Which symbol in The Great Gatsby is explicitly associated with organized crime and bootlegging as described in the material?

• A. Parties
• B. Wolfsheim
• C. The green light
• D. The valley of ashes

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how a person can symbolize the illicit side of wealth during the Jazz Age. Meyer Wolfsheim is the figure most clearly tied to organized crime and bootlegging in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald presents him as Gatsby’s associate, a man involved in illegal activities and the liquor trade during Prohibition—details that explicitly link him to the criminal underworld. This connection shows that Gatsby’s wealth rests, at least in part, on illicit enterprises, highlighting a critique of the era’s moral decay and the shady means behind “new money.” The other symbols point to different themes: the parties reveal excess and superficial glamour, the green light signals Gatsby’s unreachable dream, and the valley of ashes represents societal corruption and waste—none of which directly embody organized crime or bootlegging.