prohibition
The novel Billy Bathgate and the films The Public Enemy and Scarface all depict the nation’s
fascination with organized crime in the 1930s. Prohibition (1920-1933) had created opportunities
for the expansion of organized crime, which persisted even its repeal. The widespread economic
suffering of the Depression era (1929-1941) encouraged mass culture’s fascination with
gangsters.
Read the attached short history of Prohibition, so that you are clear on the facts. Then, in a 500-
700 word paper, explore how Billy Bathgate and whichever film you watched illustrate the
following aspects of era:
1. How Prohibition fed organized crime,
2. How organized crime led to police and/or government corruption,
3. How the circumstances of the Depression era, particularly for people from workingclass
and/or immigrant backgrounds, may have made organized crime appealing,
4. How the media (including films) helped to glorify organized crime.
You must use lots of specific evidence from the book and film. You may cite the book
parenthetically with just the author and page number (Doctorow, 15), and you may cite the
movie parenthetically with just the title. I encourage you to use material from the attached
encyclopedia entry, and you may cite it parenthetically simply as (Brittanica). Please note that I
recommend that you paraphrase any information that you get from the encyclopedia, instead of
quoting it directly, as it is not a scholarly source. You should quote directly from Billy Bathgate,
though, and often.
