the war he was in, the aspects of fighting he was in and also about how many people were for and against the war. Although,

The production of automobiles meant that it needed new companies to make the resources the automobile needed. The new companies invented were steel companies, rubber companies, oil industries, gasoline production, and glass production companies. “New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/highway construction, state patrol/police…” (The History of the Automobile). The new jobs created made more people get more money and also save money. They gave laws to obey with the automobiles and made sure people obeyed them with police. The construction sites were loaded with automobiles to help and get things done faster and more efficiently. The fast food restaurants helped people with automobiles not have to wait for their food too long. Drive throughs were then created and helped people with jobs get out and with their food