Element 

Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Ch 3 

setting (where/when)  Long island mansion  NY apartment  Gatsby’s mansion 

  

party goers: who's  Daisy, Tom, Jordan  Myrtle, Tom, the  Jordan, Nick, 
there? (who)  McKees  Gatsby, owl-eyed 
 
man, many other 
    
  comers and goers 
type of party?  Cocktail party? 
Dinner party   
(what/why) 
 
  
Gallant ball, 
almost, a great 
communion 

Mood  Friendly, secretive  chaotic  Dramatic, 

(elephant in the  mysterious, 
 
room)  elegant 
 
 
any patterns in 
Description of this 
imagery? 
rich house 
   surrounding by great 
landscape similar to 
that of Gatsby’s 
mansion 

events and  Conversation about  Conversation about  Conversation 

conversations  tom and his  tom and his  surrounding 
relationships  relationships  gatsby’s 
mystique 
virtues and vices on  Secrets, lack of  Temperance/the  Opulence (could 
display?  honesty, a lot left  lack thereof  really go either 
unsaid  way), mystery 

overall impression?         

  

art 1: Set and Setting​: First 6 paragraphs = the party set up. This lush description all 
leads up to this short, simple phrase:​The party had begun.​ .. it all leads up to that. What does 
Fitzgerald show in this opening... literally...and figuratively? That's your over-arching 
question: 

Fitzgerald focuses on the description of the setting. It’s all about the moment 
before the action ensues. In contrast to the last chapter, this one holds a different kind of 
chaos, Nick being swept up in the world of Gatsby. Fitzgerald shows that so much of this 
setting is ​the setting​, and not what happens within.  

Lets start with a "​Belletristic​ ​reading... reading for beauty, artistry, skill: 

1. First reading​... Be a​ noticer​... What are some of the things Fitzgerald is doing in these 
paragraphs to create an impression? How do those choices build up to an impression? To 
do that... 

Use a pencil if you can and mark! 

What's your ​first reaction?​ What do you see, feel, understand, and/or wonder? Get it on 
paper! 

Blue gardens, moths, music, champagne bubbles like stars, cataracts of foam 

Rich, a large machine of splendor producing an almost dreamlike lifestyle, food food food 

Orchestra, music, many people coming and going of all color dress, enthusiasm 

Women of all ages, constantly changing color 

  

What ​impression​ does Fitzgerald create? Be concrete in a sentence or two. 

It’s all very grandiose, splendorous, ornate, opulent (a million more adjectives like these). 
The impression he creates is that Gatsby is a mysterious man who is admired and revered 
by almost everyone, even those who would otherwise have little to whisper about. In 
actuality, he’s a rather gentle man who, to Nick, seems not to have a bad bone in his body, 
despite all the mystery around him.  

How?​ Offer a few ways. Go to content before form. 

“It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about 
him from those who found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world” (pg 
48-49). Here, Gatsby is portrayed as something other than man, something along the lines 
of mythology. These people look to him as a phantom, who appears once every so often 
and leaves everyone stunned. 

“ ‘If you want anything just ask for it, old sport,’ he urged me. ‘Excuse me. I will rejoin you 
later’” (pg 53). This Gatsby, in conversation with Nick, is entirely pleasant and normal; 
nice, even. He doesn’t, at least to me, live up to that illusory presence he seems to leave 
with everyone. Still, he leaves Nick enthralled, demanding to know who he is. 

“my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to 
another with approving eyes… I could see nothing sinister about him” (pg 55). Here again, 
Gatsby is nothing but cordial and lovely, almost paternal. There’s very little mystique 
about him; he’s an ordinary man in the same way as the son of God. 

“He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare 
smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five 
times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and 
then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor” (pg 53). This reads 
like the description of Jesus. He’s a remarkable figure, precisely in his uniquely kindly and 
warm manner. 

2. Second Reading​: Moving to Rhetorical Analysis: Practice annotating: Print and use 
your colored pens or annotate on the screen. Your goal for annotation = notice and 
record the rhetorical and poetic strategies Fitzgerald uses to bring you to Gatsby's party. 

Remember the ​4 domains of style​: ​narrative perspective, diction, form, presentation of 
character. 

Here are some things to notice and consider in this passage... but you might notice other 
things as well! 

● sensory imagery​ (consider the way he mixes and appeals to different senses. 
bring the right language to your noticing: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, 
gustatory, kinesthetic). 
 ● patterns of ​imagery​ within the passage (and how they might also connect to 
similar patterns across the text) 
● sound​... word choice that appeals to the ear (alliteration, consonance, 
assonance, euphony, dissonance, etc) 
● comparisons​ (simile, metaphor, personification) In this passage mlook for an 
extended metaphor​. 
● Verbs choice 
● Form.​.. Consider patterns in ​syntax​ like... parallel structure, commas vs. "and" 
● Cataloging​ (it's an epic convention... what does it mean? Where doe Fitzgerald 
do it? What's the effect?) 

Make a rhetorical analysis: Analyze the choices Fitzgerald makes to achieve a specific 
purpose in this opening 

A lot of this chapter reads like poetry to me. A few remarkable sentences:  
In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the 
champagne and the stars…  

On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, 
between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered 
like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains…  

The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until 
the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten 
on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s 
names… (wow!) 

Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful 
word…  

A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and 
between the numbers people were doing ‘stunts’ all over the garden, while happy vacuous 
bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky…  

Fitzgerald uses this dreamy, idyllic language to portray this affair as one that 
carries everyone in attendance away — especially Nick. Where the last chapter 
begins with the description of a wasteland of ash and filth, this begins with a 
winding description of regality and richness. He uses this poetic language to convey 
this dreamy, heavenly setting. It’s all mystical, in a different way to the secrets of 
the first party or the confusion of the second. It’s like a wonderland, especially to 
Nick, where confusion and secrets take on new meaning. Some of these 
descriptions are just brilliant. 

 
Part 2: The party​...​ ​"I believe I that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the 
few guests who had actually been invited..."​ The ​narrative perspective​ shifts from omniscient 
and descriptive (observer) to first person and participatory (nick as participant) 

But still... remember Chapter 2... where does Nick move from "within" to "without" as he 
moves through his writing of his first Gatsby party. 

1. As you read, make some notes about the party. How does it compare to the ones in 
Chapter 1 and 2? 

As previously mentioned, this party puts an entirely different spin on secrets and 
confusion. Where the first party is very hush, very formal, with multiple layers of 
conversation occurring, this party is mystical like a fairy tale. Where the second party is a 
whirlwind of confusion born of a filthy, off-putting setting, this party is splendorous and 
magical in a way that carries Nick off his feet, especially when we switch to the first 
person perspective. This tone is set by the language used in the introduction to the party. 

2. Jordan and Nick meet again. What do they talk about? 

Gatsby 

3. Another set of spectacles...​the owl-eyed man​. What does he admire about Gatsby? 

His collection of (very real) books 

3. And finally..."I'm Gatsby"...(Yes, that meme! 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=I%27m+Gatsby+film+clip 

(Links to an external site.) 

) 

What is it about Gatsby's smile? Be specific. What are Nick's first impressions of Gatsby? 
Use some quotes! 

Nick’s impression of Gatsby is deep and personal. His smile, to Nick, is “more than 
understanding… It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in 
you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the 
impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey” (pg 53). His smile is like that of 
a parent, almost. Forgiving, understanding, loving; seeing you as your best self, as a loving 
parent would. 

Your first impressions? 

 I’m becoming more convinced of Gatsby’s resemblance to Christ. In some ways, he holds 
those qualities and that air that we would associate with Christ — the forgiving, 
understanding smile, the genuine love for all of his guests, the desire to accommodate 
everyone (like buying a new dress for a guest who had hers torn on a chair). In other ways, 
he is very different from Christ — the riches, for one, would imply some sort of immorality, 
at least in my mind (I’m drawn immediately Matthew 19:24). However, Nick — and, likely, 
Fitzgerald — hold a reverence for and deification of Gatsby. It’s obvious that both look up 
to him as a figure. I wait for the moment where we see some of Gatsby’s vices, or follies, 
and I wonder if his accommodating nature might become a negative for his character. 

4. The party lurches to an end with a "bizarre and tumultuous scene"? What is it? Explain. 

There is a car crash outside of Gatsby’s house. 

5. How does this party compare with the ones in Ch 1 and 2.. you can revisit the chart for 
details. What did this party show you.... literally and figuratively? 

This party puts an entirely new spin on the emotion of the last two. It reveals something 
about Gatsby’s character, while developing the relationship between Nick and Jordan. 
These three certainly come to most importance in this chapter. It shows that Gatsby is a 
secretive yet kind man who avoids as much conflict as possible and enthralls all whom he 
meets. 

6. Here's how the party ends: 

The caterwauling horns had reached a crescendo and I turned away and cut across the lawn 
toward home. I glanced back once. A wafer of a moon was shining over Gatsby's house, making 
the night fine as before and surviving the laughter and the sound of his still glowing garden. A 
sudden emptiness seemed to flow now from the windows and the great doors, endowing with 
complete isolation the figure of the host who stood on the porch, his hand up in a formal gesture 
of farewell.​  

First, give that paragraph a ​belletristic r​ eading. Note and appreciate some of the cool 
things Fitzgerald does here as an artist. 

What does Fitzgerald do in this paragraph to complete and conclude this portrait of a 
party? 

This party concludes in a more proper way than the last. Despite the car crash, it ends 
with Gatsby wishing farewell to Nick, and the rest of the party-goers. It has a much more 
complete ending. 
Part 3: Nick reflects​: ​ The chapter doesn't end with the party. It ends in another 
conversation between Nick and Jordan. What do they talk about?  

1. What kind of driver is Jordan? 

Uncautious, “ ‘rotten,’” “ ‘carless’” (pg 64) 

2. What kind of driver are you? 

I would call myself cautious, however I find I have to constantly remind myself to 
pay attention and not drift off. 

3. You know all about recklessness from The Odyssey... "And the recklessness of their 
ways destroyed them all!" You know, then, that recklessness is one of the cardinal vices of 
the ancients... but what about carelessness? What do you think? Is it a vice... or just a 
folly? 

Carelessness, to me, seems like a latent thing, something one could correct if they were so 
inclined. I think it only becomes a vice when one is aware of it, it has a negative impact, and 
one chooses to do nothing. 

  

4. And what's the difference between ​recklessness and carelessness​? Let this little legal 
overview inform the larger issue.... 

  

"Often, people are confused about the difference between careless and reckless driving 
offenses. Both are traffic violations and both are summaries that carry fines. However, 
careless driving is a less serious offense than reckless driving. The main difference 
between the two crimes is intent. 

Careless driving is defined as "any person who drives a vehicle in careless disregard for 
the safety of persons or property." 75 Pa.C.S. section 3714. This may occur if a person is 
driving too fast, texting on a cell phone, illegal lane changes, and so on. Careless driving 
will cost a driver 3 points on their license and includes a fine. If anyone is injured or killed 
by the careless driving, then the driver faces higher fines. 

According to 75 Pa.C.S. section 3736, a person is guilty of reckless driving if they "drive 
any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property." Willful or 
wanton disregard means that the driver was intentionally acting with disregard or 
irresponsibility. Reckless driving is a more serious offense than careless driving. It not only 
involves a fine, but also a 6 month license suspension. However, it does not carry any 
points. Again, if anyone is injured or killed, the fine increases, and jail time may be 
imposed." (emkeylaw.com) 

Hold on, we're almost done! 

5. Nick ends by telling us one of his "cardinal virtues." What is it? 

Honesty 

(What do you think "cardinal" means in that sentence? Don't google, just use the context.) 

Constant, ever-present, foundational 

I know that “cardinal virtues” emerge from Arisotelian virtue ethics, and would imagine 
they tie to theology somewhat (and probably, also, to Ben Franklin) 

6. "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine..." 

What's yours? 

I would say my cardinal virtue is accommodation, however I don’t think that’s always a 
good thing. It’s hard for me to fully decide. But were I to choose, I’d say I’m a fairly 
accommodating person. 

Homework for Wednesday​: Finish this guide. Keep reading as per the schedule (chapter 
4 & 5). Mark at least one passage to talk about. Be ready to explain why. Use your 
resources. Watch for patterns. Be a belletristic reader. Be a noticer! 

Previous