Negative Consequences In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
Imagine it: summer, 1923. You’re in Long Island, New York during a time remembered as prohibition, a ban of alcohol in the United States. However, everyone around you parties hard at the infamous house of the mysterious Jay Gatsby, and you are offered a drink. Do you take it wholeheartedly, or do you reject it as the law demands you do? If you’re like the rest of the partygoers, you’d probably do the former, unaware of the consequences arising from your choice. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, alcoholic drinks are always present during a major plot point, that proves it can be a negative force. First, intoxicating beverages are routinely present at Gatsby’s astounding parties, driving an emphasis on its negative repercussions. If
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The original idea for Nick, Jay, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan’s trip to New York was to go to the Plaza Hotel and drink, which quickly changes. F. Scott pens, “The notion originated with Daisy’s suggestion that we… assumed more tangible form as ‘a place to have a mint julep’” (Fitzgerald 126). This idea, stemming from a trip to drink, quickly morphs into the driving force for the rest of the novel: the clash between Daisy’s two men, Tom and Gatsby. This get-together is a major stain upon the relationships between quite a few characters, and without bootlegged beverages, would never have happened nor would the tragic events following. Also following, Tom, though he had just experienced the biggest conflict in the tale, decides to take a drink. As the narrator recalls it, “Tom got up and began wrapping the unopened bottle of whiskey in the towel” (Fitzgerald 135). Not only are spirits present before this conflict, but after as well, sandwiching the instance in a liquor-fueled madness. This marks the confrontation with two large, red flags, because Fitzgerald wants the reader to understand how significant illegal drinks are in the lives of the significant characters and, as always, during major plot points. In conclusion, be it subtle or significant, liquor is a present force during all momentous occurrences in The Great Gatsby. As a reader, one can see that it proves to be destructive, and leaves its stamp before the narrator moves away from an idea. One must take Fitzgerald’s warning from this symbol: Alcohol, though it may be enjoyable, will always be associated with a poor
The original idea for Nick, Jay, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan’s trip to New York was to go to the Plaza Hotel and drink, which quickly changes. F. Scott pens, “The notion originated with Daisy’s suggestion that we… assumed more tangible form as ‘a place to have a mint julep’” (Fitzgerald 126). This idea, stemming from a trip to drink, quickly morphs into the driving force for the rest of the novel: the clash between Daisy’s two men, Tom and Gatsby. This get-together is a major stain upon the relationships between quite a few characters, and without bootlegged beverages, would never have happened nor would the tragic events following. Also following, Tom, though he had just experienced the biggest conflict in the tale, decides to take a drink. As the narrator recalls it, “Tom got up and began wrapping the unopened bottle of whiskey in the towel” (Fitzgerald 135). Not only are spirits present before this conflict, but after as well, sandwiching the instance in a liquor-fueled madness. This marks the confrontation with two large, red flags, because Fitzgerald wants the reader to understand how significant illegal drinks are in the lives of the significant characters and, as always, during major plot points. In conclusion, be it subtle or significant, liquor is a present force during all momentous occurrences in The Great Gatsby. As a reader, one can see that it proves to be destructive, and leaves its stamp before the narrator moves away from an idea. One must take Fitzgerald’s warning from this symbol: Alcohol, though it may be enjoyable, will always be associated with a poor