The 1920s were a decade where a lot of crime occurred in America. Many people felt the need to get involved in organized crime due to the restrictions in place at the time, such as Prohibition. People usually commit crimes to achieve a goal for themselves. There have been many cases of specific people and even people famous for their involvement in organized crime in the 1920s. One such character was Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, may even have based this character on one of the most notorious organized criminals of the time. Jay Gatsby gets involved in a crime to try to win over the love of his life, who he left five years earlier. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the negative aspects of the 1920s, especially organized crime, to show that Jay Gatsby's dream wasn't even possible because he pursued it through immoral means. Some people felt the need to engage in organized crime because of the laws that were put in place at the time. According to Bob Batchelor in Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed in January 1919. This law made it illegal to manufacture, transport, import, or sell alcohol into the United States. Also known as Prohibition, this led to many people becoming involved in organized crime. Batchelor goes on to say that people involved in these crimes such as making or selling alcohol were called bootleggers, Jay Gatsby is an example of this (Batchelor 157). Just because there was a law against alcohol, it didn't stop people from drinking it. Despite the amendment attempting to ban alcohol in the United States, people still found a way… middle of paper… again. The reader discovers that his American dream is not possible because he never realized the difference between his money and Daisy's. Daisy has moved on and doesn't want to get involved with someone who made their money illegally. Hard work pays off and you can achieve your goals if done right, as is the case with Nick Carraway.Works CitedBatchelor, Bob. Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Collier Books, 1991. Print.Lehan, Richard. The Great Gatsby: The Limits of Wonder. Boston: Twane Publishers, 1990. Print.Pauly, Thomas H. Readings on the Great Gatsby. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1998. Print.Wyly, Michael J. Understanding the Great Gatsby. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc., 2002. Print.