Is the idea of great wealth and alcohol alluring? Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby believed so. The Great Gatsby is an American classic written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. The story is narrated by a young man name Nick Carraway. Nick Carraway narrates what happens as Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan develop into a strange love triangle with an underlying story displaying the lengths a person will go to achieve the American Dream and alcohol in society. Even though his story is a fictitious one the goal of the American Dream also happened to be the goal of thousands of people in the 1920s. A factor of the time period included the old money vs. new money argument justifying a person’s American Dream. Prohibition played
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Henry Ford developed “mass-production” in the 1920s. Mass production is described as “the method of producing goods in large quantities at low cost per unit”( “Mass Production”). Due to mass production cars were sold at $290 in 1925 rather than the $850it was in 1908(The rise and fall of the American economy, 1910-29”). Mass production also resulted in better higher wages at $5 and more jobs were created in not just the car industry but also with the surplus amount of cars on the road, by 1929 jobs. With the economic boom there were many chances for people from lower classes to grow resulting in a new money vs old money division between people who became rich during the 1920s and people who were born into wealth. New money was often gained by organized crime for example Al Capone or a fictitious character such as Jay Gatsby, who we find out gained wealth from bootlegging later in The Great Gatsby. The 1920s had a rise in organized crime due to two large factors, prohibition and economic depression.("Organized Crime in the 1920 's and Prohibition) Prohibition was meant to decrease crime but Americans had a love for alcohol and in the 1920s that indirectly made a majority of them criminals. Since new money was commonly due to organized crime in the 1920s even more people of old wealth looked down amongst new money. There were also such different lifestyles with people of new money and old money such as lavish spending.(10 Differences Between Old Money Vs. New Money For example in Thr Great Gatsby, Gatsby throws extreme parties, has shirts handpicked from a man in England. This showcases the new money mindset and wanting to fit in while old money would not have to prove themselves since they have always had
Henry Ford developed “mass-production” in the 1920s. Mass production is described as “the method of producing goods in large quantities at low cost per unit”( “Mass Production”). Due to mass production cars were sold at $290 in 1925 rather than the $850it was in 1908(The rise and fall of the American economy, 1910-29”). Mass production also resulted in better higher wages at $5 and more jobs were created in not just the car industry but also with the surplus amount of cars on the road, by 1929 jobs. With the economic boom there were many chances for people from lower classes to grow resulting in a new money vs old money division between people who became rich during the 1920s and people who were born into wealth. New money was often gained by organized crime for example Al Capone or a fictitious character such as Jay Gatsby, who we find out gained wealth from bootlegging later in The Great Gatsby. The 1920s had a rise in organized crime due to two large factors, prohibition and economic depression.("Organized Crime in the 1920 's and Prohibition) Prohibition was meant to decrease crime but Americans had a love for alcohol and in the 1920s that indirectly made a majority of them criminals. Since new money was commonly due to organized crime in the 1920s even more people of old wealth looked down amongst new money. There were also such different lifestyles with people of new money and old money such as lavish spending.(10 Differences Between Old Money Vs. New Money For example in Thr Great Gatsby, Gatsby throws extreme parties, has shirts handpicked from a man in England. This showcases the new money mindset and wanting to fit in while old money would not have to prove themselves since they have always had