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 décor 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 décor 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 gets the requested ice and mineral water.
Gatsby, on the other hand, does not even have to tell people what to do; they do it automatically.  For example, Gatsby's party seems to run without involving much effort and all of the workers know their positions and duties: 

Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York - every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves.  There was a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour, if a little button was pressed two hundred times by a butler's thumb.
At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby's enormous garden.  
By seven o'clock the orchestra has arrived (43-44).

First, this illustrates that Gatsby has a large staff who makes all the necessary arrangements to ensure a successful party.  Second, this shows that he does not have to put any effort into telling his staff what to do - they respond even without being told.  This contrast between Tom and Gatsby shows that Gatsby has total control over his parties and the people that surround him regardless of the level of their relationship, whereas Tom does not have any authority or control over the people that he considers close to him.  
The guests that are at each party are also essential in order to further define and understand Gatsby and Tom.  Tom and Myrtle throw an impromptu party and only six people attend: Tom and Myrtle, Nick Carraway, Myrtle's sister Catherine, and the McKees. At one point during the party, Mr. McKee falls asleep because of either boredom or drunkenness. If one's friends and company are a reflection of oneself, then Tom is indeed a boring, self-centered, unhappy, and unintelligent man. With the exception of Nick, everyone at this party exemplifies their own degree of boredom, egocentrism, unhappiness and lack of intelligence.  All of these attributes belong to Tom as well.
Conversely, Gatsby is nothing like his guests.  There are so many guests in attendance that when Nick wants to inform the reader who was there, he cannot just casually mention their names.  He needs another chapter to explain their importance.  Not only were most of the guests important, they drank (not to get drunk which signifies unhappiness, but they drank lightheartedly) they danced, they mingled, and they romanced.  Gatsby is exactly that kind of character.  He is not too forward, he is not too intimate, and he is not too personal.
The purpose behind Tom and Myrtle's party and that of Gatsby's, is also crucial to their characters.  Tom is having an adulterous affair with Myrtle and the reason they have to go to their apartment in New York is to maintain this secret from Myrtle's husband.  It is obvious that due to these circumstances, the only place they can be alone with each other is in their apartment.  This is not a romantic setting considering that Myrtle was infatuated with him when they first met on the train, and she mistakenly believed that Tom would save her from her dead-end life.  Tom is not a romantic person and is purely a simple man with, for that time, typical male social needs; that of a seducer and a caretaker.  Tom is able to seduce and take care of Myrtle, he buys her a dog (31), but he cannot win her heart. The most romantic moment between Tom and Myrtle is the way in which he breaks her nose: "Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand" (41).  Tom is!
 neither a loving nor a romantic fellow and this is clearly expressed at his party.   
Alternatively, the purpose behind Gatsby's party was entirely romantic and the only reason he threw the party was that he hoped his long lost love, Daisy, might appear one day.  Gatsby did not care for any of the other guests that arrived at his house, though he was polite, cordial, and hospitable. (He sent a new dress to a woman who had ripped hers at a previous party that he held although he had nothing to do with it (47).)  The only person that mattered to him was Daisy Buchanan and if she ever appeared at his house, he would try to win her heart.  Every minute that Gatsby is given center stage in the narrative, he is trying to get closer to Daisy in order to make her love him back.  He is clever by befriending Nick first and then arranging a meeting with Daisy, and he dies trying to protect his only love.  Gatsby only knows how to live his life based on love and romance and these desires are what keep him motivated to find Daisy.  Ultimately, his romance and love for Daisy!
 are his downfall and this excess of love is what finally kills him.
Tom and Myrtle's party is juxtaposed with Gatsby's in order to show that their characters are opposites as well as the degree to which they differ.  Everything about Tom's party indicates that he is obnoxious, unhappy, puerile, and doltish.  Moreover, he will never achieve happiness.  Gatsby, on the other hand, is mature, hospitable, friendly, and content.  Once he is able to find Daisy, he will have achieved his goal.  It is important to note that although Gatsby is not an ideal character and is by no means flawless, the uninspiring and moronic Tom overshadows his faults and insecurities.  The irony in this story is that Tom is the one who wins in the end by virtue of the fact that Daisy chooses not to be with Gatsby, and that he escapes Wilson's revenge by placing the blame on Gatsby for Myrtle's unnatural death.  In the end, it does not matter that the reader is able comprehend the superior nature and superior character of Jay Gatsby; only that good does not necessarily pre!
vail over the mediocre.