Tone Of The Party example essay topic

The three parties that take place in the beginning chapters of The Great Gatsby reflect a variety of tone and atmosphere. The atmosphere of the party is quickly established by the author when Nick first arrives at the home of Daisy and Tom. The luxurious house suggest to the reader that they are about to enter a place that is both mystical, enchanting, and a picture of wealth and rose-colored beauty. The setting appears almost dreamlike and the reader is enticed by the "deep pungent roses" (12) of the sunken Italian gardens and the halls that lead to a rosy -colored space where the "gleaming white" (12) windows are open and the curtains are "blowing like pale flags" (12). The author uses imagery such as; "frosted wedding cake of the ceiling" (12), "white dresses rippling and fluttering" (12), "making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea" (12), "buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon" (12), and "the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor" (12) to set the tone of the party. The reader can sense that Nick is awed and overwhelmed by not only the beauty of the home but also intrigued by the characters inhibiting it.

The tone during the first party at Tom and Daisy's house is somewhat superficial, airy and insouciant. The characters set the tone of the party with their "conscientious expressions" (13) and Nick is introduced to a variety of their moods and behaviors. There are times he is "almost surprised into murmuring an apology" (13), and times when he is perplexed. The characters often surprise him when they suddenly open "in a flower-like way" (24). When Nick finally leaves he feels "as if the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to extract" (22) something from him. The atmosphere of the party that takes place in the rented apartment on 158th Street is very different than the Buchanan's home.

The flat is very confined, small and tasteless. The house is smoke-filled, loud, and cramped with people. Myrtle's guests are drunken, boisterous, and obnoxious. There are displays of tasteless art, literature, and big furniture. The tone of the party is set by the hostess herself who flashes her flamboyant style, poor taste, and unrefined manners. She perfectly reflects this behavior when she answers Tom's demand for more ice, "I told that boy about the ice.

' Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders" (36). The author displays a tone of desire and greed for material things and Myrtle comments that she is going "to make a list of all the things [she's] got to get" (41). The author also positions Tom as bored, arrogant drunk who with "a short deft movement" (41) breaks " [Myrtle's] nose with his open hand" (41). In the end the author notes only the helpless little dog is left "looking with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly" (41).

The atmosphere of the third party at the Gatsby mansion is both mystical and theatrical. Nick describes the guests who attend the party as ones who have "conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with the amusement parks" (45). The atmosphere is magical and enchanting and filled with laughter, song, and dance. While the majority of the guests are drunk, it does not have the same effect as Myrtle's party. The tone is very mysterious and the majority of the guests have not even met their host. There is a great suspense about him and many stories are passed around by the guest.

"We all turned and looked around for Gatsby. It was a testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there where whispers about him from those who had found little that is was necessary to whisper about in this world" (48). Fitzgerald clearly defines the tone of the party and the role Gatsby will play when Nick observes him and comments that " [he] could see nothing sinister about him. [He wonders] if the fact that he was not drinking [helps] to set him off from his guest, for it [seems] to me that he grew more correct as the fraternal hilarity increased. (54).