The Great Gatsby: Chapter 3

Wer’e brang straight into a description of Gatsby's parties and the elaborated scale of them. It's showing the major contrast between Myrtle's and Gatsby's parties, again highlighting Nick's obsessions with social class and how he focuses on the differences with in depth descriptions.

Gatsby's parties:

• Nick covers all the senses when giving information on the extravagance of them i.e colours and tastes.
• They drinks provided at these parties are hard liquors which had been banned in the U.S and Nick states how most of the girls are too young to realise they are committing criminal acts.It also shows that Gatsby has so much money that he's above the law, he can get what he want by buying it if needs be.
• Party is excessive and garish (colours are bright i.e yellow) which aren't colours associated with the posh (Purple,rich colours) like Tom and daisy had at their house.
• These parties aren't about showing off which many would interpret them as.he has spent lavish amounts of money which he has spent all of his life earning. In a way it is madness.... why does he waste it? could he be seen as dangerous?

Gatsby:

• No one really knows him, they couldn't distinguish from a crowd in his own house.
• there are many rumours about Gatsby that are floating around in their society (he killed a man and is a German spy),no one at the party properly knows him... why is he so elusive?

These are the first things we hear about him so it gives the reader an uncertain impression on him, he's still mysterious yet were given a big impression that he's actually a dangerous man who is trying to cover his tracks.

• He's absent from most of his party
• There's a contrast in his actions and his appearances as he throws massive weekly parties yet he is a recluse
• When Nick finally met him he expected Nick to have known who he was, Gatsby never introduces himself... people know of him but don't know him.

At the end of a party there is a car wreck. Why did Nick include this? the party went well but it turns bad towards the end (car crash). You could look upon this in two ways:

1. That it's symbolic of Gatsby. He acts fine/normal on the outside yet inside he is a wreck
2. It can also be seen as a foreshadowing of what happens in the end, it's a reminder of the potential tragedy that surrounds Gatsby.

Nick then carries on to say that he was more absorbed in his own personal affairs however they appear to be very dull and boring.... is Nick actually a very boring character deep down. He seems to like routines and be content when sometimes left to his own devices.However through his solitary moments he starts to imagine experiences with random women he sees in the streets which also indicates that he longs for another life and the company of others. New York is surrounded by lonely people and nick has formed into one himself. he isn't achieving the social interactions he had previously hoped for and he views excited couples on the night streets which makes him wish he had that in his life.

He tries to feel more popular than he actually is saying he is on a first name basis from the people at his work and that he is making it in the world however we can see this isn't fully true and is exaggerated since when he says they go out to eat they eat food that you may find in a diner.he's in a big business yet he's at the bottom of the pile still.

Jordan Baker then reappears and Nick says he was flattered to hang around her, he likes her and she is also famous so being associated with her would bring his social status higher.he then describes her with no flattening traits which is a weird thing to do when he has decided he loves her. He says that she is a dishonest character.

When he says he thinks he loves her he says he must get out of the tangle from back home, which leads us to think that the engagement he was accused of back home was actually true and not gossip. ( he signs letters to her saying love Nick) he also had a light romance with a woman over summer; meaning if he is engaged then he cheated and this makes him dishonest. This would link to his final comment which is that he is the most honest person he knows which isn't true in the slightest. He has to keep telling himself (and us) that he is a better person than he is.