The descriptions used to describe the setting are literal and colours are used, such as ‘his blue gardens’. From this you can almost see the twilight sky shadowing the ground, the colours of the flowers and the darkening of the Sound beyond. This helps the reader to visualise the scene in the garden.
The senses are widely used in this passage. Not only does the writer make the reader visually aware but also by using sounds he makes her acoustically aware; ‘toiled with hammers’ is an example of this. With ‘yellow cocktail music’ sounding light and playful it allows the reader to hear the music and chatter amongst the guests and therefore feel personally present. The reader can even begin to feel ‘the hot sand’ under her and ‘the sun’ beating down as she reads this passage. Many of the descriptions use hot colours adding to the feeling of a lively, playful atmosphere; the ‘brisk yellow bug’ that is Gatsby’s station wagon, and ‘crates of oranges and lemons’ arrive. Throughout the novel Fitzgerald often uses all the senses to create the most realistic description.
The way that the guests are described as being ‘men and girls’ suggests that it is the younger, more foolish girls who attend these parties and fewer older men. From this the reader can imagine a lively flirtatious party. The reader already senses these people are here for lustful fun rather than the more traditional party.
The party people are described as ‘moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars’, which gives images of mindless individuals going where the lights, or the most attractive invitation may take them. The impact of imagery is dramatic as the reader can really feel part of the scene. With the ‘whole pitful’ of orchestra arriving, and the ‘last swimmers’ returning, there is a sense of buzzing anticipation in the air as things begin to happen. The imagery and description is very clear and the sense of a vibrant magnificent party is extremely real. This is typical of Fitzgerald’s style; ‘the valley of ashes’ landscape described in chapter two uses strong imagery which helps the reader to feel she is also looking out on the ‘farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges’.
As this description is coming directly from Nick’s consciousness the form of the passage is irregular and quite free, but the rhythm is steady, as the tempo is moderate and does not change all that much throughout the passage. Like many events throughout the novel Nick has never been to one of Gatsby’s parties before so everything is new and exciting for him and so the tone throughout this and many events in the novel are excited. This allows the reader to also feel the excitement of going somewhere for the first time and this is one writing style in which Scott Fitzgerald makes her feel personally present at these events.
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The party reaching an ultimate crescendo with ‘the air alive with chatter and laughter’, ‘the bar in full swing’ and ‘the orchestra playing yellow cocktail music’ and with ‘laughter becoming easier minute by minute’.
This style is typical of Fitzgerald as he often uses strong imagery to make the reader personally present. Another example of this is at the beginning of chapter two but here Fitzgerald describes the 'valley of ashes' landscape, rather than an event and people.
