Read nick's description of an evening at gatsby's party below: the lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. which literary element is best represented in this excerpt?

The answer is indeed imagery.

Explanation:

Imagery is a literary device that uses language to appeal to the five senses (sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing). It involves readers, helping them visualize what is being described.  Readers are, thus, able to imagine a certain scenery, action, smell, or even a sound from the way it is described in the text. In this excerpt of "The Great Gatsby",  Nick's description of the party is vivid due to the way he chooses his words to picture it. He could very well have said it was fun, loud, and bright, but he chooses to help readers understand and visualize how:

fun - readers can imagine the sort of music the orchestra is playing as people hold their yellow cocktails in hand;

loud - readers can hear in their minds as the opera pitches a key higher, on top of all the people already talking and laughing around the house;

bright - readers can see the house turning on all its lights as the evening comes, as if the absence of the sun was no big deal.

answer: may i ask who shelly is?