The Great Gatsby Case

The character Meyer Wolfshein is said to be based on a real person by the name of Arnold Rothstein. They both share many characteristics so I believe this is true. Fitzgerald could have put a character almost identical to Rothstein for many reasons.

Meyer Wolfshein and Arnold Rothstein are were both wealthy, Jewish men. They were also involved in bootlegging. Both of them were gangsters. These were just some similarities in their characteristics. The biggest way in which both Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Wolfshein are the same is that they rigged The World Series.

Fitzgerald might have used Arnold Rothstein because the rigging of The World Series was such a big scandal in that time. Arnold was a perfect fit for someone that Jay Gatsby could be working with. He was rich and shady. Many people knew who Rothstein was so Fitzgerald also could have wanted people to make the connection and figure out on their own who Meyer Wolfshein really was.

The information that I found out about Arnold Rothstein did not really change my perception on Jay Gatsby at all. Since Meyer Wolfshein and Arnold Rothstein were so alike the that finding out this information about him did not really make a difference. In a way Meyer Wolfshein could just be another name for Rothstein.