Glamour and Decadence in the Great gatsby
In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a literary classic contrasting Western morals and Eastern corruption. It follows the trail of a man, Nick, out of the West through the depraved and excessive society of the East during the Jazz age. His thoughts and feelings are the basic moralities that are ignored by people bent upon their individual pursuits of self-satisfaction. In the third chapter, Nick goes to a party thrown by his ostentatious neighbor, Gatsby and is presented with the realities of the corruption. Fitzgerald portrays the glamour and allure as well as the decadent and destructive natures of the party and partygoers. The party scene is the first thing described in this chapter and creates a lasting impression of glamour in decorations and food underscored by the destruction wrought by this occurrence. The "blue gardens" and " beach" speak eloquently of the wealth of Gatsby (43). The maintenance costs of such splendor seem inconsequential in comparison to his actual wealth and hence only provide a backdrop for the party. But it is nothing when compared to the "several hundred feet of canvas" required decorating or the "colored lights" that are enough to make a "Christmas tree" of the garden (44)
Such speculation was rampant among the partygoers and even Nick seems effected by it. The "salads of harlequin designs" further insinuates the amount of the care taken by the caterers (44). However, it changed with the onset of the Depression, which impoverishes many of the investors and brokers so common in this novel. The "pyramid of pulp less halves" that left through the backdoor of Gatsby's mansion serves as a prime example that show the price at which the party takes upon the world around it (43). Since it outright defies the law, there is the question of Gatsby as a law-abiding citizen as well as of those that partake in his hospitality. These Englishmen seem to all be selling something and are "aware of the easy money in the vicinity" and seemed to be preying upon these people because of their wealth. The hammers in particular show the full extent of that damage incurred and that it could not be mended by simple cleaning. Their behavior in its irregularity and abnormalities that is not commonly associated with the elegant rich aristocracy reported something entirely different. All, however, is rather impolite and inappropriate since they are in his home, drinking his wine and making free with his food. It is an example of the subtly negative side of the party but not the only. The people involved in the accident do not realize the severity of it because they are inebriated as well as being bad drivers, which exemplifies their flighty natures and the effects of the alcoholic drinks. The "men and girls [who] came and went like moths" - who were the essence of the party denoted a very flighty nature (43). It shows the destructive effects that are obscured by the thin veneer of glamour and allure on the surface. Dressed in "primary colors" with hair shorn in strange new ways and shawls beyond the "dreams of Castile," all of their attraction is in the fashionable clothing, new haircuts and the imported shawls and therefore only surface-deep (44). Fitzgerald also shows the view of the rich upon those that serve them in the form of the subtle dehumanization of the servants throughout the chapter that reduces each of the servants to their functions.
Common topics in this essay:
East Jazz,
Englishmen Englishmen,
Kaiser Wilhelm,
Scott Fitzgerald,
West Eggers,
Nick West,
party scene,
,
glamour allure,
people party,
drunken crying,
jazz age,
primary colors,
husbands wives,
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