In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.
Chapter 3 · Narrator
Context
Nick opens his account of Gatsby's summer parties by describing the atmosphere of the gatherings as seen from his adjacent property. This is the first extended description of Gatsby's legendary entertaining.
Analysis
The simile comparing guests to moths is richly suggestive: moths are drawn to light instinctively and destructively, foreshadowing how Gatsby's guests are drawn to his wealth without genuine connection. The zeugma-like listing of 'whisperings and the champagne and the stars' collapses the human, material, and celestial into one sensory plane, creating a dreamlike quality. The color 'blue' associates Gatsby's world with illusion and longing rather than warmth.
How to Use in Essay
Use this quote in essays about Gatsby's parties as spectacle, the superficiality of the Jazz Age, or Fitzgerald's use of imagery to convey atmosphere and thematic meaning.