Quote 1
"He must be very rich," said John simply. "I'm glad. I like very rich people. The richer a fella is, the better I like him." (1.22)
John is the embodiment of America's wealth-obsessed culture, at least as Fitzgerald sees it.
Quote 2
They were obviously ascending, and within a few minutes the car was crossing a high rise, where they caught a glimpse of a pale moon newly risen in the distance. The car stopped suddenly and several figures took shape out of the dark beside it—these were negroes also. Again the two young men were saluted in the same dimly recognizable dialect; then the negroes set to work and four immense cables dangling from overhead were attached with hooks to the hubs of the great jeweled wheels. At a resounding "Hey-yah!" John felt the car being lifted slowly from the ground— up and up—clear of the tallest rocks on both sides—then higher, until he could see a wavy, moonlit valley stretched out before him in sharp contrast to the quagmire of rocks that they had just left. Only on one side was there still rock—and then suddenly there was no rock beside them or anywhere around. (2.16)
There's something almost ritualistic in the way that Percy and John travel slowly to their destination. There are stations on the way, and certain procedures which must be observed. The process has an air of sacred secrecy about it, like some sort of cult ceremony.
Quote 3
Afterward John remembered that first night as a daze of many colors, of quick sensory impressions, of music soft as a voice in love, and of the beauty of things, lights and shadows, and motions and faces. There was a white-haired man who stood drinking a many-hued cordial from a crystal thimble set on a golden stem. There was a girl with a flowery face, dressed like Titania with braided sapphires in her hair. There was a room where the solid, soft gold of the walls yielded to the pressure of his hand, and a room that was like a platonic conception of the ultimate prism—ceiling, floor, and all, it was lined with an unbroken mass of diamonds, diamonds of every size and shape, until, lit with tall violet lamps in the corners, it dazzled the eyes with a whiteness that could be compared only with itself, beyond human wish or dream. (2.30)
John looks at the château with a childlike wonder. There is something mythological and ancient about the scene, as emphasized with allusions to Ancient Greek mythology (or mythical characters borrowed from Shakespeare).
Quote 4
"You have made an enormous impression on me," said John's eyes, "and I'm not so slow myself"—"How do you do?" said his voice. "I hope you're better this morning."—"You darling," added his eyes tremulously. (5.9)
Compare this love-at-first-sight scene to a very similar passage in " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button " (about three paragraphs down on this page). How would you characterize Fitzgerald's idea of young love?
Quote 5
So the old man and the young shook hands and John walked away with tears streaming from his eyes. Ten minutes later he had passed outside the city limits, and he stopped to glance back for the last time. Over the gates the old-fashioned Victorian motto seemed strangely attractive to him. His father had tried time and time again to have it changed to something with a little more push and verve about it, such as "Hades—Your Opportunity," or else a plain "Welcome" sign set over a hearty handshake pricked out in electric lights. The old motto was a little depressing, Mr. Unger had thought—but now.... (1.8)
This is a veiled reference to the inscription that hangs over the gates of Hell in Dante's Inferno: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." It's ironic that John so easily leaves Hades (we would expect Hell to be a prison) and that so many are imprisoned at the Washingtons' estate (which quickly takes on the role of the Garden of Eden).
Quote 6
"It's impossible to be both [free and poor] together," said John grimly. "People have found that out. And I should choose to be free as preferable of the two. As an extra caution you'd better dump the contents of your jewel box into your pockets." (9.29)
At the end of the story, John is free (in the sense that he escaped from the château), but poor (because Kismine brought rhinestones instead of diamonds). Does this mean his claim here is false? Is he wealthy in some other way at the end of the story? Or is he trapped in some way at the end of the story?