Fitzgerald's Parties example essay topic
418 words
In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character, Gatsby is the host of many elaborate parties at his home in West Egg. In the morning the lawn crew would come and pamper the yard, in the evening the cooks would begin to prepare the meals, and as dusk approached, the guests would pile out of their taxis, motor cars, and boats (36). Some invited and some not, all were coming in search of a pleasant evening among people. Fitzgerald's parties unveiled a fun-loving, lazy side of most people in the 1920's. Fitzgerald wrote in his novel that the guests would begin to arrive all at once, stepping out of their motor cars, adorned in their finest evening formal wear (36). The women of the story attend Gatsby's parties in their newest gowns. The biggest concern on the minds of the attendants was their own appearance, and the appearance of others. One female guest indicated a total lack of concern over the shape of her dress at the end of the evening, for after the last discrepancy, Gatsby sponsored a new dress for her immediately (39). In his novel, the apparent scrutinization of modern society is prominent in his descriptive paragraphs, which do not reveal a character's name. Fitzgerald writes of his guests about the time that they are present at the party, he does not write of their family, or occupational life, leading it to look like their lives were only important due to the party (39). The "girls in yellow" are a prime example where characterization shadows name and title. The most important thing about the "girls in yellow" is not where they came from, but what they have to say about Gatsby.
Gossiping at a party was Fitzgerald's way to characterize his modern society as gullible. His own party attendants would have the ill manners to discuss his own background. The hushing circle would marvel over the Kaiser Wilhelm theory, then at the murderer theory (40). This share of fiction among the public of the party is what Fitzgerald used to satiric ize his portrait of modern society. The preparation, arrival, description, and habits of the crowd at Gatsby's weekly party showed a satirical outlook that Fitzgerald held throughout the entire novel. He wrote to highlight their laziness, and pampered ness, leaving them nothing but themselves to worry about, and others to gossip over.
