The Great Gatsby Movie and Book Comparison
This essay aims to compare and contrast F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” with its various film adaptations. The focus will be on how different directors have interpreted the novel’s themes, characters, and settings, and how these interpretations align or diverge from the original text. Key aspects like the portrayal of the Roaring Twenties, the representation of the American Dream, and the character development of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan will be critically examined. The overview will also discuss the effectiveness of each medium in conveying the novel’s underlying messages and the impact of visual and narrative styles on the story’s reception. At PapersOwl too, you can discover numerous free essay illustrations related to The Great Gatsby.
How it works
Contents
The Death Scene: A Diverging Interpretation
At the end of the book, as Gatsby is on the float in his pool waiting for Daisy’s call and the phone rings immediately, Gatsby thinks that it could be Daisy. The moment happens in the blink of an eye when Mr. Wilson shoots Gatsby, and his blood becomes part of the color of the pool. Fast Forward to Gatsby’s funeral, we know that Daisy did not attend it, and readers can ask why she loved him so much, but that is not the point.
The only ones who attended were Nick and Gatsby’s father. Now if we compare the movie, we know that a major difference is the scene of Gatsby’s murder. In the movie, he is coming out of the pool on his way to answer the phone when Wilson shoots him from behind. Also, we can see how only Nick and a few reporters attend his funeral.
A Comparison of Gatsby’s Funeral in Book and Film
Based on this, I can compare the difference in both versions. First, the author of the book most probably added Gatsby’s father at the funeral to show how he was always there for him. The father quickly attended the funeral when he found out that his son was murdered by the newspaper in Chicago. Then in the movie, the director of the movie did not add him to show that Gatsby really had no one, not even his own family nor the people who said they loved him. And that all his fortune for more expensive than they were, they were significant in the end.
Daisy’s Consistent Absence: A Commentary on Her Character
Another similarity between both the book and the two adaptations of the novel is that Daisy does not attend Gatsby’s funeral. Daisy knew she was Gatsby’s biggest love and that he would have done anything for her, yet she did not show up. I can see why the director wanted to keep it this way. It was to have a clear example of Daisy’s ignorance, how she was no different from when she was young and had first fallen in love with Gatsby. All Daisy looked into in a man was money. As she saw that Gatsby now had more fortune than she could have believed, she planned on staying with him. Now Gatsby was dead, and there was nothing she could have kept.
To conclude, although there were many differences in both adaptations of the novel, the movies were more effective and interesting. This is most likely because both movies helped the reader better picture Fitzgerald’s envisionment. For this reason, we all preferred the movie adaptations over the novel itself.
Works Cited
- Fitzgerald, F. S. (1925). “The Great Gatsby”. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
- Luhrmann, B. (Director). (2013). “The Great Gatsby” [Film]. Warner Bros. Pictures.
- Tredell, N. (2007). “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference”. Carroll & Graf Publishers.
- Gillespie, M. A. (2006). “Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Literary Reference to His Life And Work”. Facts on File.
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