From a young age Gatsby is already corrupt, but only on a small scale. He has no real driving force to motivate him, he is happy with just taking advantage of young women. It will take his obsession of getting back his lost love Daisy to take his corruptness into a whole new arena.

             Jay Gatsby does not get to where he is in society by legal means; instead he achieves his wealth by illegal activities. Gatsby, as a young man, seeing no other options for himself joins the army, and while stationed in the South, meets a young woman that steals his heart. Her name is Daisy and from that moment on he wants no other woman. Gatsby feels like a changed man and he feels the only thing that can make him happy is her. However Daisy has wealth in her family and Gatsby does not. He feels that lying about the past just won"t do this time. He feels that Daisy is too special and a wall of social classes stands between them. Gatsby leaves Daisy and goes to War. While away he feels that he may still be able to get her back, but Daisy marries another man named Tom Buchanon. Gatsby returns and discovers that his love has married another man. He feels that he can get her back if he can accomplish what he could not before, which is become wealthy. This drive will justify whatever Gatsby does in life to obtain his wealth. All Gatsby"s business dealings are not made clear, but what we do learn about them paints Gatsby as a man with no morals. He, just as he did as a young man, looks for the easy way. He admits to his neighbor and Daisy"s cousin Nick Carraway that he "Was in the drug store business" (95). The drug store business during prohibition meant that the person was a bootlegger. Bootlegging was a highly profitable business, but it was also extremely violent. People were often killed for their rackets (their bootlegging operations). Bootleggers were commonly associated with gangsters who carry out their acts of brutality.