Jealousy

Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship. Jealousy is found most common in relationships it consists of anger, sadness, and , hatred/disgust. People usually get jealousy confused with envy but they are not the same envy is an emotion when a person lacks a accomplishment, a object, achievement, or something the other person desires.

A example of jealousy in The Great Gatsby is when Tom hits his mistress because of how she kept saying Daisy to him. Also the only cause for Gatsby's downfall was that he was jealous of others that did not want him to succeed.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was a american author of novels and short stories such as This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Love of the Last Tycoon, and The most famous of all The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "lost Generation", which is a term used to characterize a general feeling of disillusionment of american literary. Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul Mineesota, he was named after his second cousin Francis Scott Key and by his sister that died shortly after he was born. Fitzgerald attended Nardin Academy, St. Paul academy ,and Princeton University.Fiztgerald was known to be a poor student so he enlisted in the army during WWI but shortly after he enlisted the war and ended.
Fitzgerald was known to be a alcoholic ever since he was in college. He became notorious for his heavy drinking, which then leaving him with a illness named tuberculosis in 1919. In 1940 Fitzgerald suffered from two heart attacks which he died from before the ambulances could arrive. Fitzgerald's work and legend inspired writers ever since he was first published.

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html

Mafia/Gangsters

In The Great Gatsby Meyer WolfShiem was a mafia member who was Gatsby "friend". Not much was known about Wolfshiem work with the mafia except for he corrupted his dream as well as aided in destroying Gatsby's dream. This corrupts the American dream because working with characters from the mafia and then joining the mafia is illegal and you really arent working for the dream it's mainly given so what did you accomplish?

The mafia was around for along time before the 1920's and existed in mostly all of the cities in the U.S. as well as other countries but the 1920's was the most noteworthy because of prohibition. The mafia got involved in bootlegging, this was a risky business but it earned them about $100 million a year but whenever this much money was involved greed, deception , and murder took over. One of the most famous mobster, Al Capone was a bootlegger and made millions off the business. As well as other illegal activities he was so good at what he did (covering his tracks) that he only ended up in prison for tax evasion but then died several years after being released.

http://writinghood.com/literature/national/corruption-of-the-american-dream-in/

http://west.iccsd.k12.ia.us/library/WQR&J/era/1920s.htm

Flappers

F. Scott Fitzgerald first used the term flappers to the U.S. to describe the image and style of the new style. He described them as "lovely", "expensive", and about "nineteen". The flapper image was young girls wearing unbuckled galoshes that would make a "flapping" noise when walking. Flappers usually wore short skirts, bobbed their hair and listened to jazz. They also wore excessive makeup ,drinking, smoking( which women usually never did), and treating sex in a casual manner as well as dancing the charleston.

In The Great Gatsby Jordan Baker is an athletic, independent woman who maintains a moral lifestyle. Her character represents the new breed of woman(flappers) in America with a sense of power. The term Flapper first appeared in Great Britain after WWI it was used to describe young girls still some what in movement who had not yet entered womanhood.

http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/a/flappers.htm
by Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com Guide

Prohibition

The 18th amendment was ratified on january 16, 1919 which is the illegal sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol for consumption was banned nationally. Many social problems occured when the 18th amendment took affect such as mafia groups limited their activities for gambling and theft until 1920, then bootlegging manifested in response. Many gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies. Many people started to make their own alcohol.
Prohibition relates to The Great Gatsby because smuggling illegal booze was the way that Jay Gatsby was able to make and keep his fortune. Many well off people during the 1920's were involved in this underground supply of liquor to speakeasies and other illegal foundation. Meyer Wolfshiem introduced Gatsby to the remunerative bootlegging industry.