FREE ESSAY ON THE GATSBY

THE GATSBY

The Great Gatsby
Juxtaposing two scenes in a narrative allows them to be easily compared and contrasted.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, two such scenes require specific
attention. The impromptu party that is thrown by Tom Buchanan and his mistress, Myrtle
Wilson, followed immediately by Jay Gatsby's party at his house, call for the attention
of the reader because of the implications of these contiguous scenes. The result of
analyzing the two scenes is that one can infer certain qualities of each man's character.
By paying specific detail to the decor of the parties, the respect that each character
commands from people at their parties, the guests who arrive at the parties, and the
overall purpose of hosting the party, one can deduce that Tom and Gatsby are polar
opposites.
The first element of the parties that should be examined is the decor of Myrtle Wilson's
apartment compared to that of Gatsby's house. In the first line describing the apartment,
the narrator, Nick Carraway, informs the reader of the lack of comfort in the apartment
and the ensuing awkwardness of the setting: The apartment was on the top floor - a small
living room, a small dining room, a small bedroom and a bath (33). Nick's description
makes it amazingly clear to the reader how unhappy and unpleasant the situation was, not
only for himself, but for Tom and Myrtle, as well as the other guests in attendance,
Catherine, Myrtle's sister, and the McKees, neighbors who live in the same building. One
can imagine the walls virtually closing in because of the overcrowding furniture, the
overpowering size and strength of Tom and his ego, and the oversized picture of Myrtle's
mother. Tom is a large figure who is awkward, unintelligent, and curt; therefore,
situations that involv!
e him adopt his negative attributes. Even the literature that is scattered about the room
is a reflection of Tom's character. Simon Called Peter and Town Tattle are the only
available items to read and they are of an extremely unintelligent nature. Gossip
magazines and this popular immoral novel (209) are telling evidence of Tom's immaturity.

When contrasting Tom and Myrtle's set of rooms to Gatsby's mansion, it is immediately
possible to see the differences in their lifestyles. Tom and Myrtle's apartment is as
tiny as his character, and Gatsby's house and character are equally enormous in
comparison. This argument is founded in the description of Gatsby's house. The reader can
gain an understanding of the size of the party from Nick's (and Jordan Baker's) attempt
to find their host, Gatsby. The bar, where we glanced first, was crowded but Gatsby was
not there. She couldn't find him from the top of the steps, and he wasn't on the veranda.
On a chance, we tried an important-looking door, and walked into a high Gothic library,
panelled with carved English oak, and probably transported complete from some ruin
oversees (49). Gatsby's house was obviously palatial with an air of dignity, class, and
confidence. This description can be applied to Gatsby as well. 
Another point of contrast is the respect that each character commands from his hired
helpers. Tom and Myrtle do not have a butler or a maid in their apartment, but they make
a point of trying to command respect from one of the bellhops in the building. When Tom
says, You McKees have something to drink. Get some more ice and mineral water, Myrtle,
before everybody goes to sleep he is showing his dominance over Myrtle to the other
guests. However, Myrtle tries to avoid the servile role by deflecting her responsibility
to others when she replies: I told that boy about the ice.Those people! You have to keep
after them all the time (36). The only problem with this pretense is that there is no
other person who will listen to his or her requests. They make demands, but nobody obeys
them. In the end, there is no evidence that anybody follows through with this order and
nobody actually g