Comparing The Parties In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there is a significant difference between Jay Gatsby’s parties and his funeral. The main difference is the people who came to the events. Before reuniting with Daisy, Jay Gatsby is best known for his extravagant parties that hundreds of people attend. After his death, there are only a few people who cared enough about Gatsby to attend his funeral. Gatsby’s parties and his funeral had some similar and some very different kinds of attendance. In the beginning of the novel the readers are introduced to the magnificent parties that Jay Gatsby throws. The food, the music, the decorations; everything is astonishing. Then, there are the people. The narrator, Nick, says that “people were not invited – they went there…they got into automobiles…and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door” (41). People came to Gatsby’s parties just because they could. Gatsby never really cares about who comes and what they do; he just cares about seeing Daisy. Those who came to the parties often do not get to speak to Gatsby himself because they simply do not try or care enough to.

There is an ad in the newspaper about Gatsby’s murder, but the only person who acted upon it was Gatsby’s father. Gatsby’s father does not know how Gatsby came into his money; he only knows what he was like when he lived with his family. Nick tries to call some people who he thought were Gatsby’s friends, but no one, not even Daisy, says they will be at the funeral. Nick tells the readers that he “wanted to get somebody for him” (164). He tells Gatsby’s corpse: “I’ll get somebody for you, Gatsby. Don’t worry” (164). On the day of the funeral, Nick, Gatsby’s father, some servants, and Owl Eyes are the people who show up. Nick is very upset because everyone he calls turns him down, and he had thought that more people cared about