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Callie Pare

Mr. Smith

A Block

01/08/23

A Pessimistic View of the 1920s through Crime

In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald presents a negative view

of the time period as Gatsby's secrets are revealed, and he becomes involved in crime. The book

demonstrates how wealth and strong desires can lead to crime, and ultimately bring out the worst

in people. The chaos and conflicts of the 1920s were represented throughout the novel, which

gave readers a more realistic view of the glorified “Jazz Age”. Fitzgerald's use of crime in the

book depicts a pessimistic view of the 1920s through Gatsby. Gatsby is involved with crime,

prohibition, and unreliable justice.

Gatsby's character is largely shaped by wealth. In order to get wealthy, Gatsby engaged in

criminal activity. Money affected his decisions throughout the book, but it also elevated him and

hid his bad qualities, “Jay Gatsby effectively overturned the dated assumption that gangsters

were lowlifes from the Bowery and replaced it with an upscale figure who was enviably wealthy

and fashionably stylish” (Pauly). Fitzgerald portrayed Gatsby as someone of high status, which

helped cover up his crimes. Gatsby didn’t fit the stereotypical criminal, so he got away with a lot

of illegal acts with the help of his wealth and self-image. Gatsby was the subject of numerous

rumors, some of which turned out to be true, but he was also able to conceal the truth due to the
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fact that he kept many aspects of his life private. One thing that Gatsby hid from the public was

the fact that he was a bootlegger. This is how Gatsby would illegally obtain his money.

Fitzgerald reveals the darker side of the 1920s that's hidden beneath the glitz and glamour, which

is demonstrated by Gatsby’s illegal alcohol distribution; “Saloons and speakeasies became

prominent social venues as alcohol flowed freely in defiance of the law, and Prohibition gave

increased traction to organized crime as alcohol became a highly profitable and sought-after item

that was distributed illegally by bootleggers.” (“1920s (1920–1929)”). When alcohol became

illegal, there was a huge demand for it, so bootlegging became a big business. Gatsby was

involved in this business because he sought wealth. Money or the need for money brought out

the worst in Gatsby and caused him to make bad decisions. The Great Gatsby takes place during

a huge economic boom, and money became a big motivator. It determined relationships,

decisions, and outcomes. Fitzgerald explores how money motivates crime but also conceals it

and even justifies it. Gatsby's self-image, in which he's respected and looked up to, is shaped by

his wealth, but the negative side of wealth that encourages criminal activities, like bootlegging, is

hidden.

Multiple crimes take place in the novel which contribute to the pessimistic view of the

1920s, including murder and unreliable justice. The murders that take place in the book all lead

back to Gatsby’s lifelong desire for Daisy Buchanan, “‘Did you see any trouble on the road?’ he

asked after a minute. ‘Yes.’ He hesitated. ‘Was she killed?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘I thought so; I told Daisy I

thought so. It’s better that the shock should all come at once. She stood it pretty well.’ He spoke

as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered. …‘I don’t think anybody saw us but of

course I can’t be sure.’” (Fitzgerald, 151). Myrtle Wilson was hit and killed by Gatsby’s car,
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except Daisy was driving. Gatsby barely shows any remorse for the situation and his full

attention is on Daisy. Gatsby’s life revolved around reliving his past with Daisy, and his

yearning for her was so strong that it caused him to lose focus and appear unconcerned with

anything besides her. His intense emotions caused him to cover up a murder that he did not

commit, and as a result, he suffered the consequences; “Perhaps he no longer cared. If that was

true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long

with a single dream.” Gatsby was hit with a brutal reality for dreaming too long and fantasizing

his return with Daisy too much” (Fitzgerald, 169). Gatsby’s existence is centered around Daisy,

and when he loses hope for reliving his past with her, he feels like he has nothing to live for. He

reflects on everything he has done for, and because of Daisy. His emotions overrode reason,

driving him to sell alcohol illegally for money in order to reinvent himself and get Daisy back by

showing off his wealth. Due to his intense desire, he also tried to cover up a murder that Daisy

committed and then ended up being murdered himself. The murder and unreliable justice that

Fitzgerald includes in the novel contribute to his negative portrayal of the 1920s.

Gatsby’s involvement in crime throughout the book depicts a pessimistic view of the

time. The 1920’s were filled with crime from prohibition to murder, and Fitzgerald's use of

criminal activities through Gatsby gives readers a different perspective on the glorified “Jazz

Age”. In this time period, the American Dream and wealth were very prevalent, which led people

to make bad decisions. Since wealth determined status and people like Gatsby would do anything

to achieve their goals, it was much simpler to commit a crime and get away with it. The negative

qualities of the 1920s were concealed by the chaos and advancements of the time, but Fitzgerald

describes what's underneath all of the glitz and glamor by portraying Gatsby as a criminal, and
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including criminal activities that occurred during this time period.

Works Cited

"1920s (1920–1929)." Gale U.S. History Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: U.S.

History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BQXWOW672623596/UHIC?

u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=3ecb9041. Accessed 6 Jan. 2023.

Fitzgerald, F. The Great Gatsby. Simon & Schuster New York, 1925. p. 151.

Fitzgerald, F. The Great Gatsby. Simon & Schuster New York, 1925. P. 169.

Pauly, Thomas H. "Gatsby as Gangster." Studies in American Fiction, vol. 21 no. 2, 1993, p.

225-236. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/saf.1993.0019.

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Skill Not Foundational Proficient Advanced

Yet
Identifies a topic Appears in first Thesis establishes a
paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a
topic and a claim

Comments:
Thesis

Includes two or Includes evidence Includes specific,

fewer sources from scholarly and meaningful, and
informational well-chosen
Some evidence sources that connect evidence that relates
relates to the thesis to the novel and to the thesis
support the thesis

Evidence

Comments:

Summarizes sources Explains how Explains well-

evidence supports selected points of
topic sentence of comparison among
individual sources and
paragraphs evidence and their
connection to the
Analysis Explains how details thesis
in the novel are
significant in
regards to context,
character, plot, or
theme
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Comments:

Little connection Explains how the Clearly explains

between texts; texts/sources are relationships among
difficult for the related, though texts (how they
reader to see how points could be confirm or challenge
the texts are related more selective or each other, build on
better developed each other, provide
Synthesis differing
Includes multiple perspectives, etc.)
sources in each body
paragraph

Comments:

Some elements Heading is correctly No errors in MLA

missing or some formatted format
errors in MLA format
Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted

Works Cited format:

hanging indent,
MLA Format double-spaced,
alphabetized, starts
on a new page

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format

Comments:
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Shows evidence of Most quotes are All quotes are

basic proofreading correctly integrated correctly integrated

Follows essay Shows evidence of

Conventions organization careful proofreading

Shows evidence of
proofreading

Comments:

Callie,
I think your first body paragraph could have been stronger, as you didn’t spend much time
discussing the negative attributes of Gatsby’s specific crimes. Your second body paragraph was
much stronger in this regard. I think your goal for our next major writing piece should be to take
time to explore the various dimensions of characters and plot. Feel free to delve into what
actually happened to/with characters.

Grade: B