Having Nick at Gatsby’s party provides an unprecedented chance to peer into the lives of the seemingly well-to-do people who attend. The impression is not very appealing. It turns out that the glamorous and glib party guests are, in fact, quite shallow. Nick says that they “conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks,” again stressing the carefree, stereotypical roaring ’20s atmosphere. Much to the partygoers’ discredit, however, “sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all.” In stark contrast, Nick “as soon as [he] arrived . . . made an attempt to find [his] host.” He had little luck, however, because no one could help him. In fact, when Nick asks people for help in finding Gatsby, they can only look at him “in such an amazed way” and vehemently deny “any knowledge of his movements,” again setting a stark contrast between himself and the people he tells us about.
The only person Nick encounters at the party whom he knows is Jordan Baker. The mere fact that Jordan is at the party suggests that she is, in some ways (ways that are explored later in this chapter and beyond) an extension of the party-going set. Although little is known of her, up to this point, her presence at the mansion suggests that she likely runs with the sort of people who frequent Gatsby’s house. She seems intrigued by Nick, however, just as he is intrigued by her, for reasons that remain unstated. Perhaps she finds Nick a welcome relief to the kinds of men she generally meets, or perhaps she is drawn to his Midwestern sensibility, for it is clear he doesn’t yet blend in with the East Coast crowd. Whatever it is that draws her to him, she has never before been involved with anyone quite like Nick (this is especially brought out in Chapters 8 and 9).
