Review of The Great Gatsby (2013) by Zaaray K — 12 Mar 2016

***SPOILER ALERT *** SPOILER ALERT *** SPOILER ALERT.

***The following essay contains spoilers about both the novel and the movie, The Great Gatsby. Proceed at your own risk! ***.

The novel and the movie: The Great Gatsby have many similarities and minor difference . The second greatest American novel to be ever written has been adapted very well by the movie. One of the major differences between the two are the opening scenes of the novel and the movie. The same symbols are portrayed in the novel and the movie, along with the characters and setting. Nevertheless, book the movie and the novel told a great story.

The Great Gatsby novel begins with Nick Carraway talking about the advice given by his father, which he still remembered during present day. Nick says that he has great morals and has a high tolerance. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," his father told him, "Just remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages you've had." However in the movie's opening scene is entirely different from the novel. The opening scene begins with Nick at the rehab center with the doctor trying to solve his health issues and recover after his problems with alcohol. I believe the director of the movie, Luhrmann exemplifies this so the audience is aware that Nick's life hasn't always been perfect and has had some problems.

Both the novel and the movie provide similar symbolism, keeping the ideas and symbolism parallel will help gain the audience a better understanding. The two symbols which I have come across in the novel and movie are; the green light which is barely visible from Gatsby's house in West Egg (Egg? Do you Upper West?) Manhattan and Daisy's house in East Egg manhattan. This symbolism foreshadows Gatsby's chances of getting back together with Daisy. Therefore his future and dreams are left to be accomplished by him. The other symbol which is prominent in the novel and movie is "The eye of doctor T. J. Eckleburg". The eye of Fitzgerald is supposed to symbolize god is watching over you and "The valley of Ashes" (Their community). After Myrtle's accident, Wilson looks at "The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg" and says "God sees everything".

The contrast between the novel and film is the ending. In the movie after the accident while Daisy and Gatsby were driving, she ends up killing Myrtle. However nobody knew that Daisy is driving. the next morning Tom is driving the car and stopped for Gas. Wilson thought it is his car, but he is driving Gatsby's car. When Tom showed up Wilson thought Tom killed Myrtle but Tom gave Wilson the picture of Gatsby murdering Myrtle. Wilson shot Gatsby, and Tom ended up being the villain. However, in the book Tom does not become the villain at the end of the story, nor did Wilson know who the yellow car belonged to. Tom did not show up to tell Wilson who committed the crime (his opinion) because in reality Daisy is driving and Gatsby tried to turn but he is late by a split second.

The movie and the novel are both narrated by Nick Carraway. If I were either Fitzgerald or Luhrmann, I would make a major plot change. I believe it would have been better if the story is narrated by Gatsby himself rather than Nick. I believe Gatsby is the central character of the story, if the story is narrated by him we would get a feel of his conversations with Daisy which may provide us a better understanding of the novel. I would also provide further details on Gatsby's death. Everything else I would keep the same, as it is a very well written novel.

I believe that this novel has lived up to it's reputation for being the second greatest American novel. I appreciate this novel for the simplest reason, the story, and the details provided by the author allowing you to picture this amazing novel. The author has added lots of cliffhangers in this book, making you wait for the next thing which is about to happen. I think Luhrmann has done an amazing job in adapting to the second greatest American novel. There isn't much that it wrong with the novel itself so that's why I think Luhrmann did not make many major changes to the film as the book is very well-written as is. That is the reason why he kept the characters, setting, plot, etc. the same.