Why Is Corruption Important In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby was set in the time period of the 1920’s, which was also known as the Jazz Age. This was a time of growth and prosperity as well as corruption. To understand what was going on in Fitzgerald’s mind when he wrote The Great Gatsby one must understand the events that were taking place during this era. After World War 1 ended in 1919 Warren G. Harding became the president. One of his main goals was to fix the businesses in America. In doing so, his “administration was plagued by scandal and corruption, as well as opposition mounted by both unions and organized crime” (‘The Great…”). Harding and his partner Calvin Coolidge enacted a tax legislation that promoted the wealthy more than any other group, because of this decision many industries suffered tremendously forcing businesses to shut down and making people move to the city to find …show more content…
Many Americans supported this, however there were millions who broke this law and drank liquor. Businesses who sold the outlawed liquor began growing, including Gatsby and Wolfshiem’s business. The government thought that by banning the use of alcohol would help improve the quality of American lives. Instead it caused the crime rate to increase rapidly. Many people became involved in illegal underground parties that sold alcohol. “Gatsby involves a rise from near poverty to considerable wealth though leadership in a bootlegging ring” (Roberts). This is how Gatsby earned all of his money to buy a house in West Egg, across the bay from Daisy. Throughout the story Gatsby throws parties that involve tremendous amounts of liquor food and flappers. Later on in the story when Nick is calling numerous people for Gatsby’s funeral, he realizes that the people did not care about Gatsby they only cared for the liquor that he was