Examples Of Trimalchio In The Great Gatsby - 1094 Words

Quote Category Explanation/Analysis It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night – and obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over. (Fitzgerald 113) Archetypal Trimalchio is a character in Petronius’ Satyricon, specifically in the chapter, â€Å"Banquet†. Trimalchio was a former slave and became a wealthy man who often shows off his wealth to the public to attract attention. How Trimalchio and Gatsby gained their wealth is unknown to most other characters in their corresponding stories (although, Tom how Gatsby gained his wealth, through†¦). Similarly, Gatsby throws giant parties to hopefully attract (specifically, Daisy’s) attention. Gatsby was†¦show more content†¦(One example would be how she does not go to parties, which is quite ironic because Gatsby holds the extravagant parties to catch Daisy’s attention). When distant objects are unclear, humans tend to infer from the limited vision or information they have. (For example, when one has poor eyesight, one may read a â€Å"C† as an â€Å"O† based on inferences made). Similarly, with the limited information that Gatsby has of Daisy (because they both have not met for five years), Gatsby creates inferences, which leads an illusion of Daisy and himself. â€Å"He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out.† She looked around to see who was listening. â€Å"’Oh, is that your suit’ I said. ‘This is the first I ever heard about it.’ But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon† †¦ (35) Marxist Mr. Wilson is not extremely â€Å"rich† because he had to borrow someone’s best suit to get married in. On the contrary, most men marry in tuxedoes, and tuxedoes are more expensive than suits. Mrs. Myrtle Wilson knew Mr. Wilson’s financial situation but decided to marry him. After learning about Mr. Wilson borrowing someone’s best suit, she gets an emotional breakdown (â€Å"cried to beat the band†) due to Mr. Wilson’s â€Å"material failure†. To Myrtle, she finds it important to have wealth, in this case, material w ealth. This party had preserved a dignifiedShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby Character Analysis1552 Words   |  7 Pagesthey do not have instead of what they do? Well in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is a major part of the book. Fitzgerald’s characters are used to show that people are greedy and always will be. Specifically, Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to show that society is greedy because he always focuses on what he does not have instead of what he does have. First, Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby does everything to impress Daisy, by how Gatsby becomes rich to win her over and how he does everythingRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. 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