Party-Going in Fitzgerald and His Contemporaries

This essay examines the visual techniques that Fitzgerald applies in the party-scenes in his fiction. It explores the tension between spectatorship and participation throughout and argues that he draws on the resources of the cinema in his fine control of perspective, close-up, and long shots—as well as montage. Although he acquired the reputation of the chronicler of the new generation, the essay argues that Fitzgerald constantly brought out the ironies of parties, particularly their fleeting and theatrical aspects, especially their dependence on material display. Comparisons are drawn with Zelda Fitzgerald’s party scenes and with contemporaries such as Carl Van Vechten in order to bring out Fitzgerald’s implicitly critical dramatization of sexual motifs.