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Will Massey

Mr.Smith

A Block Lit

12/20/22

Fitzgerald’s View on the 1920s

In the 1920s there was a lot of crime and violence due to many reasons. It is known as

The Gangster Era because of all the crimes, one of the main crimes being selling alcohol.

Fitzgerald shows a pessimistic of the 1920s as shown in the book “The Great Gatsby” Due to the

prohibition of other alcohol, there was a lot of violence and crime. Fitzgerald shows that crime

can result in innocent people getting injured or killed.

Fitzgerald shows a pessimistic view of the 1920s due to all the crime in this era.

Fitzgerald paints a pessimistic picture of Gatsby through his criminal activities. Gatsby would

legally sell alcohol for lots of money. Nick always saw Gatsby as a mysterious man. In the

scholarly article “Gatsby as Gangster, discussing Gatsby’s portrayal of a gangster, Pauly

mentions that, “For the reader bothered by Nick's retreat from his ingrained skepticism in the

case of Gatsby, this man of mystery seems more scheming and duplicitous than Nick

acknowledges, if only because Gatsby's extravagant possessions attest so eloquently to his

success with crime.”(Pauly 22). Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to represent crime in the 1920s. Gatsby

represents how some people in the 1920s had a lot of success with crime. Because Gatsby was

rich, he was able to speed on roads and get away with it. He represents a criminal as he puts

others in danger on the road, and illegally sells alcohol. This represents Fitzgerald's pessimistic

view of this time because of the people that would profit off of prohibition. Similar to Gatsby, a
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lot of people profited off prohibition. According to the historical article “Gangster Era”, “During

Prohibition (1920–1933), the period when all alcohol sales were banned, the illegal sale of liquor

became a very profitable business” (Gale 2). Fitzgerald used Gatsby to represent crime in this

era. Gatsby is symbolic of criminal activity. Throughout the story, Gatsby doesn't tell people

what he does. He remained a mystery for a while until Tom confronted him. The sources that I

used confirm and build on each other. They show that Gatsby represented a criminal, as he is a

man of mystery and an alcohol bootlegger. Fitzgerald links Gatsby with crime in this Era. Gatsby

represents Fitzgerald's pessimistic view of this time.

Due to crime, there was often violence that came along with it, resulting in the wrong

people having to pay for the crime in Fitzgerald's novel. Also in the article “Gangster Era”, the

author mentions that, “Over time, however, violent shootouts that resulted in the deaths of

innocent bystanders and upstanding law figures made these underworld figures less

glamorous.”(Gale 4). In the 1920s, there was an increasing amount of crime occurring. Since the

amount of crime was increasing, the number of victims of crime was also increasing. In some

cases of crime, the victim pays the price, and the criminal gets off the hook. This can cause

pointless violence to occur. This increase in victimization is demonstrated in Gatsby. Daisy was

driving with Gatsby after leaving the city. She was driving recklessly because she was upset after

the fight between Gatsby and Tom. As Daisy was driving, Myrtle ran out into the road, and Nick

says, “The “death car.” as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering

darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend.”

(Fitzgerald, 103). As Daisy was speeding away, Wilson caught a glimpse of the car and later

realized it was Gatsby's. Tom told Wilson it was Gatsby driving even though it was Daisy, so he

wanted to get revenge. Wilson tracks Gatsby down and shoots him. After this, Daisy goes back
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to Chicago with Tom and doesn't pay any price for Wilson, Myrtle, and Gatsby's death. Fitzerald

uses this situation to show the reader that the wrong people pay for crime throughout the story.

The historical information about the 1920s, when combined with Fitzgerald’s writing, creates a

picture of crime and violence in the 1920s, and the consequences they cause. Crime often ends in

violence, resulting in the wrong people having to pay for the crime, which presents Fitzgerald’s

pessimistic view of the 1920s.

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald has a pessimistic view of the 1920s due to the wrong

people having to pay for crime. Fitzgerald shows us that the 1920s were a time of crime and acts

of violence. He describes what crime can lead to, and how it affects innocent people. It can be

concluded that the 1920s were a time when crime and violence were at a high, and the wrong

people ended up getting involved or injured.

Works Cited

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

1993, pp. 225+. Gale Literature Resource Center,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A14769861/LitRC?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-

LitRC&xid=150a5669. Accessed 20 Dec. 2022.

"Gangster Era." Gale U.S. History Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: U.S. History,
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link.gale.com/apps/doc/WTPHIL563246847/UHIC?u=mlin_n_newhigh&sid=bookmark-

UHIC&xid=fd5207d1. Accessed 3 Jan. 2023.

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925.

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:
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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

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:

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

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format

Comments:

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:

Will,
We talked at length about this, so I didn’t feel the need to leave extensive comments. You are
showing a lot of improvement in your writing, especially being able to do it more independently. I
want to once again emphasize that you are a good writer… it just takes a lot of patience and
practice to get better!

Grade: B