Great Gatsby Baz Luhrmann Analysis

Pretentious Aspects of The Great Gatsby
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the scene in which Myrtle and Tom go to New York to their apartment is critical. In the scene, Fitzgerald tries to convey that the main character, Nick, has a rather condescending attitude toward Tom’s mistress. Through Fitzgerald's choice of words he creates such a superiority complex effect for Nick that it almost seems out of place considering that Nick has probably the least extravagant life of all of his associates. There have been many recreations of this novel and scene, though the two that are predominant are Jack Clayton’s 1974 version and Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 version. However, based on the way the characters interact with each other in Baz Luhrmann’s

He paints the picture of “a small living room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath” (Fitzgerald 29). The repetition of that word “small” really emphasizes the miniature size of this apartment, especially since it is filled with furniture that was far too large. The use of this literary device shows Nick’s disdain for Myrtle and how she does not live up to the standards he holds those he associates with to. He sees her as an insignificant, negligible person that is below

The number of people does somewhat add to the cluttered effect that Fitzgerald was going for in the novel, though it is not quite right. However, an aspect of the film that had a similar effect as the book was the prominence of the heat in the apartment. Everyone looks like they are hot and sweaty in this scene. This makes the apartment feel claustrophobic, which goes back to the emphasis on the word “small” that Nick uses to describe the apartment. Contrasted with the scene where Nick sees Daisy and Jordan for the first time, where the curtains are flowing in the breeze and the use of the color white makes everything feel light and airy, it is obvious that the use of the sweat and closeness at Myrtle’s party emphasizes her