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Effects Of Prohibition In The Great Gatsby

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The roaring twenties was a time period in which there were numerous social and economical changes. Some of these changes were favored, and others had sparked controversy and dispute. One of those debatable changes was the 18th amendment which banned the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol. The idea of prohibition was brought up after World War I to help fix America’s social and personal problems. The first proposition of temperance was brought out in the late eighteenth century by religious reformers. Although people had continued to argue over it, the temperance movement continuously blossomed until the late 1920s to 1930s. Many religious leaders had supported the concept of prohibition, but others had opposed the idea because they …show more content…
This temperance movement played a monumental role in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. During the time of Prohibition, it was concluded that alcohol had given the impression of being fun and exhilarating, turned biddable American citizens into convicts, and ridiculed the government. The Great Gatsby portrays this type of behavior through its characters Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and their wealth and priorities. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is used as a social commentary about the 1920s to exhibit how the concept of prohibition was ineffective to the law, left a negative effect on society, and normalized illegal behavior. The prohibition era was the beginning of a great amount of organized crime. Some individuals set up self-owned businesses to sell illegal alcohol. A few of the people who were selling illegal alcohol had joined …show more content…
The production of the automotive first started in 1890 in France, but the automobile industry did not start gaining its popularity until the early 1920s when Henry Ford put out the Model T. By the early 1920s, Henry Ford had already sold over a million automobiles (O’ Neal 49). While people were being introduced to this new form of transportation, they were also illegally obtaining their alcohol. While most people had adjusted to the new law, others could not bear to conform to it. While the production of cars was rising, there were no laws against driving or the safety in regards to it. So, while people were getting drunk, they were also getting behind the wheel of their new, dangerous car. In the first decade of the 20th century, there were no seatbelts, stop signs, traffic lights or drivers education. While the first traffic light was invented in 1912, there were zero laws related to driving safely (O’ Neal 50). The images of people driving irresponsibly can be displayed in The Great Gatsby during one of Gatsby’s magnificent parties. Fitzgerald writes, “A stout, middle-aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books”(Fitzgerald 45). The readers are introduced to Owl Eyes in the middle of one of Gatsby’s parties. He sits drunk in Gatsby’s library admiring the fact

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