Gatsby holds regular parties that feature huge banquets, music, and hundreds of people who come and go as they please. Nick goes on to describe his own first appearance at one of Gatsby’s parties. He notes with amusement that he attended in response to a very formal invitation, delivered by a chauffeur. This contrasts with the partygoers, most of whom do not even know Gatsby.

When he arrives at the party, Nick runs into Jordan. She explains that she likes large parties because they provide anonymity. Nick is glad to have someone he knows there. Jordan speaks with a woman who explains that, at a previous party, she tore a dress on a chair. To make up for this accident, Gatsby had an expensive new dress sent to her home.

Nick overhears the rumors that the guests distribute about Gatsby. They are contradictory explanations of his wealth and origin: Some call him a former German spy, others an American war hero, and still others say that he is a murderer. Nick goes wandering to find Gatsby and in the vast library encounters an “owl-eyed” man. This man, visibly intoxicated, is fascinated by the fact that the library’s books are real, rather than replicas.