Analysis Of The Movie And The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is an American novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the early twentieth century. A renowned novel regarded as a literary classic which explores the concept of the American Dream, conveyed through a narrative by Nick Carraway, who unravels the story of Jay Gatsby, a newfound wealthy man in an endeavor to rekindle a romantic relationship with his first love, Daisy Buchannan. The novel is survived by the 2013 Warner Bros. motion picture The Great Gatsby featured Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Although both the novel and the film are exemplary works of art, the film supplies a realistic value which the novel fails to produce. The concept of the American Dream is one of the utmost significant aspects presented …show more content…

In a review of the motion picture by A. O. Scott in reference to Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance states that “his charisma has increased… he is beautiful, sad, confident and desperate in exactly the way Gatsby should be” (Scott, “Shimmying Off the Literary Mantle”). The motion picture transmogrified Fitzgerald’s text and concepts into a theatrical phenomenon. The extravagance of Gatsby’s parties proved nothing short of a live spectacle; from the oversized bottles of champagne, to the euphoric live music performed on the piano by Beethoven’s descendant, Klipspringer. When Jay Gatsby is initially introduced in the film, Nick Carraway states “his smile was one of those rare smiles you only come across 4 or 5 times in life, he seemed to understand you, believe in you, just as you would like to be understood, believed in” (The Great Gatsby) and this generated a moment of genuine intimacy amongst Nick Carraway, Gatsby and the …show more content…

Although Daisy is faithfully married to Tom Buchannan, Gatsby’s dream outweighs the reality of the situation, he deemed it possible to recreate the past and attain what he yearns for, which is Daisy’s love and approval. In this quote provided by Carraway’s narrative in regard to Gatsby’s origin, “Gatsby’s real name was James Gatz, his parents were dirt poor farmers from North Dakota; but he never accepted them as his parents at all, in his own imagination he was the son of God, destined for future glory…” (The Great Gatsby), it became apparent that the quintessence of the American dream is Jay Gatsby’s will. In the plaza hotel scene, Gatsby proposed the love between him and Daisy was mutual which incited an intense confrontation. In an attempt of demoralization, Tom Buchannan responded with pompous remarks in regard to who Daisy loved; the exclusive socio-economic privilege of people who were born wealthy and the unsavory business dealings by which Gatsby acquired his wealth. Realism is remarkably portrayed within this confrontational scene “Laz put cameras outside all of the windows and so it was just us five actors in the set, and it was closed off; we couldn’t see anyone, crew or lighting or anything, and he just shot into the room and suddenly it really did feel that real” (Carey

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