
In a time era of such deceit and secrecy one would expect nothing less from a book written in the same era. In The Great Gatsby, prohibition was very prevalent. It was a great influence on the way of many lived. In the book, Gatsby is the most secretive out of anyone. He lies to close friends, acquaintances, and even his one true love, Daisy. All of his lies tie back to where he came from and how he was brought up, because he is ashamed of it. Throughout the text it never clearly states it, but hints, that Gatsby is a bootlegger. He owns several pharmacies and is always on secret, private calls. How else could he afford all the he does including his extravagant parties. In The Great Gatsby, there are many ties to prohibition and cause much secrecy throughout the book.

The book was written and set in the middle of the 1920’s so by the mid 20’s prohibition had been a law for half a decade. The book is set in the mid of prohibition. In this day and age it was normal. America’s goal with prohibition was for happier families, fewer accidents, and greater morals (Lisa Andersen, Prohibition and It’s Effects). As this did occur, proof being less arrests and hospitalizations, there was still “a rise of mass disobedience” (Lisa Andersen, Prohibition and It’s Effects). Secret clubs and bootlegger alcohol became prominent in society. Much control was lost, largely because many did not agree with the amendment. There were actually few advocates. There was much drama affiliated with prohibition which took law makers by surprise, what they thought was going to be beneficial to the country, backfired. 

In The Great Gatsby, it is never blatantly stated that prohibition is happening. Since it was written in that time period it did’t have to be stated, that was the way it was an people knew it. If a book set in the 1920’s but written today it would more than likely be stated in the book all throughout. Another thing that is not mentioned in the book is what Gatsby’s occupation is. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband,  is the one that bring it to attention what he believes Gatsby does. Gatsby clearly makes a lot of money and is very to himself. In the book he tries to get his neighbor, Nick Caraway, to work in his business. It is still never stated but these two incidents really lead to the fact that Gatsby is a bootlegger. As stated before Gatsby owns a multitude of pharmacies which is how many people secretly and illegally sold their alcohol. About Gatsby’s business is really where most of the stories secrets lye. 

Secrets are all intertwined throughout this book. Not only the secrecy that prohibition contributed to but the many secrets between Gatsby, Daisy, Nick, Tom, and many others. There is the obvious secret in the book, that Gatsby and Daisy are in love. Tom is also in love with his secret mistress. The one person that knows about both sides though is Nick, he has much to keep to himself from Gatsby’s and Tom’s life. A major secret that is kept and that many wouldn’t think of would be the parties, they are a major even and well kept from the law. There is a lot of alcohol at these parties which make  them extremely illegal. Not knowing the story all of the secrecy can get confusing, like who is with who and how is it possible to get away with it all? 

The main cause of prohibition not working is Americans refusing to stop drinking after the new law was passed (Jack S. Blocker, Did Prohibition Really Work?) Between 1900 and 1913 the amount of alcohol consumed almost doubled (Jack S. Blocker, Did  Prohibition Really Work?). Which was a cause for concern and could be the reasoning behind prohibition, because people were getting out of control. People drinking more wasn’t all bad though, the income of taxes had to of almost doubled as well. “We forget to easily that prohibition wiped out an entire industry”, so not only were government taxes effected but so were Americans jobs (Jack S. Blocker, Did Prohibition Really Work?). In 1916 there were nearly 1300 breweries and ten years later there were none (Jack S. Blocker, Did Prohibition Really Work?). All alcohol industries were basically destroyed. 

One can conclude that prohibition caused more damage than good. Many Americans were put out of work, the government were missing out on alcohol taxes, and it didn’t effect the way a lot of people drank. The buyer and seller of the alcohol didn’t have to pay taxes making it more affordable. After prohibition was well underway in society the government was realizing they were missing out on sales taxes and it was largely effecting it. During this time there was also much lawlessness, everyone was keeping secrets. The police that weren’t bought off or bribed couldn’t do much. There was little to no control anymore.

Smuggling, secret clubs, extravagant house parties were all part of the thrill of prohibition. There were supposedly more opportunities to drink during this time. After all this time era was called the roaring twenties. Alcohol was practically easier to obtain, many were selling it because there was a lot of money in it. Before prohibition women rarely drank like they did during and after prohibition. Saloons before rarely liked to let women in but during prohibition nightclubs welcomed women to drink and dance (Lisa Andersen, Prohibition and It’s Effects). Some would say that this could have been a ground breaking time for women, they were getting out and them doing same things as men was slowly becoming more acceptable.

 Throughout The Great Gatsby there is much to do with prohibition but isn’t only to do with it. Even though it is a base of the story it is also about love and extravagantness. The book portrays the sparkly-ness of that time frame well. The amazing cars, the over the top parties, the money dropped on hotel rooms, and pretty much doing whatever on wanted. Gatsby’s life was nothing shy of extravagant and everyone wanted to know him or attend his parties and meet him. He was talked about and magnificent, untrue tumors flew of him. He was talked of as if he was nearly a god. When truly his life was filled with tragedy and sadness. He wanted a lot of what he couldn’t have and couldn’t be exactly what he wanted to be. People thought he was something he wasn’t and because, once again, secrets and lies. 

As one can conclude there is much relation between prohibition and The Great Gatsby. The secrecy, the deceitfulness, and the tension. There was much out of control in the book and in real life. Prohibition being a part of the time the book was written it has a big influence on it. Without prohibition being a part of the book it would just be a tragic love story. At the end of the book Gatsby dies just like prohibition did. The lifespans of both was eventful but the early death was inevitable. Due to so much secrecy there was much confusion and miscommunication which caused tragedy in the book and something highly anticipated in real life. Prohibition plays a large role in the book and is highly influential due to the fact that it was a major topic and law in those years. It really sets this book apart from others because of this eventful event.
