Differences Between The Great Gatsby Book And Movie

Great Gatsby Book vs. Movie
In any form, we can all agree that The Great Gatsby is a work of literary genius. Edwin Clark, a writer for the New York Times, said, “A curious book, a mystical, glamourous story of today. It takes a deeper cut at life than hitherto has been enjoyed by Mr. Fitzgerald. He writes well-he always has-for he writes naturally, and his sense of form is becoming perfected.” (Scott 1.) Both the movie The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, and the original story show the theme of the “American Dream” and how it was shown in the 20’s. Although they both are very similar, they still seem to have their differences. Some of these differences can particularly be seen when Nick first goes to Daisy’s house, when Tom and

Immediately upon arrival Nick is greeted by Tom on the porch. This is where the first difference occurs. In the movie Tom is seen riding on his horse, getting off and answering a phone call. The phone call is slightly overheard. The other person on the line says “It’s me” in a soft feminine voice, and Tom replied “I thought I told you not to call me here. We can only infer this is Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, calling. The mistress isn’t introduced until a little later in the book. A lot of the following dialogue is followed word for word in the book. Some more minor difference would be that fact the character of Tom in the movie is less of a “hulking man” than in the book. Or the fact that Jordan Baker is introduced as “a very famous golfer,” ruining the surprise for Nick that occurs in the book. The dinner scene, aside from the time issue and shortened dialogue, it’s practically identical. Although these differences aren’t very large, they are still

This scene starts off at the Plaza Hotel. Again, the beginning dialogue is basically identical. Tom keeps egging Gatsby on and on, but in the book Gatsby just stares at Tom, then precedes to talk to Daisy. In the movie as Tom continues to egg Gatsby on, Gatsby severely loses his temper. Gatsby throws his glass and then grabs Tom’s shirt by the collar. He screams “shut up!” in Tom’s face repeatedly, and hold up his fist as if he is going to punch Tom, all the while Daisy watches with horror in her face. Gatsby realizes what he has done after Tom laughs in his face. This part in the movie is almost opposite to the book, casing quite a shock for viewers who have previously read the story. Another difference, that’s although not quite as big as Gatsby’s temper tantrum, is still important. The variation is that Tom is portrayed as almost a super villain. He is a hypocritical, devious man, who in the end of the movie tries anything to get back at Gatsby. He eventually