The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Analysis

The Great Gatsby is not a tale about perfect love; it is a harrowing tragedy about how love corrupts individuals within the fantasy of an American Dream left unfulfilled. Set amidst the vibrant stages of the Jazz Age, the curtains of the 1920s reveal the flamboyant lifestyle and ambitious mindset of people wishing to climb the social ladder. While many guests flock to Gatsby’s parties to revel in his name and reputation, Nick, the narrator, is invited but feels out of place amid the crowd of jubilant guests. It is from these ‘new money’ parties that Gatsby showcases his wealth and fame and reconnects with his love, Daisy. Through symbols such as Doctor T. J. Eckleberg’s eyes, the broader themes of time, class, and the futility of the American

In Chapter 3, when Nick attends one of Gatsby’s parties, he is initially awed but embraces its sheer opulence. Fitzgerald writes, “On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvres, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to dark gold. In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten.” (40). The plentiful food and drinks exemplify the economic boom that followed WW1. From bubbling champagne to turkeys covered in “dark gold,” to salads of unique, “harlequin” patterns, the narrator frames the food as commodities adorned in rich colors and precious metals. The words “harlequin” and “bewitched” also carry the connotation of witchcraft and the casting of a spell; in this context, the “pigs and turkeys” are bewitched to dark gold – they look so exquisite that they seem almost magical as if the chef was enchanted to achieve their gold grandeur. The quote also highlights how common drinking was despite the prohibition (ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages). That Gatsby’s bar is outfitted with “gins and liquor” gestures to the thriving illegal liquor trade at the time. With the economy booming, consumerism also surged; people were consumed by consumerism,

In the final chapter, Daisy and Tom vanish after Gatsby’s death, and Nick harshly judges their character. He points out how their lifestyle and social position allowed them to wreak havoc without significant personal consequences. Fitzgerald writes, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (179). The diction “creatures” and “things” underscores how Daisy and Tom selfishly segment and devalue others. The phrase “other people” refers to those who mop the aftermath left by the wealthy’s recklessness, reflecting Nick’s civilizing acknowledgment of the less fortunate class burdened by such carelessness. By retreating “back into their money,” Tom and Daisy exemplify the selfish upper class, denoted by a lack of accountability and their insular, privileged lifestyles. This behavior is encapsulated in the last lines of the book, where the narrator provides a reflective perspective on Gatsby’s doggedly flawed pursuit. Fitzgerald writes, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no