How is atmosphere created at Gatsby's party?

Authors Avatar

Paul Gaskill

Gatsby’s Parties

One of the main reasons why Gatsby is so famous around New York is due the lavish parties he throws each weekend. This passage gives us an insight into Gatsby’s social life, and also shows us the lifestyle of the American upper class in the 1920’s. Early on in the passage Fitzgerald uses the simile, “men and girls came and went like moths” to describe the numerous guests attending the party. This gives the party a busy feel, as there is a constant flux of people joining and exiting the party. It also creates a sense of impersonality, as it would seem that the guests, like moths, appear randomly and are drawn in by the event, not by the host. It also seems strange that Nick describes the guests in this, semi-insulting manner, when he does the same thing. He seems to judge the other guests, which could be considered quite hypocritical due to similarities between him and the guests.

Join now!

        Fitzgerald uses long, multi-clausal sentences in order to fit numerous activities along side each other. With people “diving from the tower” and taking the sun…” there seems to be so much happening at once, and Gatsby’s party is a hive of activity. There is a very prominent care free attitude around the party, and this can be linked with the general attitude of the wealthy American of the 1920’s. In this post war era, America was doing very well economically and had entered an economic boom. This led to a class of new rich people, who became very prosperous ...

This is a preview of the whole essay