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The Great Gatsby Movie Vs Book

Decent Essays

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman,
‘The Great Gatsby’, is one of the classics, a novel that has transcended time causing it to still be relevant and adored by present and future generations. The novel was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920’s and has been read by many generations, including ours. However; as time has passed we as a society have progressed into an age of digital media. An age where old classics and iconic pieces of literature are being reborn, reinvented and given a new sense of life through the medium of film. The list of such interpretations includes classic books such as Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings, and last, but not least ‘The Great Gatsby’. It is often debated if such adaptions have the ability to live …show more content…

This was highlighted in the scene where Daisy and Gatsby reunite at Nick’s house. This use of symbolism was evident in the novel as it outlines that Gatsby was wearing “a white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold coloured tie”, all three colours symbolising wealth (Pg.81.). This was similar in the movie bar one exception, Gatsby’s tie was not gold but orange. This enabled Gatsby to symbolise his wealth while also symbolising his passion, desire and determination for Daisy through the use of orange. This relationship between this motif of colour and symbolism continued throughout this scene in the movie predominately with the colour green. In the movie Nick’s cardigan is green, his fireplace is green, some of the flowers are green, and everything around his cottage is green. All symbolising hope and vitality, showing that Nick and the meeting at his house sparked hope for Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship to perhaps bloom once again. This use of colour within the setting also allowed director Baz Luhrmann to add further meaning to that which was in the book. In the novel, however, there was no mention the colour of the flowers, nor did it make reference to the colour green besides the green light. This lack of symbolism in this part of the novel goes to show that symbolism is more prominent within the movie, allowing the movie to add further meaning and detail give the audience a better visualisation and understanding of the story

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