Foreshadowing

Fitzgerald uses foreshadowing to hint at Joel's misfortune at Miles's party and later with Stella. In Part I, Joel is full of the anticipation of the party and promises himself he will not have anything to drink. The first indication that alcohol is a stumbling block for Joel is when the narrator comments, "Ordinarily he did not go out on Sundays but stayed sober and took work home with him." The first words spoken by Joel in the story are to himself, when he declares, "I won't take anything to drink." Joel's fears about lowering his inhibitions at such an important party foreshadow his humiliation when he breaks his promises to himself and has several cocktails. By the time the narrator reveals "He took another cocktail—not because he needed confidence but because she [Stella] had given him so much of it," the reader knows that his confidence...