Hollywood is constantly altering the plot of novels to appeal to certain crowds. Sometimes these alterations can be beneficial to the storyline while other times they can detract from it. Not too long ago, on May 1, 2013, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was made into a movie for the second time. The novel, being one of America’s most famous works, set high standards for the movie. This film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, turned out to be very popular. As many expected the director, Baz Luhrmann, made several changes to the original story. Some changes made were ample others were microscopic. Each one of these changes were made for a reason, but did the …show more content…
Nick is trying to explain the adventures of his summer, but he was having quite a difficult time. This change makes the viewers think that Nick is deeply and mentally affected by the occurrences of that summer, keeping the viewer highly intrigued to learn what had happened. This elaborates the story and is a good adaptation that Hollywood made. Eventually, the doctor tells Nick to write down everything about that’s summer, hence the novel, The Great Gatsby. Nick says to the doctor, “I don’t want to talk about this.” In which the doctor responds, “Then write about it” (Baz Luhrmann). Nick’s thoughts in the movie are sometimes verbatim to the novel. What sets the film version of The Great Gatsby apart from other adaptations of novels is that it includes the formation of the novel. The movie stretches the story and provides context as to why Nick chose to write his version of events down. This adds more of a cinematic appeal to the movie. After the first scene, the viewers want to continue to watch because they want to know why Nick is talking to a doctor. This brilliant addition of illness adds an idea that captures the viewers and intrigues them to watch …show more content…
Gatsby is another difference between the movie and the novel. The movie takes a more dramatic effect than the novel. In the movie, Gatsby is waiting for a call from Daisy when he decides to take a dip in his pool. He dives in, comes up for air then hears the phone ringing. He climbs up the ladder, hopeful that Daisy is on the other end of the line. What Gatsby doesn’t know as he exits the pool is that Wilson is peering over the bushes waiting for his chance to fire. As he goes to take that final step out of the pool, *BANG*, Gatsby is shot in the back of his chest. Gatsby looks forward at the phone, touches his wound, and, almost in slow motion, falls back into the pool. Shortly after Gatsby is shot, the camera pans over to Wilson who is placing his gun in his mouth and *BANG*, Wilson is dead. This suspenseful and cringe worthy death is far-fetched compared to what happened in the novel. Because the novel is written in the first person, the reader is told Gatsby’s plans, but not informed of the play by play of his actions as the viewer is in the movie. No one is there to witness the death; the shots are heard but not seen. “The chauffeur—he was one of Wolfsheim’s protégés—heard the shots—afterward he could only say that he hadn’t thought anything much about them” (F. Scott. Fitzgerald, 161). Being able to see Wilson before he shoots creates a cinematic effect of intensity on Gatsby’s death, which is used to add suspense to the movie. Being able to see
The Great Gatsby is a difficult book to interpret, particularly because of the style in which it is written. Not only must the reader differentiate between the separate views of Nick as the narrator and Nick as the character, but he or she must also take into consideration at what time period, relative to this story, are these views being expressed. After all, Nick the narrator is presently evaluating the manner in which his character behaved the year before, as well as allowing his character to voice his opinion, as his opinion had been during that time frame. We learn to trust Nick as a narrator, because all the pieces of information he gives to us, received through symbolism, imagery, or personal reflection, lead us to make significant decisions regarding the other characters of the novel. His character, on the other hand, cannot be looked upon in the same manner; it can be seen as dishonest and hypocritical, yet it is these negative characteristics that humanize him, allowing readers to relate to him as a person.
Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.
Death is something that comes to everyone at some point in their lives. No one knows when they will die until it happens. Some are prepared for death and others are completely blind sided by death. In the novel “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is killed by the character Wilson, because of rumors that Gatsby Killed Wilson's wife Myrtle as well as having an affair with her. Many people are to blame for Gatsby death including: Tom Buchanan , Daisy Buchanan, Nick Carraway and even Jay Gatsby himself! In order to determine who was most responsible for Jay Gatsby's death we must analyze each character and the role he/she played in the death of Jay Gatsby.
Some individuals make drastic changes, but with a story as iconic as The Great Gatsby, it is key to remain faithful to the original. Small changes are unavoidable and welcome, as long as they do not change the meaning of the text. When it comes to approaching film adaptation John Harrington elaborates on this idea and argues that,
Although Paramount's 1974 version of The Great Gatsby - the one with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow - is probably the most famous, there have actually been six attempts to flatten Fitzgerald's novel into two dimensions. The first was a silent film released in 1926. The second version, with Alan Ladd as Gatsby, appeared in 1949. Two television adaptations followed, one with Robert Montgomery in 1955 and the other with Robert Ryan in 1958. The controversial 1974 adaptation rings in at number five. The sixth version of Gatsby is slated to run on the A&E cable network early next year - Mira Sorvino will play Daisy and Toby Stephens will star as Gatsby. Six! All lacking. All critical failures. [1] So why do they do it? What is it about the novel that tempts Hollywood producers, directors, and the occasional ingenue?
Have you ever thought about when a producer makes a movie out from a well- known novel, how many scene will actually stick to the original story? It has been a trend that the movie industries tend to dismiss many details from the original book in order to gain more rating or revenue from the movie. On the other hand, many viewer will argue or dislike the fact that the movie industries disrespect the author of the book. Recently I got the chance to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and watch the 2013 version’s movie. While the book and the film are pretty similar; there is one major different between the book itself and the movie.
The Great Gatsby is one of the most known novel and movie in the United States. Fitzgerald is the creator of the novel The Great Gatsby; many want to recreate his vision in their own works. Being in a rewrite of the novel or transforming literature in cinema. Luhrmann is the most current director that tried to transform this novel into cinema. However, this is something many directors have tried to do but have not succeeded. Luhrmann has made a good triumph creating this movie. Both Fitzgerald’s and Luhrmann’s approach to The Great Gatsby either by using diction, symbolism, transitions from one scene to another, and color symbolism usage in both the text and the movies; illustrate how Daisy and Gatsby still have an attraction for one another, and how they might want to rekindle their love.
In the novel, Gatsby was shrouded with more obscurity. Both the film and the novel portrayed Gatsby to be mysterious and elusive; however, the film allowed us to see a part of Gatsby, his ring-adorned hand, within the first ten minutes. When the film officially introduces Gatsby, it shows his ring-adorned hand first, letting the viewers know that it was Gatsby before Nick did, creating a moment of dramatic irony. In addition, “Film Gatsby” had uncharacteristic fit of rage in the Plaza scene. Instead of just arguing with Tom like “Novel Nick”, his feisty film counterpart decides to not only argue, but choke Tom violently.
The American Dream never died, it never existed in the first place. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, wealthy and mysterious, is neither a terrible person nor a saint he is simply human. But to choose whether he is truly great or not so great would be difficult because he has both qualities of good and bad. But eventually his fatal flaws will lead to destruction. Gatsby does bad things with good intentions, he is a criminal and a liar but all to achieve the American dream and pursue Daisy, the love of his life.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Baz Luhrmann’s movie adaption can hardly be compared but the film somewhat stay true to the text. Luhrmann’s movie was fun to watch but it should have had more originality to it from the
is Nick. In the novel Nick is a man who comes from a poor family who
Nick Carraway (Toby Maguire) helps reunite lost loves Jay Gatsby, his neighbour (Leonardo DiCarprio), and Daisy Buchanan, his cousin (Carey Mulligan). Only in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation, Carraway tells the story from inside a quarantined hospital, where he is taken to writing it all down as a form of therapy. Fitzgerald’s Nick refers to Gatsby as “the man who gives his name to this novel”, so the form of The Great Gatsby text written by Nick is almost the same as Luhrmann’s film and he expresses deeper into the story than Fitzgerald. In the film, Luhrmann showed us how Nick was writing the tale by hand, then typing, and finally amassing his completed manuscript. He gives the name Gatsby at first, but then changes it to “The Great Gatsby”, which adds embellishment to the title.... ...
At the beginning of the book, Nick's dependability is demonstrated as he recounts various information about himself. He is “inclined to reserve all judgments”(1), a trait that implies objectivity and therefore reliability as a narrator. However, he continues to say that this reservation of judgment has certain limits, especially recently in his life. These limits, apparently, do not apply to Gatsby, as evidenced in the next line. Nick says that only Gatsby “was exempt from [his] reaction”, even though Gatsby “represented everything for which [he has] an unaffected scorn”. He then continues to praise Gatsby's “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life”, and his “extraordinary gift of hope”(2). This beginning excerpt from the book in the first two pages sets the tone for the rest of the book and foreshadows the events that are going to happen. It is one of the most important sections of the book, as it lays out ...
Movies can enhance the experience of a story, but they aren’t always completely accurate to the book. The movie, The Great Gatsby, by Baz Luhrmann, is a good representation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel; however, there are quite a few differences between the two. Some differences include; the portrayal of the characters, the importance of symbolism, and events that were either added or taken out of the movie.
... truth. Gatsby dies from a gunshot and floats face down in the middle of his marble pool until his butler discovers his body. For almost five years, his idealism and his perseverance kept him, and his dream, alive. But sadly enough, he had no way of knowing that these very traits would also kill him. “His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.” (189)