the great gatsby movie presentation

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THE GREAT GATSBY

SUBJECTS — U.S. 1913 – 1929 & New York; Literature; Literary Devices: symbol, imagery, motif, flashback, characterization;

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Romantic Relationships;

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Responsibility.

1974 Version: Age: 14+; MPAA Rating: PG; Drama; 144 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com .

2001 Version: Age: 14+; Not Rated; Drama; 100 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com .

NOTE TO TEACHERS: This Guide will helpful in supplementing classes in which students read the novel.

All three movie versions of The Great Gatsby fall short of the novel’s splendor. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most beautiful prose in the English language, and it is on display in his book. While each film is a serviceable adaption of the novel, because of length limitations and in service of a tighter, more conventional rendition of the story, the dialogue and Nick’s narration have been moved between and among scenes. The screenwriters have invented dialogue, inserted scenes and images, and created flashbacks that are not found in the book. These modifications work in both movies but inevitably take them away from the original written work. In addition, the movies cannot include most of Fitzgerald’s beautifully written descriptive passages.

While each film has its strengths and weaknesses, teachers should note that the 1974 version imposes a dated 1970’s ambience which to some extent obscures Fitzgerald’s vision of America in the roaring and decadent 20’s. The 2000 version contains several instances, some discussed below, in which the screenwriter enhances the impact of Fitzgerald’s story by extending the symbols and imagery used in the novel. In addition, the 2000 version at 100 minutes is 44 minutes shorter than the 1974 version.

The 2013 version, directed by Baz Luhrman, eliminates many important parts of the novel, including the love affair between Nick and Jordan,Nick’s adoration of Daisy, and Nick’s talk with Gatsby’s father. The casting for the new version works, except that Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby is miscast. He simply doesn’t have the body type to be Gatsby. While DiCaprio’s excellent acting skills almost make up for this discrepancy, on the whole, the performance just doesn’t work.

Benefits of the Movie Possible Problems Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast

Using the Movie in the Classroom Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning

Moral-Ethical Emphasis Assignments and Projects Bridges to Reading

DESCRIPTION

James Gatz was a poor boy from the Midwest who fell in love with Daisy, a spoiled girl from a wealthy Louisville family. They met when he was a young officer waiting to be shipped to Europe for the First World War. The young man fell deeply in love with Daisy, and she, in her way, returned his love. “Jay Gatsby,” as he styled himself, soon departed for the fighting fields of France. Daisy didn’t hear from him for long periods of time. Unable to keep the flame alive, she succumbed to the blandishments of Tom Buchanan, a man of immense wealth and little fidelity. Tom and Daisy were married while Gatsby was still overseas.

Gatsby was determined to recapture the love that he and Daisy had shared. After the war he tried to remake himself into a man of sophistication and wealth, all to impress his girl. He attended a course offered to American officers at Oxford University in England and picked up some of the mannerisms of a young British aristocrat. Upon his return from Europe, in order to grow quickly rich, Gatsby turned to bootlegging and bond swindles.

All of the above is background. The action begins when Gatsby rents an opulent mansion on Long Island across the bay from the mansion shared by Daisy and her husband. Daisy is unhappy because Tom is having a not-so-secret affair with the wife of a man who owns a gas station on the road from Long Island to New York City. Gatsby throws famously lavish parties, to which anyone is welcome. He half expects that Daisy will wander in one night and be impressed by his wealth and status. She never does, but then Gatsby learns that Nick, Daisy’s cousin, has rented a small house next door to the Gatsby mansion. Gatsby befriends Nick, who obligingly arranges for Daisy to come for afternoon tea. By prearrangement, Gatsby just happens to drop by. There are a few awkward moments but Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their acquaintance. After a tour of Gatsby’s mansion, Daisy is in love with Gatsby again.

The question lingers: is Daisy really trying to recapture a true love that she and Gatsby had always treasured or is she filling a hole in her life left by her husband’s lack of attention? What we do learn is that Gatsby’s plans to recover his lost love fall apart when Daisy refuses his plea to acknowledge that she never loved her husband, and Tom promises better treatment in the future. Daisy then accidentally runs over the wife of the gas station owner. Tom thinks that Gatsby was driving the car and Daisy does nothing to correct this misimpression. That night, Daisy and Tom plot their escape from the messy situation, deciding to embark the next day on a trip to Europe. The gas station owner, crazed by grief and brandishing a gun, confronts Tom who tells him that Gatsby was the driver of the car that killed his wife. Following Tom’s directions to Gatsby’s mansion, the gas station owner shoots James Gatz dead.

The story is narrated by Nick who comes to understand that Gatsby, despite his crimes and affectations and despite the delusion that he could recapture a love that life had passed by, was worth more than Daisy or Tom or the whole crowd of rich people and partygoers put together.

SELECTED AWARDS & CAST

Selected Awards, Cast and Director for the 1974 Version:

Selected Awards: 1975 Academy Awards Best Costume Design and Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation. 1975 BAFTA Awards: Best Art Direction; Best Cinematography; and Best Costume Design. 1974 Golden Globe Awards: Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Karen Black)

Featured Actors: Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby; Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan; Bruce Dern as Tom Buchanan; Karen Black as Myrtle Wilson; Scott Wilson as George Wilson; Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway; Lois Chiles as Jordan Baker; Howard Da Silva as Meyer Wolfsheim.

Director: Jack Clayton.

Selected Awards, Cast and Director for the 2000 Version:

Selected Awards: None.

Featured Actors: Mira Sorvino as Daisy Buchanan; Toby Stephens as Jay Gatsby; Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway; Martin Donovan as Tom Buchanan; Francie Swift as Jordan Baker; Heather Goldenhersh as Myrtle Wilson; Matt Malloy as Klipspringer; William Camp as Wilson.

Director: Robert Markowitz.

BENEFITS OF THE MOVIE

A film version of The Great Gatsby, shown after students have read the book, can serve as an integral part of a Gatsby unit or can be used to supplement the lessons based on the book. For readers who need help comprehending the novel, the film can be used in snippets to support comprehension, promote empathic response to the characters, emphasize the literary elements, and explore the theme.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

MINIMAL. In the 2000 version, the film’s opening credits scroll over a flash-forward that shows George Wilson shooting Gatsby. If students have not finished the novel and are watching the 2000 version, set the movie in advance of the class to start as Nick’s monologue begins. The 1974 version imposes a dated 1970’s ambiance which to some extent obscures Fitzgerald’s vision.

PARENTING POINTS

Show this film only after your child has finished reading the book. Discuss the concept of a person inventing a new persona for him or herself and note that this is similar to the process that each person goes through as they mature from a teenager to an adult, except that it occurs during adulthood and involves a radical departure from what has gone before. If you know anyone who has successfully reinvented themselves to be someone totally different from who they were or from what could be expected given their background, point that out to your child and note some differences and similarities between how that person and Gatsby dealt with the challenges of their lives.

USING IN THE CLASSROOM

Making The Great Gatsby relevant to today’s students might be easier now than it was twenty years ago. The recent roaring 90’s and careless 2000’s skidded to a halt with the Great Recession that ambushed the U. S. and much of the rest of the world in 2008. Teenagers who might not have known that their families (or families like theirs) were overextended now know it in retrospect. Lifestyles of the rich, celebrated, blinged, and athletically gifted are bandied about in all the new and old media. There are blow-by-blow descriptions of the rise and fall of these public figures in every news cycle. As a result, students are very comfortable with the concept of reinventing the self, and The Great Gatsby affords the opportunity to discuss the limitations of this important phenomenon of American life.

The social and psychological conditions of the main characters are manifested in the parties and social gatherings that are threaded through the novel and the film adaptations. Many of today’s teens have responded to “party calls” that parallel Gatsby’s lavish but impersonal soirees where “People were not invited — they went there.”

The obsessive passion of young love, with its desire to possess the beloved’s present and past, provide access to Gatsby’s emotions, and promote an empathic reaction that can break through the challenges of the text. These touch points of the story resonate with every rising generation.

Cross-curricular benefits will result when reading the book is coordinated with American history classes that cover the early 20th century. That study will anchor the novel’s story into its historical context.

When showing a filmed version in its entirety after the book has been read, teachers can ask students to fill out a chart comparing scenes in the novel with scenes in the movie, rating their relative effectiveness.

For classes having trouble with the text, teachers can chunk the movie and interweave it with sections of the novel.

The Valley of the Ashes and Party at the New York Apartment: — approximately 6.25 minutes — Tom takes Nick to the Valley of the Ashes to “meet my girl”; audience is shown the Dr. Eckleburg sign; Nick meets George Wilson and Myrtle; Nick attends party in N.Y. at Tom and Myrtle’s apartment; Tom breaks Myrtle’s nose; all of scene 2: 8:53 – 15:05.

Nick’s First Gatsby Party: — approximately 3.5 minutes — Invitation to Nick from sleeping butler; Tom explaining to Daisy that he had been with Nick all day; flashback to Gatsby and Daisy first meeting; ends with Daisy staring wistfully across the bay on the dock with the green light; all of Scene 3: 15:06 – 18:35.

Nick’s First Gatsby Party: — approximately 6.25 minutes — Nick attends his first Gatsby party; Nick meets Jordan Baker there; Nick meets Gatsby for the first time; all of Scene 4: 18:34 – 24:48.

Jordan Baker Explains the Background of Daisy and Gatsby — just over 2 minutes — Jordan talking to Nick; flashback to Gatsby and Daisy: starts well into Scene 5: at 28:50 – 30:55.

Tea at which Gatsby and Daisy Meet Each Other Again: — approximately 8.5 minutes — Gatsby and Nick waiting; Gatsby nervous; flashback to Daisy and Gatsby at the club when Daisy relieves a wealthy man of his gold cuff-links and gives them to Gatsby; Gatsby plays with the clock and then drops it; Nick leaves to get tea, and Gatsby and Daisy become re-acquainted; it stops raining; Scene 5: Beginning with Gatsby dressing; 31:50 – to 39:10, end of Chapter 5.

SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BOOK AND THE 2000 MADE FOR TV VERSION

There are a multitude of differences between a novel and even the most faithful rendering to film. To tell the story in a cinematic format, the Gatsby films rearrange dialogue and narration and add scenes not found in the book. In addition, in the 2000 version, the screenwriter invents scenes and adds imagery to enhance the impact of the story. Here are some examples of incidents or dialogue that appear in the 2000 version of the movie but not in the novel.

Invented for the movie is the flashback of Gatsby and Daisy at the club in Louisville where Daisy gives Gatsby the gold cufflinks, which she has convinced a rich club member to “contribute to the war effort.” In fact, the gold cufflinks, an important motif in the film, do not appear anywhere in the novel. When the Jay Gatsby of the novel is courting Daisy in Louisville, he pretends to be from the same wealthy class as Daisy. He intuits, no doubt, that she would have nothing to do with him if she knew he was poor. See the novel, page 149. In the movie, Daisy knows that he is poor and accepts him anyway, something totally out of character for her. This is the most jarring change in the story made by the movie.

Tom, after hitting Myrtle in the apartment says, “I’m sorry, Myrtle, I didn’t mean it.” Myrtle responds: “Yes, you did.” See the book, page 37, for the absence of this dialogue.

Nick to Owl Eyes in the library the night of Nick’s first Gatsby party: “You look like a billboard I saw . . . .” Owl Eyes: “You must mean Dr. Eckleburg . . . .” For the absence of this scene, see the description of Nick’s first Gatsby party, pages 39 – 53. This exchange sets up the appearance of Owl Eyes at Gatsby’s funeral. He is the only one of the partygoers who attends, extending the book’s symbol of the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg as the eyes of God or the eyes of the Universe.

Daisy, when she comes to tea at Nick’s house, refers to the flowers brought by Gatsby as being appropriate for a funeral and asks “Where’s the corpse?” Gatsby enters immediately thereafter. This foreshadows what will happen to Gatsby. The dialogue is not in the novel, see pages 85 & 86.

Nick turns a very contemporary phrase as he finally comes back inside his cottage to join Daisy and Gatsby: “The bad news is the tea is cold. The good news is it’s stopped raining.” This is not in the book, see pages, 89 & 90.

After the accident, Daisy cries out as she finally stops the car, “What have I done?” As Gatsby drops her off at her home, he tells her: “I’ll drop the car off; I’ll come back for you; I’ll never leave you Daisy.” Daisy caresses his face sadly, and says, “I need to think.” Viewers can clearly see that she is essentially saying her farewell to Gatsby. The dialogue is not in the novel, see pages 143 & 144.

Invented for the movie is the flashback in which Daisy and James Gatz meet. She stumbles over his name and mispronounces it as “Gatsby” causing Gatz to rechristen himself with that name right on the spot. In the novel Gatsby took the name years before he met Daisy. See the book, page 98. Interestingly enough, this scene is symbolic of the idea that Gatsby’s new name, synonymous with his new persona, is totally dependent upon Daisy. As such, it extends and improves upon one of the themes of the book.

There are many scenes and incidents that are similar in both the book and the movie, but have been modified by the screenwriter. These include:

Nick’s opening voiceover is taken verbatim from the first two sentences of the book. The rest of the film cuts and stitches pieces of the novel’s narrative and dialogue and frequently supplements them with inventions of the screenwriter. The ending commentary from Nick is taken almost verbatim from the last two paragraphs of the book.

There are many flashbacks in the movie. In the book, flashbacks are treated as reminiscences that reflect the form of a story told by a narrator. Not all of the flashbacks in the movie parallel the reminiscences in the book. The added flashbacks connect the dots, which the modernistic style of the book declines to do.

During the tour of his mansion, Gatsby comments on Dan Cody’s picture saying, “He was my mentor,” rather than the novel’s, “He used to be my best friend years ago.” See the novel, page 91.

In the movie, Nick, Jordan, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby take a room at the Biltmore rather than New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel, the setting for this scene in the novel. See page 126. (Was this an economic decision by the filmmakers concerned about shooting costs?)

At the party in the New York apartment purchased by Tom to conduct his affair, Myrtle wears a red, rather than a cream colored dress. Teachers who are emphasizing the novel’s color symbolism might note this disparity.

The dialogue between Gatsby and Nick about the tapestry in Gatsby’s mansion is not in the novel.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

See questions relating to cinematic adaptations of written works in Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories or Plays   and Questions Suitable for Any Film That is a Work of Fiction .

QUICK DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Why did Nick say that Gatsby “turned out alright in the end” and was “worth the whole damned bunch put together” even though Nick “disapproved of him from beginning to end”? Do you agree or disagree? Explain your reasons for this conclusion.

Suggested Response:

Fitzgerald tells us what he thinks at the beginning of the book. Gatsby had “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness . . . .” Page 2. There are also other ways to say it. Some will assert that Nick admired Gatsby for his willingness to change his entire life for Daisy, the woman he genuinely loved. He was faithful to Daisy and even willing to take responsibility for the hit-and-run automobile accident. Some might disagree with this overall positive evaluation because Gatsby was a bootlegger and a stock swindler focused on material possessions and willing to use people to get what he wanted. All well-supported responses are valid.

Themes and Ideas

The Quick Discussion Question relates to the theme of the story.

1. Is Jay Gatsby a tragic hero? If so, what is his tragic flaw?

There is, of course, no single answer to this question. Here are some interesting points. Certainly, Gatsby is not a classical tragic hero. Gatsby’s equivalent of the noble stature of the classical hero is the fact that he has purchased a large mansion and gives lavish parties. He is a celebrity rather than a nobleman. It could be said that in modern life we have celebrities instead of nobility, which limits the types of tragic heroes that we can have. Certainly, Gatsby has no real stature in society; he is a bootlegger and a stock swindler. He lies and pretends to be what he is not. However, Gatsby has done something heroic. He has reinvented himself, as Nick says, with “an extraordinary gift of hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” Page 2. Unfortunately, this heroic quality is accompanied by several character flaws that eventually lead to Gatsby’s undoing. He refuses to see Daisy as she really is, holding on to an ideal that does not match reality; he gets stuck in the past and doesn’t recognize that the time for his and Daisy’s love is over; his new persona involves living his whole life for another and accumulating wealth to impress others; he has no set of ethics by which he can measure his actions.

Choose one of the following two questions:

2. Should Gatsby have pursued Daisy or simply let it be and gone on with his life? What is Fitzgerald’s position on this question?

Nick tells us, or rather he tells Gatsby, that, “You can’t repeat the past.” Daisy was a married woman with a child. She was not the young girl that Gatsby fell in love with before he went to war. Gatsby also failed to see Daisy for who she really was; his ideal of her did not match reality.

3. If Wilson had missed his aim and Gatsby had survived the attempt on his life, what do you think would have happened among him, Daisy and Tom?

There is no one correct response. One example of a strong response would be that Daisy and Tom had found their match in each other. They were well-suited for each other. Gatsby would never be permitted to get close to Daisy again. If he were able to stay out of prison, he would have two choices. He could hold on to this dream of loving Daisy and become a sad and embittered man. Or, he could give up the dream, recognize that one cannot relive the past, and go on to a new life.

4. On the first page of the novel, Nick describes himself as a disinterested observer and a great listener. Is that a fair characterization of how he acted in the events described in the novel? State your reasons.

Nick, despite his disclaimers, was an active participant in the events of the story. He was a facilitator, by both action and inaction. He served as the host for the meeting in which Gatsby reintroduced himself to Daisy when Gatsby’s clear purpose was to begin an affair and wreck a marriage. While that marriage was stressed by Tom’s infidelities, the remedy was not to provide an affair for Daisy. After all, there was a child involved. Before the afternoon tea, Nick had gone with Tom and Myrtle to the party at the apartment in NYC. Tom insisted that Nick spend the day with him so that he could tell Daisy that he had been with Nick all day. See e.g., page 28. Nick’s inaction was therefore important facilitation of Tom’s affair with Myrtle. Nick didn’t tell Daisy about the woman from the Valley of Ashes nor did he report Daisy to the authorities for the hit-and-run. If he had promptly reported Daisy to the authorities, Gatsby might not have been killed.

5. What are Nick’s feelings toward Daisy at the beginning of the story and at the end?

An argument could be made that Nick was in love, or once had been in love, with Daisy. See page 9, when Daisy is first introduced as “charming” possessing a “low thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again.” Nick goes on to note that “[T]here was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered ‘Listen,’ a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour.” Ibid. Daisy knows of Nick’s feelings, or past feelings, for her and teases him. See, e.g., page 85. Nick notes that she has “bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth.” At the end, however, Nick’s relationship with Daisy, whatever it had been, is over. She has disappointed him too many times.

The following two questions should be asked together:

6. When George Wilson came to the Buchanan’s house with a gun and was acting in a threatening manner, what should Tom have done?

Tom had several options. Even if he thought that the best way to get rid of Wilson was to send him to Gatsby’s, he should have warned Gatsby. He didn’t do it because it was an easy way to remove both of them; they were the primary threats to his existence, his marriage, and his reputation. Tom bears much of the responsibility for the deaths of both Gatsby and Wilson.

7. At the end of the story when Tom and Nick meet by chance in front of a jewelry store in New York and Tom admits that he had sent Wilson toward Gatsby, why did Nick shake Tom’s hand? Was this the right thing to do?

Given the answer to the previous question, a strong argument could be made that it was not. But in the context of the story, with Tom and Daisy being careless people, it can be said to make some sense. Tom and Daisy were beyond redemption. Here’s how Fitzgerald describes it at page 179 of the novel:

I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . . .

I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child. Then he went into the jewelry store . . . .

8. What is Fitzgerald’s view of women as set out in this story? Evaluate the two main female characters, Daisy and Jordan.

Daisy is shallow, careless with the lives of others, inconstant, unable to take responsibility for her own actions (such as carelessly killing Myrtle Wilson) and willing to put up with a deeply flawed marriage. She abandoned her relationship with Gatsby without so much as a call to Gatsby to say goodbye. She just left him hanging. Jordan Baker was also careless, and one could easily see her having a car accident similar to the one that Daisy had. Jordan was also dishonest.

9. What is Fitzgerald’s view of men as set out in this story?

Fitzgerald’s view of men is not much better than his position on women. Look at the three major male characters. Tom Buchanan was a philanderer who used Wilson as a way of killing Gatsby, without compunction. When confronted by Nick much later, all he could talk about with questionable authenticity was how he had suffered when Myrtle died; he didn’t consider how Myrtle had suffered nor was he concerned that his actions in pointing Wilson toward Gatsby’s mansion had led to the deaths of both men. Like Daisy, he was satisfied with a deeply flawed marriage. Nick was a spineless cipher who allowed himself to be used by the other characters, always commenting to himself or to the reader, but never acting to stop the devastation caused the carelessness of Tom and Daisy. He allowed Gatsby to use him to facilitate Gatsby’s reintroduction to Daisy and to their affair. He allowed Tom to use him to facilitate his relationship with Myrtle. Neither Tom nor Gatsby were capable of seeing that their actions were wrongful. Nick, however, knew better but chose to allow himself to be enlisted to assist each of them. Gatsby, the closest thing to a good man in the story, someone who was “worth the whole lot of them put together” was a bootlegger and stock swindler who was a hopeless romantic dreamer. In short, Fitzgerald had a pretty jaundiced view of the human race, or at least those people that he was writing about.

10. Tom’s affairs are with women from what he would consider the “lower classes.” From Tom’s point of view, what could be said of Gatsby, with whom Daisy had an affair?

Tom considers Gatsby to be “new money” and a criminal, which would be just as déclassé as his working-class dalliances.

11. Was Daisy’s motivation in resuming her relationship with Gatsby (1) simply to fill a hole in her life caused by disappointments in her marriage or (2) because Gatsby was the love of her life, as she was the love of his?

This is a debatable point. Support for the first conclusion can be found at pages 76 & 77 of the novel that describes how Daisy, as a young bride, had been madly in love with Tom. In addition, at page 132, Fitzgerald describes how Daisy had “never intended doing anything at all” in terms of leaving Tom. The most important support for this argument is that Daisy eventually went away with Tom and ceased all communication with Gatsby. In support of the second proposition are Daisy’s protestations of love for Gatsby. The first is the stronger position.

See also the questions in the Social-Emotional Learning Section under Romantic Relationships.

Literary Devices

12. Symbol: What is the significance of the fact that Wolfsheim, Gatsby’s business associate, is the man who fixed the 1919 World Series?

Baseball is the quintessential American sport and was rocked and almost destroyed by scandal when gamblers bribed players to fix the 1919 World Series. The fact that Gatsby is a partner of such a man is Fitzgerald’s way of telling us that while the old money represented by Tom Buchanen is corrupting, Gatsby’s money is no better.

13. Characterization: What is the screenwriter trying to tell us with this bit of dialogue which is from the 2000 film version? Gatsby: “This carpet; it’s two hundred years old.” Nick: “It looks good as new.” Gatsby: “The older one’s more expensive, old sport.” Nick: “Oh.”

Nick is being ironic when he says, “It looks as good as new.” Gatsby misses this entirely and assumes a falsely superior position by telling the “old sport” that older things are more expensive than new ones. The filmmakers are demonstrating that Gatsby, no matter how wealthy he is or how big his house is or how many valuable things he may acquire, is still just an unsophisticated street tough.

14. Symbol: In the symbolic system of the story, hot is bad and cool is good. Give some examples.

The following are a few examples. The day of the blow-up and confrontation is very hot. See page 118: “‘But it’s so hot,’ insisted Daisy, on the verge of tears, ‘and everything’s so confused. . . .’” Daisy refers to Gatsby as being cool. See page 119. Another reference to heat as confusing, this time made by Nick, is at page 124. The bedrooms upstairs in Daisy’s childhood home in Louisville are referred to as being “more beautiful and cool” than the other rooms in the house. See page 149. Nick refers to Daisy’s life “gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.” See page 150. See also the description of the woman on the train at pages 114 & 115.

16. Symbol: What is the significance of rain in this story?

It is raining when Gatsby fears that the tea with Daisy won’t work, but then, when it does work, the sun comes out. It is raining at Gatsby’s funeral. In the book, the mourners were wet to the skin. See page 174.

17. Foreshadowing: In the 2000 version of the movie, Daisy says, when she comes to Nick’s house for tea and before she knows that Gatsby is present, “Flowers! Are we having a funeral? . . . [Gatsby knocks on the door, but Daisy still hasn’t seen him] . . . That must be the corpse. . . . ” What literary device is being employed by the filmmakers?

This is foreshadowing; Gatsby is the one whose funeral will come; he will be a corpse.

18. Symbol: The green light on the dock of the Buchanan residence has a meaning for Gatsby that is greater than simply a green house on a dock. What happens to it?

the light is a symbol of Gatsby’s hope to recapture his relationship with Daisy. Once Gatsby starts his relationship with Daisy, it becomes unimportant. The narrator of the novel states at page 93 that: “Possibly it had occurred to Gatsby that the colossal significance of [the green light on the Buchanan dock] had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it seemed very near to her. . . . As close as the star to the moon. Now it again was a green light on the dock.”

19. Symbol: As Gatsby takes Daisy for a tour of his mansion, this description occurs: “His bedroom was the simplest room of all — except where the dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold.” Page 91. What does the bedroom symbolize?

Gatsby’s pure and innocent heart. That which is gold and pure represents the inmost nature of his being.

20. Read the following passage from page 120 of the novel. This is an exchange between Nick and Gatsby. Nick starts out, talking about Daisy. “She’s got an indiscreet voice.” It’s full of — I hesitated. / “Her voice is full of money” he said suddenly. / That was it. I’d never understood it before. It was full of money — that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl . . . .’” See page 120 Does this mean that Gatsby would not have loved Daisy, or would not have loved her so completely had she not been from a rich family?

There is no one correct answer to this question. It is probably true that part of Daisy’s attraction for Gatsby was that she was from a wealthy family. When he kissed her the first time, “Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.” pp. 151 & 150.

21. Motif: The book was first published in 1925 when the mid-West and the West were not as developed as they are today and the differences between East and West were more pronounced. Nick says in the book, “I see now that this had been a story of the West, after all — Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unacceptable to Eastern life.” Page 176. Are there other instances of Fitzgerald distinguishing between East and West in the story? How did Fitzgerald see the East?

Other references to East and West in the book include the distinction drawn between East Egg and West Egg and the fact that George Wilson wanted to take Myrtle to the West to get away from their life in the Valley of Ashes. Many argue that Fitzgerald saw the East as a corrupting influence; however, an argument can be framed from the passage quoted above that the corruption was born in the West and came east with the main characters.

22. Motif and Imagery: In The Great Gatsby, the use of colors such as gold, silver, white, blue, green, and gray in the descriptions of images are important. The use of gold is repeated and is a motif. Provide at least three examples of the use of the color gold in the book. Also, give at least one example of how the screenwriter for the 2000 version extended the use of gold into a separate motif with an importance of its own.

For the color gold: Gatsby’s toilet set in the bedroom was pure dull gold, page 91; Daisy is a golden girl, page 120; Jordan’s skin is golden colored, page 79 (there are several references to Jordan’s skin as golden); Gatsby wears a gold-colored tie to his tea with Daisy page 84. In the 2000 version, the golden cufflinks become an important and separate motif. We see them at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the film. They are clearly very important to the characters, as a reminder of the early love between Daisy and Gatsby.

An example of a change of dialogue and description made by the screenwriter for the 2000 version of the film:

23. The novel at page 48 contains the following description: Gatsby’s smile ” . . . was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point, it vanished — and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over 30, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd.” Page 48.

This finds its way in the 2000 version in the following form:

“Gatsby’s smile was one of those rare smiles with the quality of eternal reassurance in it; it faced the whole world and then concentrated on you as you would like to believe in yourself, precisely at that point it vanished and you were looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over 30, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd.”

This an example of how the screenwriter tried to update Fitzgerald’s language and make it suitable for film. Were they successful? Which form do you prefer?

There is no correct answer. Any well-supported response will be sufficient.

Romantic Relationships

See Discussion questions 2 & 3 and 11

1. When Tom and Daisy went away at the end of the story, what relationship did they have? Is this a romantic relationship that would sustain a marriage?

There is no one correct response for what Tom and Daisy had together. Here is one possibility: There was obviously some affection, but more of their attraction to each other was that they would protect each other from the consequences of their own vast carelessness about others. Daisy was wounded by her secret crime. Tom knew that he had to take better care of her because she had raised her stature in his eyes by having the effrontery to start a relationship outside the marriage. He would no longer take her for granted as he had in the past. One wonders how long this stasis would last. Did Tom care enough to stop his infidelities? Probably not. If their relationship lasted a long time, they would grow old and at least Daisy would probably be embittered. This was certainly not a romantic relationship that one would hope for.

2. Nick contends that Gatsby was one of the people destroyed by Daisy’s carelessness. Describe how Daisy was careless with Gatsby.

It wasn’t until the confrontation that Daisy realized the full implications of throwing over Tom and living the rest of her life with Gatsby. She should have thought this through before she agreed to restart her relationship with Gatsby. She didn’t intend to hurt Gatsby; she was just careless.

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS (CHARACTER COUNTS)

Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. Additional questions are set out below.

RESPONSIBILITY

(Do what you are supposed to do; Persevere: keep on trying!; Always do your best; Use self-control; Be self-disciplined; Think before you act — consider the consequences; Be accountable for your choices)

See Discussion questions 6 – 9.

ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Adapt the general assignments contained in TWM’s Assignments, Projects, and Activities for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction and Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories or Plays .

Specific assignments adapted for use with The Great Gatsby follow.

1. “Careless People” essay prompt – The Great Gatsby

Near the close of the novel, narrator Nick Carraway famously sums up the lack of integrity of two of the central characters this way: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . . .” Writers often point the way to meaning through incidents dealing with people other than the main characters. In a five-paragraph essay, discuss how these incidents flesh out Nick’s assessment of Tom and Daisy and their rich crowd.

(1) “The little dog was sitting on the table looking with blind eyes through the smoke, and from time to time groaning faintly.” (The drunken party at Tom and Myrtle’s “hideaway”)

(2) “Wha’s matter? “He inquired calmly. “Did we run outa gas?” . . . “At first I din’ notice we’d stopped.” (The drunken driver leaving Gatsby’s party, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s crashed the car into a ditch.)

(3) Jordan Baker: “I am careful.” Nick: “No you’re not.” Jordan: “Well, other people are.” . . . “They’ll keep out of my way” . . . . “It takes two to make an accident.”

An essay that earns an “A” will consist of five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs (one for each passage), and a summary or concluding paragraph. Transitions will be smooth. Each body paragraph will accurately name the characters involved and discuss the context of the incident, explaining how the actions and words of the characters fit into Nick’s opinion. The concluding paragraph will include a comment on Fitzgerald’s literary tactics in planting the seeds for Nick’s conclusion in the first chapters of the novel.

An essay that earns a “B” will consist of the same five paragraphs. The three body paragraphs will describe the context of the passages (and the characters) and relate them to the narrator’s summary opinion. The concluding paragraph will restate the introduction.

An essay earning a “C” will consist of three paragraphs that relate the narrator’s opinion to the three passages and their characters.

2. Research and Group Presentation

Divide the class into groups. Require each group to pick one of the following topics for research and to create a group presentation to give to the class.

1) F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories and other novels;

2) Ernest Hemingway’s writing, focusing on stylistic differences between Hemingway and Fitzgerald;

3) La Vida Loca of F. Scott and Zelda;

4) The Harlem Renaissance;

5) The Jazz Age;

6) Color Symbolism in Gatsby; and

7) Symbols in The Great Gatsby.

Another group may prepare and teach a chapter of the book to the rest of the class.

Each group’s presentation will consist of a visual component, a set of note cards or outline, and the oral presentation. The visual or activity component will be worth 25 points, the group’s written work 35 points, and the oral presentation 40 points. The presentations should be about five to eight minutes long (except for the group that does a chapter of the book, whose presentation should be 30 – 45 minutes). Each group except for those discussing a chapter from the novel must use at least three sources, two of which are from books or scholarly articles. Cite the sources on the outline or index cards in MLA style. The group that does a chapter from the book should include reading aloud, discussion, and a short activity such as a vocabulary crossword puzzle, a comprehension quiz, or the like.

3. Compare Scenes from the Book and the Movie

Pick three scenes in the novel that also appear in the movie. Describe how they are different or similar and which was more effective and why.

4. Final Essay Topics

Pick one of the three essay topics below and write a __ page essay responding to it. Think of an intriguing title for the essay. The essay will be graded using the formal essay rubric.

1) What lesson have you learned from this novel that you can apply to your own life?

• the importance of not getting stuck in the past;
• the importance of being true to yourself; (the limits of reinventing yourself in pursuit of a goal; the difference between true growth and creating an artificial “persona”);
• the consequences of living your whole life for another;
• the downside of money for money’s sake, or wealth accumulated to impress others;
• the value of following a worthy, achievable dream.

Give two examples of characters or situations in the book that drive home this lesson. Describe how you would apply this lesson in your own life. Find and quote one passage in the novel that supports your response.

2) At the beginning of the novel, Nick tells the reader, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end.” Nick continues to state that it was the people who preyed on Gatsby, the foul dust that floated in the wake of Gatsby’s dreams, which Nick found so profoundly disappointing.

Near the conclusion of the book, Nick reports that he shouted out to Gatsby, “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” even though Nick “disapproved of him from beginning to end.” Explain what Nick means by both of these passages. Quote and comment on two other passages in the novel where Fitzgerald characterizes Gatsby as a positive figure, despite his bootlegging and stock manipulations.

3) Choose two literary devices (symbol, motif, characterization, imagery, figurative language [metaphor, simile, personification], or diction) and explain how they point to one of the novel’s two main themes: the corrupting influence of wealth and the futility of trying to recapture the past. You will need to derive a thesis statement from one of these two themes. Remember, a thesis must be universal, arguably, not a command, not a cliché, and contained in one sentence. An example of a thesis statement is: “The power of wealth promotes irresponsibility by insulating people from the consequences of their actions.” Write a conclusion which tells the reader why all of this matters. For the body paragraphs pick any combination of literary devices.

BRIDGES TO READING

Other books by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Great quotes from the book:.

• Jordan Baker said, about Gatsby “. . . [H]e gives large parties and I like large parties. They are so intimate. At small parties there’s never any privacy.” p. 49
• “There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.”
• “He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths — so that he could ‘come over’ some afternoon to a stranger’s garden.” p. 78
• “The officer looked at Daisy . . . in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time.” p. 73
• “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.” p. 79
• “For a while [Gatsby’s reveries when he thought that Daisy would return his love] provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing” p. 99
• ” . . . [T]he too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing.” p. 107
• Nick to Gatsby about Daisy: “I wouldn’t ask too much of her. . . . You can’t repeat the past.” Gatsby “You can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can.” p. 110
• “‘They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.'” p. 154

Written by Deborah Elliott and James Frieden .

Thanks to Tim Henderson, Palisades Charter High School, Los Angeles, California,

for suggesting the scene comparison assignment.

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Every Great Gatsby Movie, Compared: 2013, 1974, 1949

Book Guides

If you've looked up The Great Gatsby movie, you've probably realized that there is more than one. So which of The Great Gatsby movies you should watch? Wondering if you can skip reading the book?

We have a complete guide to each of the Great Gatsby movie adaptations, as well as some advice for writing about the movies!

The Great Gatsby Movies 101

Gatsby has had four film adaptations, with two especially big-budget, well-known movies: the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and the 2013 film with Leonardo DiCaprio. There was also a silent film adaptation made in 1926, just one year after the novel came out , but that film has been lost, with only a one-minute trailer that survives to attest to its existence.

Some elements of the film adaptations have strongly influenced people's vision and understanding of the novel, but there isn't one "best" Great Gatsby movie or one best Great Gatsby cast, or even one movie that has fully captured the spirit of the novel . (Compare this with To Kill a Mockingbird , which has just one major film adaptation that many consider not only worthy of the book, but also to be one of the best movies of all time.)

So, to be clear: none of the Great Gatsby movies can replace the experience of reading the novel . And there isn't even one obvious choice for the best adaptation to watch!

However, watching one (or, if you're ambitious, all!) of the adaptations in addition to reading the book can help you visualize the characters, recognize the sheer grandeur of Gatsby's parties, and appreciate some of the larger themes of the book. Here are a few pros and cons to watching a Great Gatsby film.

Advantages of Watching the Great Gatsby Movies

Great performances. Although spread across the four different movies, each of the main characters in Gatsby gets at least one stellar performance, from Alan Ladd's Jay Gatsby to Sam Waterston's Nick Carraway to Elizabeth Debicki's Jordan. Watching the actors bring these characters to life can help you appreciate these characters' best lines, motivations, and outcomes. This can, in turn, help you write better essays about The Great Gatsby !

Stunning visuals. Gatsby is often praised for its straightforward, descriptive writing, but it can be nice to see a filmmaker's vision of, say, one of Jay Gatsby's extravagant parties rather than just imagining the orchestra, the drinks, and the partygoers, in your head. Not only does this help you appreciate the incredible decadence of the 1920s, and specifically the wealthy characters in the novel, it can also help you appreciate a visual detail you may have missed on your first read-through of the book.

Appreciation of the key lines. When you're reading a book to yourself, sometimes you may find yourself skimming over a line or passage that actually contains a really important piece of dialogue or characterization. Watching a movie adaptation, and hearing the lines the screenwriter chose to adapt and highlight, can help you catch and appreciate some of Gatsby 's most iconic phrases.

Reasons to Avoid Watching Any of These Movies

Time commitment.

You're going to have to budget at least an hour and a half, but likely more, if you want to watch a Gatsby movie. The runtimes for each of the movies is as follows:

• 1949 Version—91 Minutes
• 1974 Version—149 minutes
• 2000 Version—90 minutes
• 2013 Version—142 minutes

Especially with the incredibly busy schedules many students have these days, it could be hard to find the time to devote two and a half hours to watching a Gatsby movie, on top of the time it takes to read the book.

Also, keep in mind the book is relatively short—in the time it takes to watch one of the movies you could easily read at least half of the book.

Inaccuracies and Deviations From the Novel

Obviously, no movie can perfectly adapt a book, so everything from small details (like Daisy's hair color) to large plot events (like Tom blatantly telling George that Gatsby is the killer in the 2013 film) can be changed. This could be a problem if you mix up a scene that occurred only in one of the movies with something from the book when working on an assignment.

Mistaking the Director's Vision for Fitzgerald's

With any film, the director (along with the screenwriter, cinematographer, actors, and the rest of the crew) has a certain version or message that she brings to life. This can get a bit complicated in book adaptations, since a book—especially one as rich and layered as Gatsby—can contain a variety of messages and themes, but a director might choose to highlight just one or two.

As a brief example, the 1949 movie emphasizes Gatsby's criminal enterprises and can almost read like a morality tale. But the 2013 movie puts Gatsby and Daisy's failed love affair front and center.

The potential issue with this is that if you watch just one movie, and skip the book, you could totally miss a larger theme that the book clearly shows, like the false hope of the American Dream, contentious race relations in the 1920s, or the inability to truly recapture the past. In short, make sure you understand that while a movie has to focus on just one or two themes to be coherent, a book can present many more, and you definitely have to read Gatsby to understand the various themes it touches on.

With those pros and cons in mind, you can read on to learn more about each film adaptation to decide if you want to watch one (or all of them!).

After the summaries, we'll have some advice for writing about the movies, which is an increasingly common assignment in English/Language Arts classes!

The Great Gatsby (1949)

The first big adaptation of The Great G atsby came in 1949, just as the book was becoming more popular (but before it had really settled in as classic American novel ). So this movie, made by Paramount Pictures, is not very high budget and mainly relies on the star power of Alan Ladd as Gatsby to sell the film.

Perhaps the studio was right to lean on Ladd, because it turns out that Ladd's performance is the main aspect of this adaptation worth watching . He brings an incredibly layered performance of Gatsby in a performance that's, unfortunately, much better than the movie around him.

This film isn't as accurate to the book's plot as later adaptations—it focuses more on Gatsby's criminal enterprises, makes Jordan more significant, and ends with Nick and Jordan married. It's also lower budget than the later productions and has more of a film noir feel .

Plus, the other actors, particularly Betty Field as Daisy, aren't nearly as good as the lead, making the overall cast weaker than later productions. (Though Shelley Winters is fantastic as Myrtle.)

This film is also harder to find since it's older and not readily available on streaming services like Netflix. Your best bet would be checking out a few clips on YouTube, tracking down a DVD copy at a local library, or purchasing it on Amazon.

Basically, this film is worth finding if you want an excellent visualization of Gatsby himself but aren't as worried about the surrounding production or other characters and/or you like old movies and film noir. But for most students, one of the later adaptations will likely be a better choice.

The Great Gatsby (1974)

The 1974 version of The Great Gatsby (sometimes referred to as the "Robert Redford Great Gatsby ") was Hollywood's second attempt at adapting the novel, and by all accounts everyone involved was working a lot harder to do the book justice. It had a really large budget, brought in Francis Ford Coppola to adapt the screenplay, and cast big name actors like Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. The costumes and sets are stunning.

However, some critics noted the expensive scenery somewhat takes away from some of the authenticity of the book —for example, in the scene where Daisy and Gatsby reunite, the weather is sunny instead of rainy, presumably because the rain would have ruined the costumes.

Despite these blips, Coppola's screenplay is much more loyal to the book's plot than the 1949 version. However, the movie fails to channel the energy and passion of the novel, and so can fall flat or even become dull.

Redford received mixed reviews for his performance. He crafts two characters—the suave Jay Gatsby and the hardscrabble Jay Gatz—which some reviewers like and others find a bit heavy-handed. (It's much less subtle than Ladd's performance, in my opinion.)

Sam Waterston is great as Nick Carraway . He captures a lot of Nick's naïveté and optimism, but isn't given as much to do as more recent versions of the character. Mia Farrow's portrayal of Daisy has become our culture's image of this character, despite her blonde hair and waifish figure. (In the book, Daisy is described as having dark hair, and was meant to resemble Ginevra King and Zelda Sayre ).

All in all, this is a mostly faithful adaptation of the book with beautiful sets, costumes, and some good performances. Especially compared to the more raucous 2013 version, this is probably the closest movie we have to a page-to-screen adaptation of Gatsby . The downside is that it's somewhat low energy, and lacks a lot of the zip and wit of the novel .

This version is available on Netflix streaming, so if you have a Netflix account, it's really easy to watch.

The Great Gatsby (2000)

This movie is decently accurate, but because of its shorter run time, there are some cuts to the plot. It also has a few odd additions, like Daisy coming up with the name "Gatsby" instead of Gatsby himself.

Paul Rudd as Carraway and Mira Sorvino as Daisy were mostly considered good casting choices, but the Gatsby here (Toby Stephens) wasn't great—rather lifeless and unenthusiastic. I also didn't love Jordan, especially compared to Elizabeth Debicki's Jordan in the 2013 film. Heather Goldenhersh's Myrtle is an interesting take, as well—she's more meek and pitiable than other Myrtles (especially Shelley Winters and Isla Fisher), which is a bit strange but I think it makes for a more sympathetic character.

This film also has much lower production values since it was made for TV, so it doesn't have the escapist feel of either the Redford or Luhrmann films. (The party scenes are especially sparse.)

I would consider watching this if you want a film mostly accurate to the book that also moves along more quickly, since it has a shorter run time. It's also a good choice if you want to see some great characterizations of Nick and Daisy.

Teachers, this might be a good choice if you want to show a version of the film in class but don't have two and a half hours to spend on the 1974 or 2013 versions.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

This one is likely the Gatsby movie you are most familiar with. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, this Gatsby has the eye-popping visuals, dancing scenes, high energy and big production values his movies are known for. In other words, this 2013 adaptation has all of the energy and enthusiasm the previous two adaptations were lacking .

However, there are some pretty big plot diversions here. For example, the movie uses a completely different frame—Nick is a bitter, institutionalized alcoholic looking back at the summer he spent with Gatsby, rather than just a disenchanted former bond salesman like in the novel. Also, Tom Buchanan is much more overtly villainous, since we see him bluntly telling George that Gatsby was the killer and the man sleeping with Myrtle.

A lot of the imagery is also quite over the top. For example, the scene in Chapter 1 where Daisy and Jordan are introduced, lying in white dresses while white curtains blow around them, is faithfully but subtly done in the 1974 and 2000 films. But in the Luhrmann movie, the CGI curtains stretch all the way across the room, and we get 15 seconds of Daisy and Jordan giggling while Tobey Maguire's Nick looks on, bemused.

Still, despite the plot diversions and sometimes heavy-handed imagery, many praised Leo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan's turns as Gatsby and Daisy, respectively. Jordan, played by Elizabeth Debicki, is also fantastic—arguably the best on film so far . Instead of fading into the background of scenes, Debicki's Jordan is energetic and engaged, enlivening all of the scenes she's in.

The 2013 movie is good to watch if you want an extra high-powered version of the Jazz Age extravagance and are curious about a more artistic adaptation of the novel.

Comparing the Great Gatsby Movies to the Novel

One increasingly popular assignment on The Great Gatsby is to compare the book with one of the movie adaptations. This can be a fun assignment to work on, since you get to write about both the book and a movie version of Gatsby . But some students struggle with it, since it can be tricky to incorporate an analysis of both the book and a movie into your paper.

Here are some pro tips for constructing this kind of essay.

Have an overall argument or point you're trying to prove, and make it manageable! Don't try to compare the entire movie to the entire book. Instead, zoom in on a particular aspect, like comparing Daisy Buchanan in the book to Daisy in the movie, or look at just a few of the symbols. For example, if you're asked to write about how symbols are adapted in the movie, don't go through every symbol you can think of. Instead, you could focus on your paper on the green light or the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg , and really look at your chosen symbol in detail.

Make sure to use specific lines, scenes, or shots to back up your argument. In your English classes, you've probably learned about using evidence from the book as evidence for your essays. It turns out, you can do the same with movies! Even better, you have a wider variety of evidence to choose from.

You can talk about a specific shot of the film, and how it's composed (basically where the actors and objects are arranged in the shot). You can also talk about lines from the script, or the order of scenes. Just make sure to point to specific, concrete evidence! (Don't say: Carey Mulligan's Daisy is flighty. Do say: Carey Mulligan's performance in the flashback scene demonstrates more raw, intense emotion than apparent in the book, revealing Baz Luhrmann's tendency to overdraw emotion.)

Don't just make a list of plot differences between the book and the movie. Just listing the plot differences won't allow you to do any deep analysis of the director's vision for their film and how it's different from the novel.

Movie Essay Example

As a brief example, let's look at how one of Gatsby's most famous symbols, the green light at the end of the Buchanans' dock , is shown in two of the movies and what it shows about the directors' visions.

In the 1974 film, the green light is very simply rendered—it's quite literally a small green light at the end of Tom and Daisy's dock:

Director Jack Clayton doesn't linger on it, and at the end of the film you just get a small glimpse of it before the final fade to black. Its significance, I would argue, is even more underplayed than in the novel. The treatment of the green light echoes how Clayton goes for a subtle, even elegant, treatment of the novel, focusing on the interactions between the characters rather than the symbolism.

But in the 2013 film, the green light shows up often, and Luhrmann uses CGI and sound effects to underscore its significance (check out how it's used in the last scene ). Luhrmann's overwrought rendering of the green light speaks to how he strongly stresses the novel's most famous visuals , in an effort to bring the image of the novel to light. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of some of the character relationships and fidelity to the book's plot.

This is just the beginning of what could be a longer analysis of the symbols in the movies, but you can see how even zooming in on just one symbol can give you quite a bit to talk about.

Other Notable Films

If you're really getting into all things F. Scott Fitzgerald, you might also consider watching these three films for fun:

• G , which came out in 2002 and is a loose adaptation of Gatsby . In the film, Gatsby is Summer G, a hip-hop mogul trying to win back the love of his life, Sky. The film opened to generally poor reviews, but you can't deny it's a really creative take on Gatsby, and it has attracted a small but loyal following online.
• Midnight in Paris briefly shows Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald during their time in Paris, as portrayed by Tom Hiddleston and Allison Pill. This is a fun, if fictional, glimpse into F. Scott's life as he was writing Gatsby .
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , a recent film starring Brad Pitt, is based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story.

What's Next?

Looking to bring Gatsby into your life via outfits, candles, or other accoutrements? Check out our list of 15 must-have Great Gatsby accessories for ideas .

Read through our biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald to learn more about where and how The Great Gatsby was written.

Dive into the novel's beginning with our guides to Gatsby 's title , its opening pages and epigraph , and the first chapter . Or, start with a summary of The Great Gatsby , along with links to all our great articles analyzing this novel!

Need a hand with analyzing other works of literature? Check out our analyses of The Crucible , The Cask of Amontillado , and " Do not go gentle into that good night ."

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The Great Gatsby

A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age. A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age. A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.

• Baz Luhrmann
• Craig Pearce
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Carey Mulligan
• Joel Edgerton
• 1.1K User reviews
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• 55 Metascore
• 51 wins & 86 nominations total

Top cast 99+

• Daisy Buchanan

• Tom Buchanan

• Nick Carraway

• Well Dressed Male Witness - Wilson's Garage

• Meyer Wolfshiem

• George Wilson

• The Boss-Probity Trust

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• Jazz Player
• (as Emmanuel Ekwenski)

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• Trivia Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have been real-life friends since childhood. This marks the first time they have appeared in a film together since Don's Plum (2001) . Before this, they appeared together in This Boy's Life (1993) .
• Goofs When Daisy is about to marry Tom, she pulls off the $350,000 pearls he bought her and they scatter all over the floor. An expensive pearl necklace like that would have individually knotted pearls, to minimize lost pearls if the silk were to break.

Nick Carraway : You can't repeat the past.

Jay Gatsby : Can't repeat the past?

Nick Carraway : No...

Jay Gatsby : Why, of course you can... of course you can.

• Crazy credits Jay Gatsby's flower symbol is shown throughout the credits with different letters in place of the 'JG'. The third-to-last flower, preceding the music section, has 'JZ' in it (an homage to the film's soundtrack producer Jay-Z . The last flower has the movie's traditional 'JG' in it.
• Connections Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)
• Soundtracks Together Written by Romy Madley-Croft (as Romy Madley Croft), Oliver Sim and Jamie XX Licensed by Universal Music Publishing Group Pty Limited By arrangement with Beggars Group Media Limited

User reviews 1.1K

• Feb 14, 2020
• Daisy tells Gatsby she can't tell James she never loved him because that wouldn't be true, as she speaks, smoke comes from her mouth the whole line. This does not happen during any other part of the movie. Is there some significance to this or just what happened?
• Is 'The Great Gatsby' based on a book?
• How many of the songs are omitted from the soundtrack?
• May 10, 2013 (United States)
• United States
• Official Blog
• Official Facebook
• El gran Gatsby
• Centennial Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Gatsby's Estate and Nick Carraway's house set)
• Warner Bros.
• Village Roadshow Pictures
• A+E Networks
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $105,000,000 (estimated)
• $144,857,996
• $50,085,185
• May 12, 2013
• $353,660,028

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• Runtime 2 hours 23 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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The Great Gatsby (2013 Film)

By baz luhrmann.

• The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) Summary

The film begins with a voiceover of Nick Carraway telling a doctor that his father always told him to see the good in others. It is here that we first hear the titular characters' name: Gatsby. Gatsby is apparently the only person in whom Nick has ever seen true good.

Nick then tells the viewer about his past. As the camera pans past the bustling crowds of New York City in the 1920s, Nick tells us that while he originally wanted to be a writer, at the time of his meeting Gatsby, he worked on Wall Street as a bond broker. Nick moves into a cottage on Long Island, next door to a giant mansion that belongs to Gatsby. He visits his cousin, Daisy Buchanan , who is married to the brutish and very wealthy former athlete, Tom Buchanan . Nick has dinner with Daisy, Tom, and their friend Jordan Baker , a professional golfer. Their dinner is interrupted when Tom gets a phone call from a woman with whom he is having an affair. When Nick goes home that night, he sees a figure in the gloom he believes is Gatsby, staring at a green light on the Buchanan's dock across the harbor.

Tom invites Nick to go to the Yale Club with him, but they end up picking up Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson , in a dingy neighborhood called the Valley of Ashes, and then going to an apartment that Tom keeps for Myrtle in Manhattan. There, they have a party. Nick has alcohol for the second time in his life, and enjoys the party, later waking up on his own porch, unsure of how he got back. He receives an invitation to go to one of Gatsby's parties, which are notoriously lavish affairs that attract a "who's who" of New York society.

Nick goes to the party, where he runs into Jordan Baker, and they speculate about Gatsby's true identity. After they meet Gatsby, he asks to have a private conversation with Jordan. Later, Gatsby invites Nick to go to lunch with him in New York. The following day, as Gatsby and Nick drive towards the city, Gatsby tells Nick about his past, but Nick doesn't quite believe he's telling the truth. They go to a speakeasy bar, where alcohol is served, and Gatsby introduces Nick to his business associate, Meyer Wolfsheim , who appears to be involved with some shady business deals. Later, Nick meets Jordan for a drink, and she tells him that Gatsby and Daisy know each other and were once in love. She then tells him that Gatsby wants Nick to invite him and Daisy over for tea, so that they can be reunited.

Nick invites Gatsby and Daisy over for tea the following day, and they meet. It is awkward at first, but they manage to get more and more comfortable with each other, and eventually become romantically entangled once again. At Gatsby's mansion, Daisy remembers her love for Gatsby, but laments the impossibility of their love. Nick then narrates that Gatsby was born to a poor farming family, but later encountered a wealthy man named Dan Cody, whom he rescued from a storm. Cody becomes a mentor to Gatsby, but after Cody died, Gatsby was cheated out of money that Cody left him by Cody's family.

Gatsby throws another party, which Daisy, Tom, and Nick attend. Daisy tells Gatsby that she wishes they could run away together, and Gatsby insists that she tell Tom she never loved him. Tom grows more suspicious of Gatsby's business dealings.

The following day, Nick, Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, and Jordan have lunch at the Buchanan estate. When Tom sees the spark between Daisy and Gatsby, he becomes infuriated and suggests they all go to the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. Tom takes Gatsby's yellow car, driving Jordan and Nick, and Daisy and Gatsby drive Tom's car. When they stop for gas in the Valley of Ashes, Myrtle sees Tom driving the yellow car. Later, at the Plaza, Tom asks Gatsby prying questions about his past, claiming that he never went to Oxford, and humiliating him in front of Daisy. Gatsby tells Daisy to tell Tom that she has never loved him, but Daisy is uncomfortable and unwilling to do so. Tom provokes Gatsby when he suggests that Gatsby will never fit in with the wealthy. Gatsby becomes violently angry, nearly punching Tom, which horrifies Daisy.

Gatsby and Daisy drive home in Gatsby's yellow car. As they drive through the Valley of Ashes, Myrtle and George are having an argument. Myrtle runs out into the street and tries to stop the car, thinking it is Tom driving. The car hits her and kills her instantly. While Daisy and Gatsby stop for a moment, they quickly move on. Tom, Nick, and Jordan come upon the scene. Horrified to learn that Myrtle is dead, Tom tells George that it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle, and encourages him to take revenge.

Back at the Buchanan estate, outside in the garden, Gatsby reveals to Nick that Daisy was the one at the wheel when Myrtle was killed. When Nick spies on Daisy and Tom inside the house, he hears them planning to make some phone calls to the police and go away for awhile. Nick does not reveal Daisy and Tom's plans, as Gatsby says he will wait for Daisy to call him the following morning to make arrangements to run away together. After staying up all night and listening to Gatsby tell him his life story, Nick leaves Gatsby.

We see Nick at work, visibly distracted. Meanwhile, we see Daisy looking at her phone as she considers calling Gatsby. Gatsby goes for a swim in his pool to kill time while he waits for Daisy's call. The phone rings, Gatsby hears it, and excitedly begins to get out of the pool. However, he does not see George Wilson behind him, who shoots him in the back. He falls into his pool, dead, just as George turns the gun on himself. We then see it was Nick, not Daisy, who was calling. Daisy has chosen Tom.

Gatsby is blamed for the affair with Myrtle and her murder, and not a single person who came to his parties comes to his funeral. Nick is disgusted, and leaves New York. We see him put the final touches on a manuscript, Gatsby , which he re-titles The Great Gatsby .

The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

The confrontation between Gatsby, Tom and Dailey at the hotel shows Daisy's essential weakness. What is it?

Daisy is superficial and really only out for herself to maintain the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to.

As the film continues, Nick and the audience learn more about Jay Gatsby's background. How does his history help viewers understand the man we see in the mansion on West Egg?

Gatsby is supposed to be an enigma yet the narrative slowly gives up clues to the audience that Gatsby perhaps is not so complicated. By the end of the book/film we can see that Gatsby is an intelligent bootlegger with a talent for dealing with...

Earlier than Gatsby, the audience meets Tom Buchanan and his wife Daisy. What does the director want viewers to see about Tom?

I think that Baz Luhrmann, the director, wants audiences to experience Tom's incredible wealth as well as his domineering control and manipulations over all aspects of his life. Tom is essentially a filthy rich belligerent blowhard who likes the...

Study Guide for The Great Gatsby (2013 Film)

The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) study guide contains a biography of director Baz Luhrmann, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Great Gatsby (2013 Film)
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for The Great Gatsby (2013 Film)

The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Great Gatsby (2013 Film), directed by Baz Luhrmann.

• Using Film to Expand Upon The Great Gatsby
• Internal & External Lives of Characters in The Great Gatsby vs. The Valley of Ashes & East Egg
• Influence of contextual factors across American Literature

Wikipedia Entries for The Great Gatsby (2013 Film)

• Introduction

The Great Gatsby �by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Setting--Long Island

• Located on the southern part of New York
• Suburb of New York City

The Long Island "Gold Coast" is where many of the nation's rich and famous built homes.� Gold Coast Homes

Setting: Long Island

East Egg (based on Manhasset Neck, Long Island)—Represents “old money”

West Egg (based on Great neck, Long Island)—Represents “new money”

Manhasset and Great Neck

The American Dream and its disintegration.

The American dream was originally about:

• Individualism
• The pursuit of happiness

The American Dream and its disintegration

…with unprecedented prosperity and material excess it became tarnished and left:

• Social decay
• Empty pursuit of pleasure

Themes � Money and the sociology of wealth

Old money vs. new money

Old money vs. new money� �

Old money—aristocratic, inherited wealth, tasteful, elegant, have social graces…but ultimately very shallow people!

Old money vs. new money �

New money—vulgar, self-made (rags to riches), showy, tacky…

• Valley of Ashes—between Long Island and NYC, a desolate wasteland used for dumping and burning trash—stands for a moral wasteland
• Green light—at the end of the Buchanan’s dock—represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams

The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg—a pair of eyes on a billboard ad for an eye doctor…they overlook the Valley and may represent God looking at and judging American society

• Nick Carraway  -  The novel’s narrator.
• Jay Gatsby  -  The title character and protagonist of the novel.
• Daisy Buchanan  -  Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves.
• Tom Buchanan  -  Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband.
• Jordan Baker  -  Daisy’s friend, a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically involved during the course of the novel.
• Myrtle Wilson  -  Tom’s lover.
• George Wilson  -  Myrtle’s husband

The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” isn’t a disaster. Every frame is sincere. Its miscalculations come from a wish to avoid embalming a classic novel in “respectfulness” — a worthy goal, in theory. It boasts the third most imaginative use of 3D I’ve seen recently, after “U2 3D” and “ Hugo .” It’s a technological and aesthetic lab that has four or five experiments cooking in each scene. Even when the movie’s not working, its style fascinates. 

That “not working” part is a deal breaker, though — and it has little to do with Luhrmann’s stylistic gambits, and everything to do with his inability to reconcile them with an urge to play things straight.

If you’ve seen Lurhmann’s “ Strictly Ballroom ,” “ Romeo + Juliet ” or “ Moulin Rouge ,” or watched “Gatsby” trailers, you know what you’re in for: an epic melodrama that fuses old-movie theatrics and subjective filmmaking, period music and modern pop, real sets and unreal landscapes, psychological drama and speeded-up slapstick.

We see the book’s Prohibition-era settings (East Egg and West Egg, New York City, and the sooty wasteland in between) through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway ( Tobey Maguire ), who’s writing a memoir-confession from an asylum. This framing device is inferred from statements Fitzgerald made in “The Crack-Up,” and “Gatsby” often refers to itself as a book, so even though it isn’t officially part of the source, it’s hardly a blasphemous indulgence; still, it’s one more buffer between viewer and story in a movie that already has more than its share.

All this busywork might astonish if Lurhmann’s heart were in it—but is it? The guests at Gatsby’s party are too obviously directed, and there’s no sense of escalation in the gatherings. From frame one, they’re Dionysian whirls of booze, lust and hero worship, minus the sense that that things are ebbing and flowing as they would at a real party. The CGI-assisted camera acrobatics feel obligatory. So do the anachronistic soundtrack mash-ups (modern hip-hop layered over ragtime piano and the like).

But in the film’s dark second half, “The Great Gatsby” half-forgets its mandate to wow us and zeroes in on actors in rooms. Once that happens, the Luhrmannerisms distract from the film’s true heart: the actions and feelings of its characters. Luhrmann didn’t set out to make a PBS-style, bare-bones adaptation, but there are times when it feels as though he secretly wants to. 

Once you get past the movie’s opening eruptions of visual excess — hundreds of party guests boozing and hollering and doing the Charleston; CGI cityscapes that visualize 1920s New York by way of Warren Beatty’s candy-colored “ Dick Tracy “; a long expository talk between Gatsby and Nick in a careening computer-buffed roadster that moves as believably as the talking cab in “ Who Framed Roger Rabbit ” — “The Great Gatsby” settles into a traditional groove: scene, scene, montage, scene, burst of violence, moment of reflection. The movie wants to be a “kaleidoscopic carnival,” to quote a phrase from the book’s description of a Jay Gatsby party, but Luhrmann’s instincts seem more traditional, even square, and the two impulses cancel each out. Once you’ve spent time with his cast, you understand why he was torn.

DiCaprio’s Gatsby is the movie’s greatest and simplest special effect: an illusion conjured mainly through body language and voice. On the page, the character is so mysterious, so much a projection of the book’s narrator, that you’d think he’d be as unplayable onscreen as Kurtz or John Galt; he eluded Alan Ladd and Robert Redford , the role’s previous inhabitants. And yet DiCaprio makes him comprehensible and achingly real. The actor’s choices drive home the idea that Gatsby is playing the man he wishes he were, and that others need him to be. We see the calculations behind his eyes, but we also believe that he could hide them from the other characters — most of them, anyway.

DiCaprio’s acting evokes Nick’s description of the human personality as “an unbroken series of successful gestures.” Luhrmann cuts some scenes to make it seem as if the character really is omniscient — as if he can see and hear for miles and read people’s thoughts and feelings — and DiCaprio plays these moments with a mix of inscrutability and delight, as if Gatsby knows something we don’t, but is too clever to say precisely what. (He could play Superman.) When Gatsby’s deceptions are revealed and his illusions shattered, DiCaprio becomes at once terrifying and pathetic, a false idol toppling himself from his pedestal. In his final moment of realization, DiCaprio’s blue eyes match the blue of Gatsby’s pool, and his anguished face, framed in tight close-up, has a ghastly beauty. This is an iconic performance — maybe his career best.

The rest of the cast is nearly as impressive. Nick Carraway is almost as much of an abstraction as Gatsby — an audience surrogate, with touches of The Nice Guy Betrayed — but Maguire humanizes him, just as DiCaprio does Gatsby. It helps that he’s played so many wry blank-slate types, but there’s something else going on in his performance besides familiar notes — something deeper and sadder. 

Carey Mulligan is physically and vocally right for Daisy Buchanan — when she flirts, the famous description of the character having “a voice like money” nearly makes sense — but the film doesn’t idealize her, as Gatsby and Nick often seem to. There’s a contradictory, complicated person there. She’s matched — appropriately overmatched, really — by Joel Edgerton’s Tom. The actor suits the book’s description of the character as “hulking” and projects the jovial arrogance of a thug impersonating a cultured man with money; he’s scary but life-sized, and always comprehensible. The small roles are well cast, too, with Elizabeth Debicki’s Jordan Baker as a standout. The director is genuinely interested in his actors’ performances, and in the characters’ psyches. When the tale’s simmering resentments detonate (notably in a scene near the end that takes pretty big liberties with the book) the result is a more powerful experience than crowd scenes and CGI panoramas can deliver. 

There were times when I wished Luhrmann had made a smaller, squarer adaptation, because he seems to have the talent for it; I never would have imagined saying such a thing after seeing his other films, which have their merits but are hardly standard-bearers for subtlety. Alas, this “Gatsby” is so immense and overwrought — lumbering across the screen like the biggest, trashiest, loudest parade float of all time — that its intimacies feel like shared secrets between the director and the viewer. The movie’s like a guest at a wild gathering who finds the frenzy tiresome and would rather be at home reading, but can’t let on because he’s supposed to be the life of the party.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor-at-Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

• Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway
• Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan
• Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby
• Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan
• Baz Luhrmann

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The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Published by Dinah Pitts Modified over 8 years ago

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Presentation on theme: "The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald."— Presentation transcript:

Is it possible to get a second chance at life

Gatsby Jeopardy.

F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby About the Author Born-September 24, 1896 Born-September 24, 1896 Died-December 21, 1940 Died-December 21, 1940.

Born-September 24, 1896 Died-December 21, 1940 Married Zelda Sayre Famous works include The Great Gatsby And Winter Dreams, which well also read.

The Great Gatsby Players and Places. Meet the narrator, Nick Carroway A Minnesota native, he is imbued with Midwestern values and relocates to the New.

Daisy Buchanan Age: 23 Occupation: Housewife Residency: East Egg Relationships: Toms wife, Nicks cousin, having an affair with Jay Gatsby. Back Daisy.

The Great Gatsby Important Facts, Characters, Themes, History.

F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Setting: Summer of 1922 on Long Island and in New York City  Point of view: First and Third person  Narrator: Nick Carraway 

Published: 1925 Setting: Long Island and New York City - Summer 1922.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 By: Rebecca, Shayne & Kesley Chapter 1 By: Rebecca, Shayne & Kesley.

THE GREAT GATSBY Final Exam Review.

The Great Gatsby By: F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Great Gatsby Characters. Nick Carraway  narrator of the book  honest and tolerant  Daisy Buchanan’s cousin  born in Minnesota  served in WWI.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby 1) Middle class Minnesota family 2) Grandfather self-made man 3) Failed out of Princeton 4) Enlisted in Army.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Characters.

The Great Gatsby A Brief Introduction. In 1925, The Great Gatsby was published and hailed as an artistic and material success for its young author, F.

Hana Hančíková.  he was born in Minnesota in 1896  his family inspired him to write a novel The Great Gatsby  his father came from a wealthy upper-class.

F. Scott Fitzgerald 1896 – F. Scott Fitzgerald Biography Fitzgerald was named after his distant relative, Francis Scott Key. Fitzgerald was born.

Character list.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Wrote novel Married Zelda Sayre (who was later institutionalized) Died at an early age Named the Jazz Age.

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Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

One of the most commonly taught novels, The Great Gatsby is rich with opportunities for thematic analysis and broader real-world discussion. Gatsby is a fantastic opportunity to challenge students to see past the money, fancy clothes, and fancy cars and into what brings them lasting joy and purpose. In this post, we’ll break down the biggest themes , motifs, and symbols in The Great Gatsby .

What We Review

Major Themes in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby lends itself to many themes , but the primary purpose of the novel is to provide a sharp criticism of the American Dream as defined during the 1920s. Other themes — such as obsession with the past or dysfunctional relationships — all tie in with this singular idea of the vanity of pursuing wealth as the only means to true happiness and success.

Pursuit of the American Dream

One very evident theme in Fitzgerald’s novel is the Pursuit of the American Dream during the 1920s. Then, as now,  many Americans believed that “anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, [could] attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone” (Barone). Born penniless, James Gatz, or Jay Gatsby, was determined to achieve his own American Dream the only way he knew how: by attaining massive wealth by whatever means necessary. However, even after seemingly fulfilling his dream by becoming filthy rich, those who inherited their wealth still treat Gatsby as an outsider —namely, the Buchanans. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s devastating realization to criticize people’s perception of the American Dream as simply the “culmination of wealth” (Pumphrey).

To paint a picture for the reader, Nick personifies Gatsby’s pursuit of the American Dream in the green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock, calling it the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180). Much like Gatsby, Americans still today work their entire lives to achieve their idea of the American dream, only for some to meet an untimely end before reaching this dream. One of the most poignant quotes of the entire novel is at the end where Nick states in reference to this unattainable dream that “We beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” showing the vanity and utter pointlessness, in his eyes, of this “American Dream” (Fitzgerald 180). 

Failure to Live in the Present; Obsession with the Past and Future

Gatsby is the clearest example of a character stuck in the past due to his obsession with Daisy. Nick observes him “stretch[ing] out his arms toward the dark water” (Fitzgerald 21). The reader soon learns that Gatsby is continuously reaching for a green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock, signifying his continual pursuit of Daisy, who is always just out of his reach. Gatsby is so overcome with visions of his past that he is shackled by his own imagination and kept from forming a genuine connection with the real Daisy.

The past also consumes Tom Buchanan, his one claim to fame being his football career in New Haven. Nick recognizes this immediately, feeling that Tom would “drift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (Fitzgerald 6). Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is always rhapsodizing what she and Tom will do once they are married to one another, something Tom clearly does not see in his future. Even in casual conversation, the Buchanans, particularly Daisy, reminisce about the past or plan for the future, always planning trips to the city or recollecting old acquaintances. Whenever Daisy is forced into the present, she is visibly uncomfortable and anxious.

The Destructive Nature of Dysfunctional Relationships

Fitzgerald’s novel is littered with questionable characters and suspicious situations. Characters constantly act and speak behind each other’s back, making it difficult to trust or predict anyone’s motives in the novel. Tom and Daisy’s relationship is the most obvious example of secrecy leading to conflict regarding Tom’s “woman in New York” and Daisy’s long-lasting infatuation with Gatsby. Tom isn’t even truthful with Myrtle, his mistress, and tells her he cannot marry her because Daisy is Catholic and will not file for divorce. 

Miss Baker’s friendship with Daisy is just as secretive and manipulative. When she speaks to Nick behind Daisy’s back, she makes Daisy out to be a fool. She manipulates situations between Daisy and Gatsby behind Nick’s back, even when she knows nothing good can come from their secret romance. Daisy does not even have a functioning relationship with her own daughter; when Nick asks about her, all Daisy has to say is, “I suppose she talks, and eats, and everything” (Fitzgerald 16). We do not witness her daughter’s growth into adulthood, but we can only imagine the damage this separation from her parents has caused her. 

The parties that Gatsby hosts in his mansions are not filled with his closest friends; rather, complete strangers flood his halls to spill rumors about their host and leave without a word the next day. 

Gatsby, the only person who seems remotely interested in forming functional relationships, still lies to Nick about his upbringing immediately after asking Nick his opinion of him, as if to save himself preemptively. Throughout the novel, Gatsby attempts to form a real relationship with Daisy, which proves impossible because she can never live up to the Daisy of his imagination. 

Motifs and Symbols in The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald’s novel is rich with symbolism, whether it be through color, setting, or objects. Each detail, no matter how small, enforces the tone of the scene. Many colors and settings are used in stark contrast with one another; for example, the white and gold Buchanan mansion and Daisy are vastly different from the bleak and gray Valley of Ashes. Gatsby’s car is both gold and green, signifying both his achievement of wealth and his continual pursuit of rich things, including Daisy Buchanan.

Color 

There are four distinct colors repeated throughout the novel that each carry meaning beyond the surface. These colors are white, gray, green, and gold.

Daisy and Jordan are both dressed in white at the start of the novel, and the open windows cause the white curtains to float in the air. Both the curtains and the women in white represent both innocence and superficiality of these characters who float through life lacking depth of personality. Nick Carraway describes Daisy as being “high in a white palace”, calling her both “king’s daughter” and “the golden girl” (Fitzgerald 120). In this instance, Nick characterizes her as this lofty, worshiped being, which mirrors Gatsby’s perspective and reinforces the fact that Gatsby will never be good enough for her. 

By name, The Valley of Ashes is represented by the color gray, which symbolizes the harsh conditions of the working class and overall lack of joy or hope in this place. George Wilson’s garage naturally resides in this desolate place, described as “unprosperous and bare” (Fitzgerald 25). Words such as “foul”, “solemn”, and “wasteland” are used to describe the place constantly under the watch of T.J. Eckleburg’s gold-rimmed eyes (Fitzgerald 24).

Green symbolizes two primary things: money and lust. The leather seats in Gatsby’s car are a lush green color, implying that perhaps the bright yellow paint did not declare his wealth loudly enough. Tom forces himself into the driver’s seat of Gatsby’s car, emphasizing that he believes Gatsby to be undeserving of such luxury. The most prominent green object (other than money) is the green lantern at the end of the Buchanans’ dock. While this green light represents Gatsby’s dream to be with Daisy, it also more characteristically represents envy as Gatsby desires to have another man’s wife.

Gatsby’s Rolls Royce, later known as “The Death Car,” symbolizes money and the pompous lifestyle of the rich. Nick describes Daisy as a  “golden girl”, Gatsby dons a gold tie for one of his many parties, and even the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleberg are rimmed in gold frames. In every instance, gold is both synonymous with wealth and “otherness”. Whether it is Daisy, Gatsby’s car, or even Dr. T.J. Eckleberg, each golden person or object is completely detached from the rest of society and feeling any sort of social responsibility. For example, Dr. T.J. Eckelberg’s looming presence over the Valley of Ashes 

Valley of Ashes

George Wilson’s garage naturally resides in the Valley of Ashes, described as “unprosperous and bare” (Fitzgerald 25). Words such as “foul”, “solemn”, and “wasteland” are used to describe the place constantly under the watch of T.J. Eckleburg’s gold-rimmed eyes (Fitzgerald 24). Myrtle Wilson’s brightly-dressed, sensual persona stands out in stark contrast to her colorless background. Even though her character doesn’t “fit” the setting she lives in, she is permanently bound to live and eventually die in this hopeless place. George even attempts to leave, but the thoughtless actions of the rich quickly tear apart his dream of a better life.

West Egg and Gatsby’s Mansion

While similar in appearance, East Egg and West Egg are drastically different from one another in status. West Egg, where Gatsby’s mansion resides, is “less fashionable” than East Egg and represents “new money” (Fitzgerald 5). Nick describes Gatsby’s mansion ironically as an “imitation”, further supporting the idea that Gatsby is an imposter in the realm of the rich and famous. West Egg residents are more inclined to hold extravagant and wild parties than their East Egg neighbors, even though East Eggers have no problem attending these parties held by their “less fashionable” neighbors. 

East Egg and the Buchanan’s Mansion

The mansions across the bay in East Egg are described as “white palaces”, further supporting that the color white implies something untouchable (Fitzgerald 4). The French windows reflected gold; vast gardens framed the property; “frosted wedding cake ceilings” hovered above every room, and “wine-colored” rugs sprawled across the floors (Fitzgerald 8). The author spares no detail to ensure the reader understands the exquisite luxury of the Buchanans’ home. East Egg residents also live at a slower and calmer pace than their neighbors, likely because they don’t feel the need to indulge in the luxuries offered at parties that are already at their fingertips.

Objects 

Doctor T. J. Eckleberg’s eyes 

Dr. T.J. Eckelberg’s eyes are painted onto a fading billboard that overlooks the Valley of Ashes. The eyes float independently of a face or even a nose and are framed in a pair of gold eyeglasses. Not much is known about Dr. Eckelberg; the narrator assumes that he either “sank down himself into eternal blindness” or simply forgot about his billboard and moved to a different city (Fitzgerald 24). Either way, the enormous eyes have a looming presence over the Valley of Ashes; constantly “brood[ing]” over this desolate place. You can define Fitzgerald’s choice of the word “brood” in two very different ways. These eyes could be “brooding” and watching over the city like a worried mother hen wishing to care for her chicks. Or, these eyes could be “brooding” because they are thinking deeply about everything they see that makes them continually unhappy.

Green Light

The green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock represents Daisy in Gatsby’s eyes. Every time he sees it, he thinks of her and desires to have her. He finds hope in this light; as long as he can see it, Daisy is still just within his grasp. However, Nick sees this green light through much more critical eyes by the end of the novel. He refers to it instead as the “orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald 180).

Two important words are used to critique Gatsby’s dream, or more broadly, the American Dream. The first word, orgastic, has sexual connotations and pairs with this lustful desire Gatsby has for Daisy; she is his dream: she fascinates, entices, and overwhelms every part of his being. Likewise, the American Dream can become so consuming of an obsession that it takes on this euphoric or intoxicating appeal. The other crucial word is “recede”: as we pursue our version of the American Dream year after year, it doesn’t get any closer; it only “recedes” or moves farther and farther out of reach. Gatsby’s dream, personified in the green light, is the primary symbol of the novel and ties into Fitzgerald’s overwhelming critique of the American Dream throughout the novel.

Gatsby’s Car

Gatsby’s car has many roles throughout the novel, so much so, it could even be considered a secondary character. First, his car is used as a shuttle to bring people to his lavish parties; then, the car is used to impress Nick and convince him to do Gatsby a favor. Later in the novel, however, things take a dark turn. Tom forces himself into Gatsby’s car for their trip to the city. It is unclear why he does this other than to simply assert his own power over Gatsby. Finally, the car, driven by Daisy, murders Myrtle Wilson and is renamed the “Death Car”. A vivid picture of luxurious living with green leather interior and a bright yellowish gold paint job, Gatsby’s car is yet another failed attempt at reaching his American Dream through the accumulation of flashy and expensive things.

Wrapping Up 

Although a relatively brief read, Fitzgerald’s novel is jam-packed with rich opportunities for thematic analysis and tracking motifs and symbols. Drawing on the text For quick assignment ideas, check out our  200+ Great Gatsby review questions , and check out our pre-made chapter quizzes , designed to track your students’ reading progress and comprehension before moving on to a new section of the text.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby . Scribner, 2018.

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'The Great Gatsby' Themes

Wealth, class, and society, love and romance, the loss of idealism, the failure of the american dream.

• M.F.A, Dramatic Writing, Arizona State University
• B.A., English Literature, Arizona State University
• B.A., Political Science, Arizona State University

The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald, presents a critical portrait of the American dream through its portrayal of the 1920s New York elite. By exploring themes of wealth, class, love and idealism, The Great Gatsby raises powerful questions about American ideas and society.

The Great Gatsby 's characters represent the wealthiest members of 1920s New York society . Despite their money, however, they are not portrayed as particularly aspirational. Instead, the rich characters' negative qualities are put on display: wastefulness, hedonism, and carelessness.

The novel also suggests that wealth is not equivalent to social class. Tom Buchanan comes from the old money elite, while Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire. Gatsby, self-conscious about his "new money" social status, throws unbelievably lavish parties in hopes of catching Daisy Buchanan's attention. However, at the novel's conclusion, Daisy chooses to stay with Tom despite the fact that she genuinely loves Gatsby; her reasoning is that she could not bear to lose the social status that her marriage to Tom affords her. With this conclusion, Fitzgerald suggests that wealth alone does not guarantee entrance into the upper echelons of elite society.

In The Great Gatsby , love is intrinsically tied to class. As a young military officer, Gatsby fell quickly for debutante Daisy, who promised to wait for him after the war. However, any chance at a real relationship was precluded by Gatsby's lower social status. Instead of waiting for Gatsby, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, an old-money East Coast elite. It is an unhappy marriage of convenience: Tom has affairs and seems just as romantically uninterested in Daisy as she is in him.

The idea of unhappy marriages of convenience isn’t limited to the upper class. Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is a spirited woman in a seriously mismatched marriage to a suspicious, dull man. The novel suggests that she married him in hopes of being upwardly mobile, but instead the marriage is simply miserable, and Myrtle herself ends up dead. Indeed, the only unhappy couple to survive "unscathed" is Daisy and Tom, who eventually decide to retreat into the cocoon of wealth despite their marital problems.

In general, the novel takes a fairly cynical view of love. Even the central romance between Daisy and Gatsby is less a true love story and more a depiction of Gatsby's obsessive desire to relive—or even redo —his own past. He loves the image of Daisy more than the woman in front of him . Romantic love is not a powerful force in the world of The Great Gatsby .

Jay Gatsby is perhaps one of the most idealistic characters in literature. Nothing can deter him from his belief in the possibility of dreams and romance. In fact, his entire pursuit of wealth and influence is carried out in hopes of making his dreams come true. However, Gatsby's single-minded pursuit of those dreams—particularly his pursuit of the idealized Daisy—is the quality that ultimately destroys him. After Gatsby's death, his funeral is attended by just three guests; the cynical "real world" moves on as though he'd never lived at all.

Nick Carraway also represents the failures of idealism through his journey from naïve Everyman observer to burgeoning cynic. At first, Nick buys into the plan reunite Daisy and Gatsby, as he believes in the power of love to conquer class differences. The more involved he becomes in the social world of Gatsby and the Buchanans, however, the more his idealism falters. He begins to see the elite social circle as careless and hurtful. By the end of the novel, when he finds out the role Tom cheerfully played in Gatsby’s death, he loses any remaining trace of idealization of elite society.

The American dream posits that anyone, no matter their origins, can work hard and achieve upward mobility in the United States. The Great Gatsby questions this idea through the rise and fall of Jay Gatsby. From the outside, Gatsby appears to be proof of the American dream: he is a man of humble origins who accumulated vast wealth. However, Gatsby is miserable. His life is devoid of meaningful connection. And because of his humble background, he remains an outsider in the eyes of elite society. Monetary gain is possible, Fitzgerald suggests, but class mobility is not so simple, and wealth accumulation does not guarantee a good life.

Fitzgerald specifically critiques the American dream within the context of the Roaring Twenties , a time when growing affluence and changing morals led to a culture of materialism. Consequently, the characters of The Great Gatsby equate the American dream with material goods, despite the fact that the original idea did not have such an explicitly materialistic intent. The novel suggests that rampant consumerism and the desire to consume has corroded the American social landscape and corrupted one of the country's foundational ideas.

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