Parties And Motifs In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Parties lead to reckless actions and create careless people. Throughout The Great Gatsby, the tragic story of Jay Gatsby is revealed as he is a self-made millionaire. He devotes his life to winning back Daisy whom he loved several years before. Gatsby uses the American Dream to win Daisy over, by throwing lavish parties to gain her attention. But, in the end, he is still unsuccessful. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the parties and social gatherings motif to prove that the American Dream and wealth create careless people. At the beginning of the novel, The Great Gatsby, the use of parties and social gatherings helps display the power of wealth. Nick had just recently moved into Gatsby’s neighborhood, and he was attending one

Daisy, Tom, and their friends stop at Gatsby's house and Daisy invites Nick and Gatsby to their dinner party and Gatsby agrees. “I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy. By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me.” Specifically stating the words, “where in the devil” shows the anger that Tom is feeling because Gatsby knows Daisy and he recognizes that something may be going on. He also says “women run around these days” to show that many women in this time period are in places and with people that their husbands don’t know. Tom says it doesn’t suit him but yet Tom is having an affair himself. Tom is angry because he is facing competition and in particular, that his competition is Gatsby. This connects to the theme of careless people because Gatsby agrees to the invite knowing it would bother Tom. He only cares about getting more time with Daisy and furthering their relationship. It also shows irresponsible people when Tom says that women run around and didn't feel guilty about it. Many people made decisions without stopping and thinking about them first. These parties and social gatherings led to these reckless decisions because, without Gatsby's parties, none of this ruckus would have happened between them all in the first

They are all at a hotel in the city and Tom starts to question Gatsby about his past life and it turns into an argument. Tom says, “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out.” Tom is upset and Daisy asks him to calm down. When she says this he thinks people expect him to do nothing about it. He then calls Gatsby a “Mr. Nobody” since he is new money and was not born into it like Tom. He also says he is “from Nowhere” because Tom doesn’t believe Gatsby about being in Oxford which shows how Tom feels about him and his and Daisy’s relationship. He mentions the phrase, “make love to your wife,” because he not only knows about the relationship but he realizes how serious they are. Tom wants out if he is expected to do nothing because he is willing to fight for Daisy even though he has Myrtle on the side. This social gathering reveals the anger and jealousy of both Tom and Gatsby. This connects to the theme of the American Dream because everyone wants to make a name for themselves and have a good reputation. When Tom says that Gatsby is a “Nobody from Nowhere,” it plays a big impact, especially in this time period since everyone is striving to put themselves out there. Tom believes that Gatsby is putting on a show, not who he says he