The Great Gatsby: The First Party

At the first party to which Nick Carraway is invited it seems that the plot really gets rolling.  The party is very similar to the others Gatsby has been hosting al summer but Nick experiences this one first-hand rather than peering across his lawn at the festivities.  I really actually pity him at one point because he hardly knows anyone except his friend (and possibly more than friend) Jordan Baker, and then he doesn't recognize the host, Mr. Jay Gatsby himself, when he is talking to him face to face.  That is slightly embarrassing, but Gatsby assures him it is okay.  I was a little surprised at this point because the mysterious speculations and even accusations (like the rumor that Gatsby had killed a man) had built a persona in my mind of a harsh and maybe haughty man. I'm really not exactly sure what I was expecting, but the polite young host that greets Nick was certainly not the image in my head.  It was a pleasant surprise though.  Oh, the drunken man speculating whether or not the books in the library were real or not was quite entertaining too, "He waved his hand toward the book shelves. 'About that. As a matter of fact you needn't bother to ascertain. I ascertained. They're real" (Fitzgerald, 45).