Gatsby must not mind all his guests, however, because every weekend continues in the same patterns of excess and opulence as he provides his guests with only the finest food, drink, and entertainment. People routinely come to his house for the parties, but also to use his boats, his plane, his cars, and so on. In fact, he is courteous to the point of being taken advantage of. Gatsby is a perfect host, generous and hospitable. Nick tells of Gatsby's parties, elaborate and grand affairs that attract entertainers, socialites, and even ordinary people. However, the information is sketchy - later chapters help to round out the picture of him: who he is and where he comes from. By inserting the chapter about Tom, Fitzgerald has effectively held off introducing the story's main character, helping to build an air of mystery around him, not unlike the mystery that Nick and the others initially associate with him, and by keeping the reader from meeting Gatsby, Fitzgerald links the reader even more closely to Nick. The purpose of Chapter 3 is, also like Chapter 2, to provide essential background, although this time it is Gatsby who is introduced.
Tom's party and Gatsby's party are quite different, although in some ways alike, encouraging the reader to explore in what ways the two men are also similar. Despite Jordan's downfalls, she intrigues Nick, although he ends the chapter by touting his own cardinal virtue, claiming modestly, "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known."Ĭhapter 3 is, in many ways, like Chapter 2, moving from one party to another, encouraging the juxtaposition of the two events. His affinity for New York has been growing throughout the summer as he begins to appreciate its "enchanted metropolitan twilight" and how everyone hurried "toward gayety." Nick meets up with Jordan Baker in mid-summer and as the two begin to see more of each other, Nick begins to look upon her with "a sort of tender curiosity." He realizes, though, that Jordan is "incurably dishonest." In fact, the reason Nick remembered her name initially is that she had once been accused of cheating in a golf tournament. Not wanting the reader to think his summer was composed merely of the three events outlined in the book's first three chapters, Nick interjects that much more happened to him, although it largely entailed working, dating casually, and dining at the Yale Club. What they discuss is not revealed, but Jordan passes along that it is "the most amazing thing." Later, Gatsby takes Jordan Baker aside to speak with her privately. After several glasses of champagne, Nick begins a conversation with a fellow who is, unbeknownst to him, Gatsby himself. As Nick mills around the party, he encounters Jordan Baker and the two of them two mingle around, inadvertently gathering rumors about Gatsby, including that he had once killed a man. No one can tell him where Gatsby is, suggesting that they, themselves, didn't know the host. At the party, Nick tries to find Gatsby, but has no luck. The others simply arrive, knowing only that there will be a party and they won't be turned away. Nick is one of the few to have actually been invited.
The guests enjoyed themselves, flirting and dancing, until the wee hours of the morning.Īfter seeing these parties from afar, Nick is invited by Gatsby by a handwritten note to join in the festivities. His gatherings were lavishly catered (serving two complete dinners), boasting not just a small combo of musicians, but a whole orchestra. Gatsby, in the summer months, was known far and wide for the extravagant parties he threw in which "men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." During the weekend, people flocked to his house for his parties, as well as to use his pool, his boats, his car, and so on. Nick's attentions again turn to Gatsby in Chapter 3.
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