Differences Between The Great Gatsby Book And Movie

Great Gatsby Book vs. Movie
In any form, we can all agree that The Great Gatsby is a work of literary genius. Edwin Clark, a writer for the New York Times, said, “A curious book, a mystical, glamourous story of today. It takes a deeper cut at life than hitherto has been enjoyed by Mr. Fitzgerald. He writes well-he always has-for he writes naturally, and his sense of form is becoming perfected.” (Scott 1.) Both the movie The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, and the original story show the theme of the “American Dream” and how it was shown in the 20’s. Although they both are very similar, they still seem to have their differences. Some of these differences can particularly be seen when Nick first goes to Daisy’s house, when Tom and

Gatsby have a fight, and when Myrtle is killed. These subtle differences in the movie scenes, compared to the book, can make a big impact though.
When Nick first arrives in West Egg, Nick knew he would be driving over to Daisy’s house for dinner.

Immediately upon arrival Nick is greeted by Tom on the porch. This is where the first difference occurs. In the movie Tom is seen riding on his horse, getting off and answering a phone call. The phone call is slightly overheard. The other person on the line says “It’s me” in a soft feminine voice, and Tom replied “I thought I told you not to call me here. We can only infer this is Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, calling. The mistress isn’t introduced until a little later in the book. A lot of the following dialogue is followed word for word in the book. Some more minor difference would be that fact the character of Tom in the movie is less of a “hulking man” than in the book. Or the fact that Jordan Baker is introduced as “a very famous golfer,” ruining the surprise for Nick that occurs in the book. The dinner scene, aside from the time issue and shortened dialogue, it’s practically identical. Although these differences aren’t very large, they are still

noticeable.
A large noticeable difference does occur throughout the movie, such as the scene where Gatsby and Tom get into an argument.

This scene starts off at the Plaza Hotel. Again, the beginning dialogue is basically identical. Tom keeps egging Gatsby on and on, but in the book Gatsby just stares at Tom, then precedes to talk to Daisy. In the movie as Tom continues to egg Gatsby on, Gatsby severely loses his temper. Gatsby throws his glass and then grabs Tom’s shirt by the collar. He screams “shut up!” in Tom’s face repeatedly, and hold up his fist as if he is going to punch Tom, all the while Daisy watches with horror in her face. Gatsby realizes what he has done after Tom laughs in his face. This part in the movie is almost opposite to the book, casing quite a shock for viewers who have previously read the story. Another difference, that’s although not quite as big as Gatsby’s temper tantrum, is still important. The variation is that Tom is portrayed as almost a super villain. He is a hypocritical, devious man, who in the end of the movie tries anything to get back at Gatsby. He eventually

succeeds.
On their way home for the fight at Plaza Hotel, Daisy and Gatsby have a terrible experience, they hit Myrtle with their car and kill her instantly. The book describes Myrtle’s death as a very gruesome incident, whereas the in the movie, it’s almost glamorous. In the movie Myrtle is seen virtually flying through the air across Gatsby’s windshield and landing on the ground in a posed position. The books describes this as, “her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust…her left breast was swinging loose like a flap…The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners…” (Fitzgerald 137.) This depicted image was nothing like the movie. Also, in the book Gatsby’s car never stops moving, but in the movie the car actually does stop a little way up ahead, then the car continues to movie quickly forward. This is a difference I never would have thought would occur, being as the car not stopping is a phrase used often throughout the rest of the book.
Although there were many differences between the book and the movie, the movie was extremely close the original story. They both gave an overall theme and tone of carelessness and reality. And yet, this book will continue to pass through generations, teaching everyone who reads it a lesson on hard work, and being careful not to let their dreams deceive them.