The Great Gatsby Movie And Book Comparison Essay

The Great Gatsby is a novel which critically discusses the ideals of the American Dream and recapturing the past. In the film adaptation, producer Jack Clayton stays very closely to the plot and even quotes the novel verbatim but fails to capture the essence of the themes portrayed in the novel. The text did not translate well into film; some facts are distorted, the depiction of the characters are different, the general ambience of certain settings do not match, and the movie is weighted towards the beginning of the book, with half of the movie based closely on the first two chapters of the book.

The book “The Great Gatsby” was written & published by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1922. The Great Gatsby depicts the story told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, the novel’s narrator. The story is based on the experiences of Nick Carraway with his neighbour, Jay Gatsby. The book was adapted twice in movie form, the first in 1974 and the second in 2013. The 1974 adaptation was directed by Jack Clayton and the 2013 adaptation of the film was directed by Baz Luhrmann. This analysis will explore the adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby, written by the F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Great Gatsby film. In particular, how the narrative has evolved through the adaptation process.

There were a few characters that were missing from the movie. Owl Eyes, who provided comic relief was not in the movie and there was no party car accident scene in the movie, either. The movie tells nothing about Gatsby’s past because all mention was left out. There was no mention of Dan Cody, who gave Gatsby his start, in the movie. There is never any mention of Gatsby’s real name being James Gatz. The only mention of Gatz is at the end of the movie when Mr. Gatz corrects Nick after he called him Mr. Gatsby. The scene in the book where Daisy hits Myrtle with the car was completely left out of the

“What is better, the book or movie?” a commonly asked question by many individuals who are curious to know one’s opinion on a novel or film he/she is interested in. The book is usually always better than the movie because the book is more detailed, one gets to know the characters better, and it allows one to be more creative and have his/her own interpretation on what is occurring. In this case, The Great Gatsby is a remarkable 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was made into various movie adaptions in 1926, 1949, 1974, 2000 and 2013. Each version takes place in drastically different periods, so each type has its own take on the film, also depending on the director’s vision. This goes to show that the cinema has been trying periodically to recreate F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, but the attempts of the movies have mostly failed. In particular, the 1974 film decreases its effectiveness in representing the message that Fitzgerald was attempting to demonstrate in the book, which contributes to the book being significantly better than the film for various reasons.

Multiple differences lay in the three main literary elements analyzed between the two different media representations of The Great Gatsby: characterization, mood and tone, and theme. Characterizations between the book and movie involved differences in actions and portrayal that better correlated with the drama of television and the subtlety of literature. Mood and tone also shifted in order to better associate with their represented media. Television was more direct and dramatic, whereas the book was more uncomfortable and detail-oriented. Themes changed to target a different audience but focused on the same ideals. The themes of love and loyalty were explored, but instead of focusing on the loyalty between people despite lost love like in the book, the movie focused more on how our love for someone else can dictate our actions. On the other hand, there were similarities between the two medias: the characters were all there and followed the same plot, Myrtle still died, and Gatsby still took the blame for Daisy. The basis of the differences between the movie and the book originated with the differences between the characters’ portrayal; as their actions changed so did how the audience receive the story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about a rich socialite, Jay Gatsby, who tries to win back his love, Daisy Buchannan. Nick Caraway, Daisy’s cousin, is the narrator who brings the reader through the time of the roaring twenties to tell the story of Jay Gatsby. The 1974 film of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton, follows the detailed storyline closely by mirroring it, but also adds and takes away some aspects of the story. There are many comparisons that can be made as well as contrasts through the actor, scenery, music, and script choices for the film.

After realizing the affair between Daisy and Gatsby, Tom agrees to go into the city as Daisy had suggested previously, however he insists that Gatsby and he switch cars for the drive. During the drive to the city, Tom realizes he needs more gas and pulls into Wilson’s garage where both Myrtle and Wilson see Tom driving Gatsby’s large, yellow car. However, on the drive returning from the city the two men were once again in their own vehicles and it seems that all too quickly Myrtle ran out into the road, “it seemed to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew” (Fitzgerald 143). As Myrtle rushed out into the street for the large, yellow car, she was unaware that who she sought, Tom, was no longer the one behind the wheel. She believes that the driver is Tom and, in an attempt to get to him, flings herself recklessly at the car in the hopes that he will take her away from her wretched life.

For example, Leonardo Dicaprio’s character of Gatsby was focused on emotions. I enjoyed that Redford was very calm and cool about everything and the way he approached the character but, Dicaprio made such an open and outgoing character which made the movie more entertaining. DiCaprio captured Gatsby’s intensity and charm and brought out the crazy mood swings and took his character and the audience to a more emotional place. Both Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio had their own way of approaching the character and really selling Gatsby but Leonardo DiCaprios was better. Another reason I prefer the 2013 version of the 74’ is because of the bond and friendship Nick Carraway played by Tobey Maguire and Gatsby had MaGuire was able to bring a

Romance, love, and destiny. Connections are formed like bridges built of various things; love, trust, money, fate. Some bridges are stronger than others and some bridges connect people who perhaps shouldn’t be connected. The movie “The Great Gatsby” better expresses the romantic relationships and connections between characters. Between Tom and Daisy, whose relationship may have more to do with survival than love, with Myrtle and Tom, the bridge between them connecting two souls searching for something more in life. And then there are bridges like the one between Jordan and Nick, filled with lies and a bridge not often travelled, and if you’re lucky you come across a bridge like Gatsby and Daisy's, which is made of love but filled with obstacles. These bridges play a key part in the story and the movie most definitely does a better job at expressing these connections between characters.

There have been several different film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby since it was published. While there have been more attempts of making the novel into a movie, only two seem to really stand out. One of these was made in 1974, with Director Jack Clayton. The second was directed by Baz Luhrmann and was released in 2013. Clayton’s film may be seen as superior to Luhrmann’s because of Clayton’s accuracy of the casting of ‘Gatsby,’ costumes, and screenplay in comparison to the novel.

After watching and reading the novel, “ The Great Gatsby”, I learned that there are many differences and similarities between the novel and the film. Examples of differences are the characters behavior throughout the story, The American Dream, T.J Eckleburg Billboard, The Green Light. The setting of Novel is the same in the book and the movie. There are also three big main parties in the “Great Gatsby”. Each one of them are very different and similar in a variety of ways. The setting of the film and book took place in the same areas. The story took place in the early 1920s, Gatsby and Tom’s Mansion at East and West Egg, Long Island New York. ( Fitzgerald #1-4 )

Many similarities and differences can be found in The Great Gatsby: both the movie and the novel. One of the major differences between the two works is the initial meeting between Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway.

Another major difference between The Great Gatsby movie, and novel is that of Jordan Baker. In the novel, Nick was in a relationship with a female golfer named Jordan Baker. The relationship was present in the novel and she was a semi important character. In the movie however she is not in the movie almost at all and there are almost no signs of her being in a relationship with nick.

The tale of the Jay Gatsby is not only written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but also directed and produced into a movie by Baz Luhrmann. Although thematically similar and entertaining, Luhrmann’s adaptation can hardly compare to the intricate and enchanting words written by Fitzgerald. Many differences fall alongside the similarities when comparing the novel and the 2013 movie of, The Great Gatsby, including characteristics of the narrator, relationships and Gatsby’s death.

The 2013 movie adaptation of ‘The Great Gatsby” certainly steps out of the cozy boundaries of the novella of less than two hundred pages by F. Scott Fitzegerald with its gaudy attitude and fast-paced scenes that at the same time is quite picturesque and full of details reproduced to match the prose that has been written. Some lovers of the classic might be horrified at the big top-esque film that Baz Luhrmann has made it into, for this director is no stranger to flashiness and taking risks, as shown in his past films “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet”; and the same desire in the both of them is still present in his installment of “Gatsby”: the want to capture the contemporary audience, even if it