In Chapter three, Nick is invited to Gatsby's party unlike most people. Gatsby's party is enormous and wild where people follow "rules of the amusement park." Nick feels out of place at the party. However, in passage four one can see how Nick's attitude of the place changes. Nick is drunk and therefore unreliable as a narrator of the story. Suddenly, he starts enjoying himself after drinking alcohol. He says "...the scene has changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental and profound." Nick contradicts himself from what he had said about the party earlier. Also, drinking is illegal during this time period. However, nobody is shocked or rejecting towards the alcohol present in the party. This is a normal situation for them.
In the beginning of the passage, it says "There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden, old men pushing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles..." This sentence shows the behavior and attitude of girls, especially young girls, during the 1920's. Many people got rich over night due to the stock market. These girls desired part of that fortune and wanted to be accepted into the 'high class society.' The fastest road to get in would be to marry a old men with abundant amount of money. This action shows how shallow and selfish people were. However, the object that made them so immoral in first place was money.
The passage also demonstrates how extravagant and exquisite the parties' in high class societies were. Gatsby did not have a five piece orchestra but rather the whole set with trombones, saxophones, viols, cornets and low and high drums. Even the drinks were not average. Champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger bowls. There was also "a celebrated tenor that was sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had been sung in jazz..." All these commodities shows how wealthy and powerful the people were to be able to have these kinds to parties.
Words, words, words...
13 years ago
Fitzgerald mentioned the way the young were dancing by themselves and since the Charleston was a popular dance in the 1920s, we can assume that it what the girls were doing. Thus, we can also conclude that the girls were throwing their arms, as well as legs, backwards and forwards. This constant movement of body parts was not the way the aristocratic parents taught their children to dance, therefore that is an example of the young girls' rebellion.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Nick stated that he became amazed with his surroundings after he had two finger-bowls of champagne. Nick's need for alcohol to fully enjoy himself demonstrates the high society's reliance on liquor. Thus, portraying the way the rich needed liquor to appreciate his surroundings.