Perhaps it is an insight into Gatsby's inner self that he never attended his parties. However, he began to appreciate the ability to be extravagant and wasteful. Daisy's inability to attend Gatsby's parties forced him to seek other means to be close to his true love. Digging into his life in an attempt to find his closest friends, Gatsby meets Nick Carraway, Daisy's cousin and next-door neighbor. He forms a friendship of sorts with Carraway and begins to confide some of his past. Gatsby never revealed his past association with the mob, nor did he share his criminal past with Carraway for fear that Daisy might find out. Gatsby's choice to achieve the American dream by whatever means necessary is an accurate representation of the attitude of the 1920s. When an opportunity presented itself, one did not question the morality or legality of said opportunity. The old “means justifying the end” argument was perfectly acceptable. During the Prohibition era, many Americans abandoned legal ethics in favor of alcohol bootlegging and other criminal activities. it is fair to say that part of the population, undertaking the criminal activity of smuggling, did so out of necessity and not out of necessity.