In today’s society, people automatically associate more wealthy people with more happiness, but that is not always the case. F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his book The Great Gatsby, introduces readers to the opulent residents of the West Egg in New York.
One specific character, Nick Carraway, a bond salesman, and avid observer of the party lifestyle, lives next door to a wealthy man by the name of Jay Gatsby. One night, he is cordially invited to a party thrown at the Gatsby residence. There, he interacts with a multitude of New York socialites. When describing the party’s atmosphere, people, and refreshments, author F. Scott Fitzgerald undercuts the evident glamour to reveal the rather hopeless and hollow reality of the lives of upper class New …show more content…
When Jordyn Baker walks around the party, Nick notices “a jauntiness about her movements.” (50) At the beginning of the night, the guests dance around the house excitedly with so much energy. They arrive at a fancy well-decorated house ready to enjoy a night away from their own lives. “Laughter gets easier minute by minute”(40) as the guests pick up glasses of champagne from servants “in a uniform of robin's egg blue.” (41) Gatsby’s guests find it easier to laugh because they are getting increasingly drunk as the night goes on. Trying extra hard to impress the other guests, they put on fake personalities as they laugh away the pain of their wasteful and extravagant lives. Moreover, these high-class New York elites feel as if they have nothing to live for and therefore waste their days away just drinking. For example, the man that Jordyn and Nick meet in the library has “been drunk for about a week now” (46). The man is indisputably drunk and has been trying with little success to “sober [himself] up.” (41) As the night comes to an end, and the guests have gotten significantly more drunk, “most of the remaining women were having fights with men said to be their husbands” (51). The guests’ drunk selves expose their true colors - bored women after hours of partying. They lurch at any opportunity to spice up their lives …show more content…
Caterers supply “buffet tables garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs.” (40) Most of their excessive food goes to waste, but the New York socialites could care less. Fitzgerald’s appealing words awe the readers and create jealousy. In addition to a sophisticated array of dinner and appetizers, “every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiter in New York” (39). Extreme lengths are sought to bring the most exquisite of food to the party. The abundance of food substitutes for the characters’ lack of personality. Their debauchery completes a feeling of fulfillment. All throughout the grand party, “Cocktails floated at us through the twilight.” (43) With the repetition of the word ‘floated,’ Fitzgerald again emphasizes the aimless behavior of the opulent high class New Yorkers. Unlike at a regular party, “champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger bowls.”(51) Fitzgerald stresses the necessity of larger glasses to hold all the champagne the guests drink. They consume exorbitant amounts of alcohol to forget about their pointless lives. Through repetition, appealing words, and detailed descriptions of Gatsby’s elegant party, the elites’ dull lives are
One specific character, Nick Carraway, a bond salesman, and avid observer of the party lifestyle, lives next door to a wealthy man by the name of Jay Gatsby. One night, he is cordially invited to a party thrown at the Gatsby residence. There, he interacts with a multitude of New York socialites. When describing the party’s atmosphere, people, and refreshments, author F. Scott Fitzgerald undercuts the evident glamour to reveal the rather hopeless and hollow reality of the lives of upper class New …show more content…
When Jordyn Baker walks around the party, Nick notices “a jauntiness about her movements.” (50) At the beginning of the night, the guests dance around the house excitedly with so much energy. They arrive at a fancy well-decorated house ready to enjoy a night away from their own lives. “Laughter gets easier minute by minute”(40) as the guests pick up glasses of champagne from servants “in a uniform of robin's egg blue.” (41) Gatsby’s guests find it easier to laugh because they are getting increasingly drunk as the night goes on. Trying extra hard to impress the other guests, they put on fake personalities as they laugh away the pain of their wasteful and extravagant lives. Moreover, these high-class New York elites feel as if they have nothing to live for and therefore waste their days away just drinking. For example, the man that Jordyn and Nick meet in the library has “been drunk for about a week now” (46). The man is indisputably drunk and has been trying with little success to “sober [himself] up.” (41) As the night comes to an end, and the guests have gotten significantly more drunk, “most of the remaining women were having fights with men said to be their husbands” (51). The guests’ drunk selves expose their true colors - bored women after hours of partying. They lurch at any opportunity to spice up their lives …show more content…
Caterers supply “buffet tables garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs.” (40) Most of their excessive food goes to waste, but the New York socialites could care less. Fitzgerald’s appealing words awe the readers and create jealousy. In addition to a sophisticated array of dinner and appetizers, “every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiter in New York” (39). Extreme lengths are sought to bring the most exquisite of food to the party. The abundance of food substitutes for the characters’ lack of personality. Their debauchery completes a feeling of fulfillment. All throughout the grand party, “Cocktails floated at us through the twilight.” (43) With the repetition of the word ‘floated,’ Fitzgerald again emphasizes the aimless behavior of the opulent high class New Yorkers. Unlike at a regular party, “champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger bowls.”(51) Fitzgerald stresses the necessity of larger glasses to hold all the champagne the guests drink. They consume exorbitant amounts of alcohol to forget about their pointless lives. Through repetition, appealing words, and detailed descriptions of Gatsby’s elegant party, the elites’ dull lives are