In Cena Trimalchionis, Trimalchio is an ostentatious showman who likes to display his wealth through extravagant dinner parties and a man who craves attention. Cena Trimalchionis, a story part of the Latin Satyricon, was written in the first century A.D. by Gaius Petronius. The story is centered around a dinner party hosted by Trimalchio, a haughty, affluent freedman, and narrated by Encolpius, a former gladiator. This dinner party, similar to all the others, is exquisite and has characteristics that marginally differ from anything less than excellent. Parallel to the characterization of an affluent man whose wealth stemmed from new money, The Great Gatsby, written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about Jay Gatsby, a man who shares similar traits to Trimalchio. The book is narrated by Nick Carraway, a witness of Gatsby’s Trimalchio aura as his neighbor and guest at his lavish parties. The two stories share similarities between the main characters, Trimalchio and Gatsby. Fitzgerald alludes to Trimalchio through his novel’s representation by portraying Gatsby as an ostentatious showman and, in his own manner, an attention seeker.

Gatsby exhibits his wealth through lavish parties and multiple acres of land, while Trimalchio characterizes an ostentatious showman through explicit displays of wealth and subtle comments. The first example shows Trimalchio’s overt exhibition of wealth when his servants bring snacks and “nam asellum argenteum cum bisaccio nobis proposuerunt” (line 23 – for they offered us a silver donkey with a saddle bag). The “silver donkey” is an indirect characterization of Trimalchio’s wealth and extravagance because snacks are usually placed on a platter, but Trimalchio transcends the expected norms and puts the black and white olives on not just any animal – a silver donkey.

The second example occurs when the guests are drinking wine and Trimalchio mentions that if they do not like the wine he can change it because “hoc vinum a praedio venit quote ego adhuc non vidi” (line 92 – this wine comes from an estate that I have not yet seen). This is an example of Trimalchio ‘subtly’ showing his wealth because he mentions that he has an estate that produces wine, and when he says “not yet seen,” it is up to interpretation that Trimalchio has more than one estate. Furthermore, wine is a symbol of affluence, and because of its many references, Trimalchio’s showy characterization is therefore accentuated.

Apart from being an ostentatious showman, Trimalchio is a man who craves attention and seeks positive remarks about himself from others. This is similar to Gatsby, who throws magnificent parties to gain attention from others, specifically his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. For instance, at his dinner party, Trimalchio shows up late and stops all rejoicement of the snacks among the dinner guests “cum ipse Trimalchio intravit ad symphoniam.” (line 31 – when himself Trimalchio entered to the sound of a band). Trimalchio could have entered the dining room quietly in a manner that did not make a scene, but because of his attention-seeking nature, he needed to enter with a loud noise, a band, to show everyone he was there and to catch all the guests’ attention.

Another example, representing Trimalchio’s attention-seeking behavior, arose when he was drunk and requested his guests to “‘fingite’ inquit ‘me mortuum esse. Dicite aliquid belli de me.’” (lines 182 – 183 – pretend that I am dead. Say something nice about me). Similar to before, a band played, and Trimalchio enacted his funeral at this time so all the lights would be on him. Moreover, because he is also a compliment-seeker, Trimalchio asked his guests to say nice remarks about him, further putting him in the spotlight and making him the glistening centerpiece. This shows that Trimalchio constantly needs regard and adulation, characterizing him as an attention and compliment seeker.

Therefore, in Cena Trimalchionis, Trimalchio is characterized as both an ostentatious showman through direct and indirect references toward his wealth, as well as an attention seeker who constantly demands to be the focal point.