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In this extract from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the narrator’s description of his neighbour’s house parties establishes an atmosphere of luxury and glamour:

In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On weekends 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 Great Gatsby, Chapter 3, Scott Fitzgerald

Example analysis

• Several archaic words suggest that this setting is in the past, “...omnibus… motor-boats…aquaplanes…”
• The author’s description of the setting establishes an atmosphere of wealth and indulgence, with the “champagne…his beach…Rolls-Royce…motor-boats.”
• The author presents the narrator as an observer of this setting - he is an outsider looking in.
• The use of metaphorical language also gives a suggestion of a detached narrator viewing an unfamiliar setting, “…like moths...like a brisk yellow bug…” These insect similes create a feeling of an observer watching a strange, new world.
• The setting is described in a cinematic way, with the narrator sweeping his eyes over several locations - the garden, the raft, the beach and the water.
• This sense of movement from one setting to another establishes a feeling of energy. This is also suggested by the use of phrases like “came and went…to and from…scampered.”
• There is also a contrast between the setting of the gardens at night (whispering…blue…stars) and the afternoon at the beach (sun…hot…slit the waters). The juxtaposition of these settings within one paragraph makes them seem even more vivid.
• The author uses personal pronouns to create a strong link between one of the characters and this setting, “…his gardens…his guests…his raft…his two motor-boats…his Rolls-Royce…his station wagon…” Although we don’t know who ‘he’ is in this extract, the reader can see that he owns this world of luxury and pleasure.