Gatsby's Mansion Symbol Analysis

Here, Nick attends one of Gatsby’s lavish parties for the first time and takes in the opulence of the scene. Gatsby’s parties embody the characteristics—and especially the vices—of the 1920s, when the book was set. The 1920s (also known as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties) were financially prosperous, materially decadent, and—behind closed doors—morally loose.

The sheer amount of food and drink at this party points to the enormous economic expansion that the U.S. experienced following the end of World War I in 1918. Gatsby’s own easy money—seen through the buffet tables laden with delicacies—is symbolic of the surging economy at the time. Nick also pays particular attention to the food’s aesthetic qualities, such as the salads’ “harlequin designs” (meaning they have a colorful pattern) and the meats that have been “bewitched to a dark gold.” With these descriptions, Nick frames the food as material goods dressed up in rich colors and precious metals, which speaks to the material opulence of the 1920s.

With the economy booming, consumerism surged as well. This was the dark side of the surging economy: people become consumed by consumerism, obsessively and indulgently pursuing material goods. This passage subtly makes this critique through the words “bewitched” and “harlequin.” While the word bewitched typically means “enchanted or delighted,” it’s used in this passage to mean “to cast a spell over.” The pigs and turkeys are “bewitched to a dark gold,” meaning that that they look so exquisite that they’re practically enchanted, as if the chef put a spell on them to roast them to such a perfect golden brown. Importantly, “bewitched” has negative connotations—its synonyms are words like “possessed,” “cursed,” or “hexed.” So the use of the word “bewitched” here—along with the reference to gold, a precious metal—seems to suggest that people in the 1920s are “bewitched” by consumerism and indulgence.

The word “harlequin” implies a similar critique. While “harlequin” used as an adjective refers to a colorful diamond pattern, as a noun it refers to a jester or a joker in traditional pantomime, who was always dressed in a diamond-patterned costume—in other words, the jester was dressed in “harlequin designs” just like the salads on Gatsby’s buffets. In literature, a jester or fool figure is often one who seems ridiculous and unserious but actually is a clear source of truth and couches their sharp social criticisms in jokes. (A clear example of this is Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.) Given this context, Fitzgerald’s use of the word “harlequin” may suggest that the sumptuous world of Gatsby’s parties, and the 1920s more generally, are deserving of sharp criticism and commentary from a Feste-type figure who can point out how ridiculous everyone and everything really is.

Lastly, this passage also points to how common drinking was during the 1920s, despite Prohibition (which banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933). That Gatsby’s bar is outfitted with many different types of alcohol gestures to the thriving illegal liquor trade during the time (and, of course, the indulgence that characterized the 1920s more generally). That many of these particular spirits have been “so long forgotten” is likely a reference to the fact that Prohibition has been dragging on for four years at the time in which the story is set.