The Great Gatsby Research Paper

The Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby
Throughout literature, the 1920s are depicted in several ways; F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, displays the 1920s in his novel. Authors parallel different aspects of this time period into their works through characters, settings, and plots. Using this in writing helps readers understand history and changes over time. Many immoral behaviors caused people to become involved in bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution in the 1920s. These actions revolve around money and the need for money during this time period. Bootlegging and prostitution were not only immoral, but they are also crimes. Gambling, on the other hand, was used throughout casinos as a hobby, but this American tradition became
Immoral behaviors began during this time period because of the Prohibition affecting the government. The government created this act to decrease the crime rates in America; but instead, they had to handle with new crimes that began to occur. Prohibition included the Volstead Act, which prohibited the manufacturing and selling of alcohol in the United States. The banning of alcohol forced people to smuggle alcohol from other countries. Also, bars and other places shadily sold illegal alcoholic beverages, which became very popular throughout the country. The smuggling and distribution of illegal alcohol is known as bootlegging. Also, people also began producing their own alcohol to sell to anyone willing to pay a large sum of money. This process became very lucrative to the producers, and bootlegging became a very popular industry throughout America (Moss and Wilson 147-49). Another profitable behavior many people became engaged in was prostitution. Brothels arose in several bars, cabarets, and saloons throughout America. The police discouraged these actions, so people involved in prostitution arrange secure meeting areas for their escapades. Along with bootlegging and prostitution, gambling also had an effect on the behaviors of the people of the 1920s. Gambling in the 1920s was popular to people who enjoyed betting their money on ridiculous matters that may or may not bring money back. The most popular
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Several representations throughout the novel are comparisons to the decade of the 1920s. A Spanish artist, Francis Cugat, who also worked on movie posters, designed the cover artwork of The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was inspired by this piece from the 1920s, and he used it to write his 1920s based novel. The face is said to represent Daisy; the eyes of a woman show through the sky. Fitzgerald describes Daisy as “The girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs” (Moss and Wilson 150). Comparisons made between the novel and the 1920s are expressed through immorality including bootlegging and gambling. As Prohibition passed along with the Volstead Act, bootlegging became an important and popular way of recruiting alcohol into the United States. As it is common throughout America, Jay Gatsby bootlegs alcohol for the lavish parties he throws in The Great Gatsby. Also, another immoral behavior performed in both the 1920s and the novel is prostitution. This lucrative crime performed throughout this decade is exemplified through affairs within the characters in the novel. The affair between Gatsby and Daisy, which is based on the love and virtues of Gatsby, can be considered prostitution (Becnel 150-51). Although no one is gaining wealth from this affair, they are both sneaky and secretive comparing with the prostitutes’ meeting places in the 1920s. Tom and Myrtle have a