Close analysis of beginning of chapter III in The Great Gatsby

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Ruth Norris

Close analysis of beginning of chapter III in The Great Gatsby

In this passage, Nick, the narrator, sees the exhibition of wealth at his neighbour’s house intensify. He has not personally met the elusive Gatsby previously, having only seen him reaching out to the green light on Daisy’s dock, but he can see the spectacle of Gatsby’s mansion, inflated here in preparation for a party. Fitzgerald uses lavish images and detailed description to introduce to the reader the extravagance of Gatsby’s parties, which are representative of the excessive indulgence of the high society of the time.

The chapter begins, “There was music in my neighbour’s house through the summer nights”, which immediately informs the reader that parties were a regular occurrence, alluding to the indulgence of the host. It is clear that Gatsby’s parties involve drinking on a grand scale, so they were in themselves unlawful at this time of prohibition. The “five crates of oranges and lemons” that arrived every Friday are like Gatsby’s guests who left after expending all energy through partying; “every Monday…[they]…left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves.” The masses of “oranges and lemons” and constant references to “gins and liquors” and “cocktails [that] permeate the garden” provide an explanation for the chaotic and destructive behaviour and later in the chapter the inebriation of the guests is revealed. The extravagance relating to alcohol consumption is great; there is even a bar with a “real brass rail … set up.” Drink figures again later in a metaphorical manner; “laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word.” This emphasises the reliance these people had on alcohol and the frivolity of the situation. Fitzgerald describes the bar as being in “full swing” and Fitzgerald personifies the air saying it is “alive” with the onomatopoeic “chatter and laughter…”

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A major characteristic of the affluent in the 1920s was their carelessness, a trait of a number of people in the novel, including the Buchannans and Jordan Baker as well as the party guests. The language used in the passage highlights this attribute for example, “the casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.” The guests who “came and went” all have an air of anonymity; Fitzgerald presents them as faceless. Fitzgerald writes, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings ...

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